LineVision Inc., a grid-enhancing technologies firm, is preparing to expand operations to meet demand from U.S. and global customers seeking ways to boost existing electric transmission capacity.

The company on Oct. 4 announced a $33 million Series C financing round led by Climate Innovation Capital Inc., a growth equity fund focused on near-term carbon reduction solutions. The round was co-led by S2G Ventures, a $300 million venture capital firm with a growing portfolio of clean energy investments. Microsoft Corp.'s $1 billion Climate Innovation Fund and Tokyo-based Marubeni Corporation also participated in the financing round as strategic investors.

The announcement follows the recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, a law that dedicates nearly $370 billion to energy and climate measures.

The Inflation Reduction Act is expected to drive clean energy development at a pace and scale that will cut U.S. economywide emissions by roughly 40% by 2030 relative to 2005 levels. That would put the U.S. within striking distance of its 50%-by-2030 commitment under the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Princeton University researchers, however, recently estimated that the U.S. will need to more than double its pace of annual high-voltage electric transmission expansion — from 1% to 2.3% — for the law's projected climate benefits to materialize. If U.S. grid expansion continues at its current rate, more than 80% of the projected benefits would be lost, the researchers found.

"That's where the urgency is," LineVision co-founder and CEO Hudson Gilmer said in an interview.

LineVision manufactures noncontact power line monitoring equipment that allows electric transmission operators to implement dynamic line ratings, or DLRs. One of a number of emergent grid-enhancing technologies, DLRs can unlock spare capacity on existing power lines by feeding real-time data to transmission operators on limiting factors such as wind speed, cloud cover and line tension sag.

The technology can be deployed in a matter of weeks or months.

With 2030 in mind, Gilmer called the U.S. emission reduction timeline "incompatible with the traditional way of expanding grid capacity." Long-distance, high-voltage transmission projects can take over a decade to site and build, Gilmer said.

DLRs and other grid-enhancing technologies, such as advanced power flow controllers, are "the only way we have a credible shot at realizing the benefits that are promised in the Inflation Reduction Act and staying on that path to net-zero," Gilmer said.

The Inflation Reduction Act did not include money specifically for grid-enhancing technologies, so LineVision is looking to harness funding in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in November 2021. The bipartisan legislation included $3 billion for a federal smart grid investment matching grant program.

On Sept. 1, DQE Holdings LLC subsidiary Duquesne Light Co. announced the expansion of a pilot program launched with LineVision last year that identified an average of 25% additional available capacity on 345-kV lines equipped with DLR technology.

LineVision's U.S. customers also include National Grid USA, another early-stage investor, as well as Dominion Energy Inc., Xcel Energy Inc., the Tennessee Valley Authority, New York Power Authority, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, and multiple Exelon Corp. subsidiaries.

Gilmer said LineVision plans to use the funds from its latest financing round to expand its operational capacity.

"This really gives us the resources to not only continue to expand in North America but also around the world," Gilmer said.

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