“Buildings Are the Key to Stable Grids”

Interview with Thomas Bajas, Co-founder and Chief Growth Officer (CGO) of Tilt Energy

Mr. Bajas, how and when did the idea for Tilt Energy come up?

Tilt Energy was founded in January 2023 by Romain Serres (CEO) and Guillaume Louat (COO). Romain is an engineer with extensive startup experience. During his studies at Columbia University, he conducted research on AI and flexibility. Guillaume brought expertise in energy infrastructure finance. Together, they decided to address one of the industry’s most important, yet often underestimated challenges: the flexibility of decentralized energy resources.

I was the startup’s first investor and joined the board in spring 2023. At the end of 2024, I officially came on board as co-founder and Chief Growth Officer. Our vision is to develop technology that optimizes electricity consumption, drawing just the right amount of power at the optimal time for the grid, the environment and your electricity bill – much like fitting the pieces together in a game of Tetris.

©Tilt Energy

That is a great analogy. Who is your target group and what exactly do you offer them?

Tilt Energy is an AI-powered platform designed to activate demand flexibility at scale. We empower building and asset owners, energy managers and utilities, by connecting decentralized generators and consumers to the energy system and providing flexibility services. In practice, we shift electricity consumption in response to external signals such as electricity prices or grid load, helping to balance consumption and generation across the grid. This also reduces CO₂ emissions, since fewer fossil fuel plants need to be ramped up, making the energy transition more economically viable by cutting energy costs and, in some cases, even creating new revenue streams.

What software and hardware solutions do customers need to use your services?

All we really need are the customer’s historical consumption data and a connection to the relevant asset or energy management system. The customer simply needs to have networked electrical systems and devices, such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, EV charging stations, photovoltaic installations or battery storage. That is all it takes to participate.

Why are buildings so important for the energy transition and grid stability?

Buildings are quite literally at the center of the energy transition. They account for more than 40 percent of Europe’s total energy consumption. That is why they must first be electrified, especially by replacing fossil-fuel heating with heat pumps. Once that is done, flexible consumption control – based on grid load and price signals – can increase the share of renewables in the grid. Flexibility is critical on both sides: It delivers savings and income that make green electricity more competitive with fossil gas and ensures that renewable energy is used more efficiently. Buildings also play a key role in grid stability.

Which applications offer the greatest flexibility potential in buildings?

Storage systems will likely always offer the greatest potential, as they have the lowest trade-off between yield and comfort. However, their rollout will probably be gradual and there is a natural ceiling. In contrast, EVs and heat pumps are spreading much more quickly, as they serve purposes beyond flexibility. With smart algorithms that do not compromise comfort or usability, these assets provide significant flexibility potential and will be installed on a much larger scale in the future.

How is flexibility traded and who benefits?

Flexibility can be traded at various stages before electricity delivery. The timings differ depending on the energy market – from day-ahead and intraday markets to different types of balancing energy. Energy and capacity markets help balance the grid while rewarding flexibility providers. Electricity consumers benefit from reduced bills or the opportunity to share additional income with the aggregator, and grid operators from reduced grid congestion and lower investment needs. The entire system sees lower price volatility, more renewables in the grid and a reduced risk of blackouts.

Which European countries are you currently operating in and where have you encountered obstacles?

France is currently our most advanced market. We manage several hundred sites there and can control tens of thousands of assets based on grid and market signals, especially in commercial buildings with customers such as Carrefour or Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield.

France currently has some of the most progressive flexibility regulations, making its market an ideal testbed for us to further develop our technology – from forecasting and aggregation to direct marketing of flexibility.

We already sell parts of our platform to utilities in other countries, helping them balance supply and demand more effectively. This approach prevents grid congestion, reduces price fluctuations and enables greater integration of renewables – challenges that need to be met across all European countries.

What are your company’s goals for the next three years?

Our goal is to manage one gigawatt of flexible capacity by 2030 – roughly equivalent to the output of a nuclear power plant. While our current focus is on France, we also plan to expand our presence in other European countries to become one of Europe’s leading providers of demand-side flexibility solutions.

Interview by Niels H. Petersen.