Press Releases
10/05/2020
Annual AVANGRID Innovation Challenge Crowns Winning Team from Cornell University
Annual AVANGRID Innovation Challenge Crowns Winning Team from Cornell University
ORANGE, Conn. — Oct. 5, 2020 — AVANGRID (NYSE: AGR), a leading sustainable energy company, hosted its 4th annual Innovation Forum last week, which featured company employees teaming up with university students to compete in a “Green Grid Innovation Challenge.”
AVANGRID spent approximately $68 million on innovation projects in 2019 and is on track to increase that number in 2020 despite challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A highlight of AVANGRID’s Innovation Forum is its annual Innovation Challenge, which pairs teams of students from Cornell, Harvard, the University of Maine, MIT and Yale with AVANGRID employees to develop solutions to some of the energy sector’s most difficult challenges. This year’s winning team, led by Cornell University students Anmol Singh, Ritika Jain and Rashika Mittal, proposed an innovative way to enable utilities to leverage ever-increasing electric vehicle adoption to benefit the grid through vehicle-to-grid technology. Students on the winning team will receive a total of $30,000 in tuition scholarships from AVANGRID.
“As we continue down dual paths of delivering reliable power to our customers while also helping lead the U.S. transition to clean, renewable electricity, AVANGRID is positioned to advance and model energy innovation,” said AVANGRID CEO Dennis Arriola. “Thank you to all participants and congratulations to the Cornell University team. How appropriate that during National Drive Electric Week, their spirit of innovation will help us learn more about how electric vehicles can benefit the energy grid.”
Held virtually for the first time due to the pandemic, the 2020 Innovation Forum focused on “The Green Grid” by showcasing AVANGRID’s latest innovation projects and partnerships with technology companies, promising startups and academic institutions. More than 200 employees tuned in virtually to the event.
The event was the culmination of months of research on behalf of the six competing teams which showcased innovative solutions across each of AVANGRID’s business areas – from cybersecurity to working with startups to develop technologies that protect marine life in the water where AVANGRID is developing the country’s first large-scale offshore wind farm through its Vineyard Wind joint venture with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.
“We are fortunate to operate in a region with some of the leading academic institutions in the world,” Arriola added. “Innovation can happen quickly, but it is also something we must work diligently to achieve every day. Through strategic, customer-centric innovation, AVANGRID is preparing for the future and positioning ourselves to achieve our ambitions as one of the nation’s leaders in clean energy.”
About Avangrid: Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) aspires to be the leading sustainable energy company in the United States. Headquartered in Orange, CT with approximately $44 billion in assets and operations in 24 U.S. states, Avangrid has two primary lines of business: networks and renewables. Through its networks business, Avangrid owns and operates eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving more than 3.3 million customers in New York and New England. Through its renewables business, Avangrid owns and operates a portfolio of renewable energy generation facilities across the United States. Avangrid employs approximately 8,000 people and has been recognized by JUST Capital in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 as one of the JUST 100 companies – a ranking of America’s best corporate citizens. In 2024, Avangrid ranked first among utilities and 12 overall. The company supports the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals and was named among the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2024 for the sixth consecutive year by the Ethisphere Institute. Avangrid is a member of the group of companies controlled by Iberdrola, S.A. For more information, visit www.avangrid.com.
About Iberdrola: Iberdrola is one of the world's biggest energy companies and a leader in renewables, spearheading the energy transition to a low carbon economy. The group supplies energy to almost 100 million people in dozens of countries. With a focus on renewable energy, smart networks and smart solutions for customers, Iberdrola’s main markets include Europe (Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy and Greece), the United States, Brazil, Mexico and Australia. The company is also present in growth markets such as Japan, Taiwan, Ireland, Sweden and Poland, among others.
With a workforce of nearly 40,000 and assets in excess of €141.7 billion, across the world, Iberdrola helps to support 400,000 jobs across its supply chain, with annual procurement of €12.2 billion. A benchmark in the fight against climate change, Iberdrola has invested more than €130 billion over the past two decades to help build a sustainable energy model, based on sound environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles.
