CleanSpark completes strategic acquisition of energy software firm GridFabric

CleanSpark Inc (NASDAQ:CLSK), a diversified software and services company, announced Monday it has completed a strategic acquisition of GridFabric LLC.  Also, principals of GridFabric — Ben Dupont and Matt Hale — will be joining the CleanSpark team.  GridFabric creates software solutions that help power utilities and IoT (Internet of Things) products that manage energy loads. The GridFabric team created the original open-source Open Automated Demand Response (OpenADR) standard released by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). OpenADR 2.0b is now the basis for the standard to be developed by the International Electrotechnical Commission.  READ: CleanSpark inks microgrid development agreement with International Land Alliance GridFabric's core products are Canvas and Plaid. Canvas is an OpenADR 2.0b Virtual Top Node (VTN) built for testing and managing Virtual End Nodes (VENs) that are piloting and running load shifting programs. Canvas is offered to customers in the cloud as a SaaS solution or as licensed software. Plaid is a licensed software solution that allows any internet-connected product that uses energy (ie Solar, Storage & Inverters, Demand Response, EV Charging, Lighting, Industrial controls, Building Management Systems) to add load shifting capabilities by translating load shifting protocols into their existing APIs.  Companies that implement Plaid get a Certified OpenADR 2.0b Virtual End Node (VEN) as though they built it from scratch. GridFabric has facilitated dozens of Plaid integrations with companies of all sizes, ranging from major utilities to companies offering custom IOT energy solutions, saving customers time and money. CleanSpark said it will utilize GridFabric's communications protocols as an integral part of its Demand Response offerings integrated into mPulse. Within the coming months, the two companies will be launching a solution for the Standard for Smart Energy Profile Application known as IEEE 2030.5. This standard has been selected as the default protocol for the California microgrid industry. "We believe that the acquisition of GridFabric further positions CleanSpark to continue to outperform our competitors by more rapidly advancing our Demand Response programs integrated into our industry-leading mPulse distributed energy controls platform," said CleanSpark CEO Zachary Bradford in a statement.  "Retaining GridFabric's software technology and expert staff is a logical extension of our business model. This transaction will provide multiple opportunities to deliver additional value and add revenue streams through mPulse driven Demand Response programs to our existing customers. Understanding the widely accepted OpenADR standard, we quickly recognized the need for a provider."  Bradford added: "After an extensive evaluation process, we believe we secured the premier provider in this space, further enhancing CleanSpark's technological advantages. GridFabric also brings a significant 'built-in' client base that we believe will immediately provide cross-selling opportunities for CleanSpark's core product lines.” Contact the author: patrick@proactiveinvestors.com Follow him on Twitter @PatrickMGraham