CORSIO

Corsio, a Hoboken-based IT company, will use the funding to develop PWRFULL, an AI-driven platform that facilitates the creation, optimisation and management of energy communities. 
The platform will make energy sharing simple and natural, enabling businesses to produce, consume, and share their renewable energy.

Energy sharing involves multiple users exchanging locally generated green energy, such as solar or wind power. In practice, however, numerous obstacles remain. To overcome these, the Hoboken-based IT company Corsio has developed PWRFULL in collaboration with energy cooperative ZuidtrAnt: an AI-driven platform that facilitates the start-up, optimisation and management of energy communities. Thanks to PWRFULL, energy sharing becomes straightforward. This enables companies to produce, consume and share their renewable energy optimally. Reason enough for the city of Antwerp to financially support this innovation project.

What is PWRFULL?

Alain: 'Given my background in data and AI, I developed the first version of the platform when an energy community was established at the HIW Terbekehof business park in Wilrijk. We quickly realised its potential. That's why we refined the concept and developed it into PWRFULL: a platform that supports energy communities throughout their start-up, management, and optimisation processes. In concrete terms, this means that business parks are completely relieved of the burden of sharing renewable energy.'

What business needs are solved by PWRFULL?

Many companies want to generate their green energy and use it locally, but lack the time and resources to organise this effectively. Often, there is nobody to oversee the management, let alone establish an energy community.

Alain: 'Today, every company has its energy contract. Some have solar panels or batteries, but no one coordinates their energy production and consumption. Consequently, surplus electricity is often simply fed into the grid, and sometimes companies even have to pay for that. With PWRFULL, companies are given a tool to optimise their energy consumption. They can sell their surplus electricity to other local companies at a fair price calculated automatically by the platform."

How does that work?

Alain: 'PWRFULL measures how much energy is produced and consumed on an industrial estate, and coordinates that data. This happens automatically, based on smart algorithms that take supply and demand fluctuations into account. Thanks to financial support from the City of Antwerp, we have made the platform scalable and secure, including in terms of data security, anonymisation, and access management. After all, one company does not need to know how much energy another company consumes.'

The platform is unique in combining a large database with external sources. It shows not only your consumption and production, but also what is happening on the market, and the expected sunshine that day, according to data from the Royal Meteorological Institute. This allows you to manage your energy much more accurately.

What would you like to achieve in the short term?

Alain: Our goal is to help 140 companies and three business parks set up energy communities within three years. The biggest challenge is bringing business leaders together. However, once they understand what is possible, they are usually very enthusiastic. It's not just about sustainability; it's also about cost savings and efficiency.'

And long term?

Alain: “The next step is to link PWRFULL to an energy management system. Then you get notifications such as: Now is the ideal time to charge your electric car. This way, we create a smart ecosystem that constantly optimises itself.'