MILLBRAE, Calif., Oct. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Saint-Gobain and Stem, Inc., the global leader in artificial intelligence (AI)-powered energy storage, announces the commencement of Saint-Gobain’s first investments in intelligent energy storage services in the U.S., starting at its  Garden Grove, California manufacturing facility.

Saint-Gobain, one of the world’s largest building materials companies and manufacturer of innovative material solutions, has been a technology leader in a wide array of engineered materials since it was founded outside of Paris, France in 1665. AI-powered energy storage will form a growing strategy within Saint-Gobain’s corporate energy and sustainability strategies in the U.S., one that stretches from its operations to its products.

In fact, products of Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics (SGPPL), a member of Saint-Gobain’s family of companies, serves the renewable energy markets, providing highly innovative engineered solutions to meet global energy demand growth. At this first installation site, SGPPL’s Garden Grove location, Saint-Gobain will use Stem’s 500 kilowatt (KW) AI-powered energy storage system to anticipate the facility’s energy demand, helping to avoid a “demand charge” that comprises nearly fifty percent of a site’s monthly bill. The corporate sustainability leader plans for Garden Grove to be the first of many additional AI-powered energy storage systems across its U.S. facilities.

“Stem’s artificial intelligence, backed by long project development experience, is in line with the innovative technology spirit that we celebrate at Saint-Gobain, which helps us adapt to changing electricity rates and markets,” said Ryan Spies, Manager of Energy and Sustainability of Saint-Gobain. “Stem’s automated services leads to an easy and intuitive savings technique to help us better control our energy use while contributing to community sustainability goals.”

Eduardo Martinez, Facilities Manager at the Garden Grove site, said, “As a global manufacturing site that is focused on environment, health and safety, we are always looking to make sustainable changes to protect the environment and Stem’s artificial intelligence is a key part of our energy conservation initiatives.”

The Garden Grove site houses the Seals, Process Systems and Sekurit businesses, which manufacture sealing and polymer products, tubing products and automotive glazing products respectively. The site’s system joins the world’s largest network of energy storage systems, owned by Stem, which enables customers like Saint-Gobain to participate in a marketplace of additional utility-facing services when the system is not needed onsite. When heatwaves and wildfires strain the grid, Stem’s systems are dispatched repeatedly, providing Southern California Edison additional power needed in the highly-congested West Los Angeles basin. Since commencing operation in July 2018, the Saint-Gobain Garden Grove site has participated numerous times in heat wave relief in addition to performing onsite energy bill savings.

“Saint-Gobain is a recognized leader in sustainability planning and innovation,” said John Carrington, CEO of Stem, Inc. “We’re proud to support industrial leaders like these who want to strategically invest in Stem’s Athena AI platform to enhance their energy management—without intervention in their operations—allowing them to focus on what they do best.”

Stem has the largest project finance pool among its peers, now over US$650 million, enabling Stem’s 900+ energy storage systems under management across six states and three countries (U.S., Japan, and Canada). Athena™, Stem’s cutting-edge AI, is the first of its kind for customer-sited energy storage, performing real-time energy optimization that reduces onsite peak demand and enabling customers to participate via Stem’s networks to access additional services and value streams.

About Stem, Inc.
Stem creates innovative technology services that transform the way energy is distributed and consumed. Athena™ by Stem is the first AI for energy storage and virtual power plants. It optimizes the timing of energy use and facilitates consumers’ participation in energy markets, yielding economic and societal benefits while decarbonizing the grid. The company’s mission is to build and operate the smartest and largest digitally-connected energy storage network for our customers. Headquartered in Millbrae, California, Stem is directly funded by a consortium of leading investors including Activate Capital, Angeleno Group, BNP Paribas, Constellation Technology Ventures, Iberdrola (Inversiones Financieras Perseo), GE Ventures, Magnesium Capital, Mithril Capital Management, Mitsui & Co. LTD., Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, RWE Supply & Trading, Temasek, and Total Energy Ventures. Visit www.stem.com for more information.

About Saint-Gobain in North America 
Saint-Gobain, one of the world’s largest building materials companies and manufacturer of innovative material solutions, helps create great living spaces by combining comfort and sustainability. For more than three-and-a-half centuries, Saint-Gobain has been enhancing the wellbeing of people everywhere, whether it’s by addressing climate change, delivering true sustainable development, advancing the information revolution, participating in medical breakthroughs or playing a vital role in space exploration.

In North America, Saint-Gobain has approximately 150 locations and more than 15,000 employees. In the United States and Canada, Saint-Gobain reported sales of approximately $6.1 billion in 2017. Learn more about Saint-Gobain North America by visiting www.saint-gobain-northamerica.com and connect with Saint-Gobain North America on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Media Contacts
Ian Martorana
The Bulleit Group for Stem
863-581-2111
Stem@bulleitgroup.com

Saint-Gobain in North America:
Dina Silver Pokedoff, APR
610-341-7031 (office)
484-919-2103 (mobile)
dina.pokedoff@saint-gobain.com

Rebecca Phan
Saint-Gobain Seals
714-343-9451
Rebecca.phan@saint-gobain.com

© 2018 Stem, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Stem and the Stem logo are registered trademarks of Stem Incorporated in the U.S.