Drafting vs. Engineering: Choosing the right partner for commercial projects

Emobi, North America's largest EV charging roaming and JustPlug infrastructure, and Curo, a pioneering Virtual Depot platform that enables leasable, existing EV charging for fleets, today announced a strategic partnership designed to help fleets electrify faster, cheaper, and more seamlessly across the U.S. Through this collaboration, Curo gains seamless charging access to Emobi's vast network of charging point operator partners in North America, while Emobi benefits from increased utilization of its chargers as Curo parks and manages more fleet customers across their locations. Together, the companies are creating a smarter path to electrification that benefits fleets, while also driving new utilization for CPOs and opening revenue opportunities for commercial real estate partners.

For fleet operators, Curo enables both gas and electric vehicles to scale without the burden of building new charging infrastructure. By tapping into Emobi's existing resources, Curo's customers can deploy electric fleets more quickly and cost-effectively, while their drivers benefit from a seamless charging experience. The result is less operational uplift for fleet managers, more reliability for drivers, and stronger economics for operators already working to navigate the EV transition. The partnership is currently live and delivering results.

"Fleet operators need solutions that simplify electrification, not add to their burden," said Lin Sun Fa, CEO of Emobi. "By integrating with Curo, we're making it easy for fleets to tap into chargers already in the ground, while giving our CPO partners higher utilization. It's a win-win."

"It's great to innovate together with another YC alumnus and enrich the experience for our fleet customers," said Kieran White, CEO and Co-Founder of Curo. "Through Emobi's partner referrals, we're able to rapidly expand our growing parking and charging network."

Emobi | www.emobi.ai

Curo Charging I www.curocharging.com

Foss & Company, a leading tax equity syndicator, announced the successful closing of a $54.4 million tax credit transfer for Hale Kuawehi Solar and Storage Project, a newly commissioned solar and battery energy storage facility developed by Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. located on the Island of Hawaiʻi. The project features a 30-megawatt AC photovoltaic solar array co-located with a 30.7 MW / 122.8 MWh (four-hour) battery energy storage system.

Hale Kuawehi represents Foss & Company's third successful transaction in Hawaiʻi, reinforcing the firm's leadership in structuring innovative tax equity solutions for clean energy infrastructure in complex and remote markets.

"The Hale Kuawehi project showcases our ability to deliver seamless execution even under evolving circumstances," said Bryen Alperin, managing director at Foss & Company. "This transaction affirms our commitment to enabling energy resilience in island communities through flexible and scalable financing."

Innergex served as the project sponsor, responsible for its development, commissioning, and ongoing operations. CRC-IB served as exclusive financial advisor to Innergex on the transaction.

"We are pleased to partner with Foss & Company on the Hale Kuawehi project," said Michel Letellier, President and Chief Executive Officer of Innergex. "By combining solar energy with advanced storage technology, we are helping Hawai'i transition to a resilient and carbon-free electric system."

The tax credit transfer was executed under the Inflation Reduction Act's (IRA) direct transfer provisions, which allow clean energy developers to monetize federal investment tax credits (ITCs) more efficiently.

Hale Kuawehi also reflects Foss & Company's expanding role in Hawaiʻi's evolving grid landscape, where dispatchable storage is vital and land constraints require integrated solar-plus-storage systems. Foss & Company continues to be a trusted partner in delivering scalable clean energy solutions in challenging markets.

Foss & Company | www.fossandco.com

Innergex | https://www.innergex.com/en

The American Clean Power Association (ACP) released the following statement from ACP CEO Jason Grumet after a preliminary injunction was granted for Revolution Wind, allowing the project to resume construction: 

“This ruling puts 1,000+ American workers back to work, finishing what they started and unlocking the energy potential of the region. This is how smart energy investment creates lasting value—good jobs today, affordable and reliable electricity for New England families at a time when it’s needed most.”

American Clean Power Association | cleanpower.org

DENIOS Canada has launched a new website, with all text in French, to better showcase their hazardous material storage containers, spill containment pallets and sumps, spill control products, facility maintenance and workplace safety products. The intuitive design, faster loading time, attractive graphics, and succinct descriptions allow users to quickly locate and purchase items of interest. A search function permits searching by term or product number, and a chat function, manned by French speaking personnel during normal business hours, is available from all pages, for immediate assistance. Users can save products to a personal notepad section then print them, forward them to colleagues, or request additional information or pricing from DENIOS. 

The new site, which features thousands of workplace safety products including a “best sellers” section which identifies the most popular products, can be viewed at https://bit.ly/New_DENIOS_Canada_website .  

While the site is designed to allow users to find products quickly, it also offers in-depth information on a wide range of workplace safety topics. A link to DENIOS Magazine allows one-click access to detailed articles, case studies, and FAQs from industry experts on topics such as hazardous materials handling and storage, workplace safety, and more.  Viewers can also sign up for the DENIOS newsletter to stay informed on industry events and company news.  

“Now our customers in Quebec and other areas can more easily find the workplace safety and environmental compliance products they are looking for,” said DENIOS representative Shannan Jones.  “This new site was designed to allow users to quickly find the best product solutions as well as detailed information, white papers, and reference materials if desired. A convenient chat feature connects users to immediate assistance.”

The new site lists thousands of workplace safety and environmental protection products for sale, with new items added weekly.  

DENIOS Canada | www.denios.ca

Monta, the EV charging software platform, announced the launch of its AI-powered Network Operation Center Agent (NOC Agent), illustrating how the company is embracing AI to transform charging network operations. Monta is already deploying it everywhere across its platform with the NOC Agent as a clear example of how automation can deliver reliability at scale and make autonomous operations a reality for network operators.

By combining advanced AI with a simple user interface, Monta is lowering the barrier for operators to benefit from automation. On any charger session, you can now get actionable insights in seconds, making AI adoption straightforward, without complex training.  Backed by one of the industry’s largest data sets, 200,000+ connected chargers, millions of monthly sessions, and hundreds of hardware integrations, Monta is taking AI to the next level.

Monta’s CEO Casper Rasmussen framed the strategy:

“The industry is excited about AI but still figuring it out, and some actors fear AI is too complex to implement. At Monta, we’re not experimenting, we’re deploying. With our AI Agent and our data backbone, we’re proving how AI makes networks smarter and easier to operate every day. This will transform the industry: small teams running thousands of chargers at higher quality than ever before. The time is now to get ready.”

AI agent turning hours into seconds

The NOC Agent is Monta’s first AI feature designed specifically for network operations. Instead of manually analyzing thousands of logs, firmware histories, and hardware manuals, operators can now ask Monta’s AI Agent to pinpoint root causes, deliver evidence, and suggest fixes instantly.

One operator in the US saw their success rate on a DC charger jump from 31.2% to 98.3% in just 25 seconds of NOC Agent analysis. This process would otherwise have taken hours of technical investigation. The breakthrough came when the agent identified a firmware mismatch that had caused recurring failures, allowing the operator to resolve the issue immediately and restore reliability.

Casper Rasmussen commented:

“Troubleshooting used to mean long nights with engineers digging through endless logs. With the NOC Agent, those hours turn into seconds. It’s not just about fixing chargers faster, it’s about redefining what operational excellence looks like in EV charging.”

AI at Scale – Not Just Experiments

Monta is not experimenting with AI. The company has embedded it across its platform, building on a unique data backbone spanning 200,000+ connected chargers, 3M monthly sessions, 700+ hardware models, and 14,000 monthly support requests.

Already today, 75% of customer support tickets are solved by Monta’s AI before reaching a human agent.

Monta’s AI models continuously learn from every charging session, firmware update, and user interaction, making the platform smarter and more autonomous over time.

Casper Rasmussen underlined Monta’s competitive edge:

“Every AI use case we’ve built got 10x better with full-stack access. Monta has an unfair data advantage and that’s exactly why our AI delivers real results in production while others are still experimenting.”

What’s Next for Charging Operations

Casper Rasmussen will share this forward-looking perspective at MOVE America in Detroit this week:

“Every industry has its inflection point where automation moves from optional to essential. In EV charging, that moment is now. Operators should no longer ask how many people they need to run a network, they should ask how small a team can run thousands of chargers with better quality than before. That is the future Monta is building.”

This new chapter marks Monta’s intent to redefine the role of network operators. Rather than being stuck in reactive troubleshooting, operators can focus on strategy, partnerships, and customer growth while Monta’s AI ensures uptime, efficiency, and resilience at scale. 

Monta | https://monta.com/en-us/

Wind Lidar has evolved with ZX Lidars’ global release of ZX 300e and the world’s first 21-200 m IEC Classification at the independent test sites of wind engineering consultants with the best possible final accuracy class and standard uncertainty of 0% at all heights. The announcement confirms that ZX 300e has exceeded the full conditions to satisfy the IEC 61400-50-2 standard, demonstrating no environmental variables to be significant and validating again that ZX Lidars are an acceptable technology for inclusion in the wide variety of wind campaigns and applications including resource assessment, site calibration and power curve measurements. An industry first; the IEC Classification has been achieved on data measured up to 200 metres from ground level including data down to just 21 m – the widest, most comprehensive Classification range of any Lidar covering 3 Lidars and 5 campaigns in total and at test sites operated by DNV, GeoNet and Pavana.

The new ZX 300e ground-based Continuous Wave wind Lidar from ZX Lidars

ZX 300e is the culmination of 15 years of evolution of the 300-series Lidar from ZX and is founded on the industry’s most validated Lidar with its own existing IEC Classification, tens of thousands of deployments, and 1,000’s of Performance Verifications at test sites around the world.

New features of ZX 300e include enhanced wind data with a new generation of Continuous Wave wind Lidar algorithms for superior accuracy, wind direction sensing, data availability and Cup-Equivalent Turbulence Intensity. With a reduced power consumption of just 44W even at -25°C, off-grid power supply fuel is better preserved and autonomy extended. A new powerful and secure web-based User Interface supports local and remote, multi-user access and system status checks.

In addition to the extensive IEC Classification that retains ZX 300e position as the industry benchmark for wind Lidar, a fleet of ZX 300e units have been verified using ‘Midar’ technology – a novel mast + Lidar approach where a vertical-profiling Lidar mounted to a 91 m mast extending traceable reference measurements far above the mast itself, and up to 300 m. The results were compelling: correlation slopes consistently within ±1%, R² greater than 0.985, and repeatability across the fleet within the narrowest ranges yet reported for a ground-based Lidar. 99.8% - 94.2% availability was achieved consistently from 20 to 300m. At 250 m, data availability exceeded 96%, and at 300 m it remained above 94%, with correlation slopes within ±1.1% and R² values again remaining greater than 0.985. This represents the first independent demonstration of a ground-based Lidar delivering consistent, low-uncertainty data at heights up to 300 m.

“It’s certainly a special moment for ZX in achieving the world’s first and best possible 21-200 metre IEC Classification for a wind Lidar along with Performance Verification up to a staggering 300 m. Moreover, I am incredibly proud of the continual product evolution that we have strived for over the past few decades. ZX 300e is the result of a passionate team who recognise that product performance and customer experience are paramount” commented Ian Locker, Managing Director at ZX Lidars. “As those of you who know ZX, we always try and take our existing owners and friends along the journey with us too, so I am delighted that ZX can support recent proud owners of ZX 300 with some exciting options too.” explained Locker.

In a very ‘ZX’ way, existing owners of ZX 300 from 1st January 2025 up to present day are invited to discuss with ZX directly options for embracing ZX 300e immediately; you can ask ZX to ‘Turn-Me-On’ as you already have the ZX 300e specification, it’s just not yet enabled!

“With ZX 300e, we raise the benchmark again” concluded Locker.

ZX 300e’s IEC Classification in addition to a full Introduction & Performance Credentials document are available by request to [email protected]

ZX Lidars | www.zxlidars.com

The Maryland Energy Administration announced the availability of $8 million to help the state’s higher education institutions install solar energy systems. Through the Higher Education Clean Energy Program, the agency aims to create sustainable, energy-efficient campuses that serve as practical learning environments and hubs for renewable energy education and job creation.

Now in its second year, the Fiscal Year 2026 Higher Education Clean Energy Program grants support solar installations, campus-level clean energy and sustainability planning, curriculum development, and workforce training across Maryland’s colleges and universities. These investments reduce carbon emissions and can prepare students with the skills and experience needed to thrive in the renewable energy and sustainability sectors.

“Higher education institutions are engines of innovation and progress, where the next generation of leaders, researchers and professionals are prepared to shape our future. They represent the cutting edge of technology and learning, and their campuses can serve as living laboratories for the ideas that move society forward,” said Maryland Energy Administration Director Paul G. Pinsky.  “By investing in clean energy and sustainability curricula, Maryland is positioning its colleges and universities to lead the transition to a decarbonized future.”

This year’s program offers up to $1 million for solar installation, $145,000 for Campus Clean Energy Master Planning, and additional bonuses for Clean Energy Sector Course Development and student internships. 

The agency is accepting applications now through November 14, 2025, at 3:00 PM ET. Full details on eligibility, program guidelines, and the application process can be found on the program webpage.

Maryland Energy Administration | https://energy.maryland.gov/Pages/default.aspx