UVM Spinoff, Packetized Energy, Acquired by EnergyHub

Packetized Energy, a University of Vermont spinoff company, has been working since 2016 to bring to market patented technology for improving the responsiveness and resilience of power systems. Its technology was the result of research initially conducted by electrical engineering professors and company co-founders Paul Hines, Jeff Frolik and Mads Almassalkhi. The company’s success in the quickly growing field of distributed energy resources (DERs) has now led to its acquisition by EnergyHub, one of the nation’s leading providers of distributed energy resource management solutions (DERMS). EnergyHub announced the acquisition today.

The technology, known as packetized energy management, is built on the fundamentals that underpin electrical engineering at UVM: power systems, control systems and automation, and wireless communications. “The acquisition today is proof that academic research matters and is a testament to UVM’s small, but mighty electrical engineering program and to Vermont’s successful ecosystem for clean energy innovation,” said Almassalkhi. “I look forward to seeing EnergyHub bring this technology to scale.”

In 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) program selected UVM for a $2 million award, led by Almassalkhi, to advance their work from academic papers to commercial viability and, to meet this challenge, the three faculty members founded to company shortly thereafter. The company has since received an additional $3 million in federal research funding to continue commercializing innovative solutions for energy flexibility and has deployed its solutions across Vermont and in California, South Carolina, and Canada.

Staying true to its Vermont roots, Packetized Energy has employed numerous UVM interns and the majority of its employees have UVM ties. “We’re proud that our work has not only been recognized internationally in academic and technology circles, but that we will also have a positive and long-term local economic impact,” said Frolik. “The full team of Packetized Energy’s engineers, data scientists, and client success professionals have joined EnergyHub’s team and will continue to work from offices in Burlington, which EnergyHub plans to grow substantially.”

Hines, who served as Packetized Energy’s CEO, has joined EnergyHub as vice president of power systems. “Integrating Packetized Energy’s advanced technology for grid services with EnergyHub’s industry-leading software systems will allow us to make a meaningful contribution to the global transition to renewable energy,” said Hines.

“The acquisition of Packetized Energy by EnergyHub marks an important milestone for technology commercialization at UVM,” said Corine Farewell, director of UVM Innovations. “Packetized Energy is the first UVM startup acquired, underscoring the importance of industry, government and university collaborations to facilitate the transfer of technology from lab to market.”

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