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National Grid Partners Introduces New Leadership Structure and Sharpened Investment Focus to Accelerate Net Zero ProgressNew framework deepens relationship between the utility industry's most active corporate venture investor and parent company National Grid to scale energy innovations faster. LOS GATOS, Calif., Feb. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- National Grid Partners (NGP), the corporate venture capital and innovation arm of one of the world's largest utilities, today announced a streamlined leadership structure and refreshed investment focus to accelerate progress toward net zero and scale innovation across global energy networks. Led by Steve Smith, recently appointed president of NGP, these efforts bring National Grid's strategy, innovation and startup investing together under one umbrella. The new structure is designed to maximize impact and further build on the parent company's transformational work to provide a clean, fair and affordable energy transition. "Utilities must move faster to scale innovations that can slash emissions, support soaring energy demand and create the utility of the future," said Smith, a veteran utility regulator and financial industry innovator who joined the British energy giant in late 2021 as group head of Strategy, Innovation and Market Analytics. "National Grid Partners already offers critical financial resources and expert advice to some of the most exciting companies in climate tech and beyond. Our new structure connects entrepreneurs even more closely with our world-class innovation teams to bring essential technologies to market at industry leading speed." The new structure will draw on the NGP team's combined 225 years of venture investing and utility operations experience to help startups scale new technologies in months, not years. Smith has made the following appointments and promotions to lead this charge:
To integrate more closely with Silicon Valley, NGP is moving to Menlo Park's celebrated Sand Hill Road, the global epicenter of the venture capital industry. National Grid Partners has invested more than $400 million in 43 companies since its 2018 launch, with seven successful exits and an industry leading percentage of portfolio "unicorns" valued at more than $1 billion. The organization has been named the utility industry's most active corporate venture investor by Bloomberg NEF, and it recently unveiled a unique evaluation framework for measuring the impact of its portfolio companies on carbon emissions. In addition, NGP has delivered a step change to National Grid's innovation strategy by introducing hundreds of startup technologies, identifying future challenges, and developing prototypes and business models to meet those challenges. About National Grid Partners
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