The third conversation in our Sustainability Leadership Series features Hampus Jildenbäck, marketing director at Flower, the Swedish clean tech firm using AI to optimize battery storage and bring stability to renewable energy grids.
“If we want a society that runs on solar and wind power, there will be a lot of volatility in the energy supply because you never know when the wind is going to blow or the sun is going to shine,” explained Hampus Jildenbäck, the marketing director of Flower when describing why the Swedish clean tech firm exists.
Flower’s founder, John Diklev, launched the startup in 2020 to build an AI-driven platform that would make the energy system as efficient as possible, to ensure that energy grids powered by renewables don’t cause any problems, said Jildenbäck. “As this kind of energy can't be controlled or paused, it means our grids always need to have production matching consumption. With more volatile solar and wind power, there’s an increasing need for flexibility in terms of energy storage and supply. That’s why Flower is all about flexible energy through battery optimization.”
“Batteries are by far the most efficient and flexible option. By making use of energy that has already been generated, batteries mean that extra stored power can be dispatched to where it needs to be in seconds. Whereas, if we were to use hydro or nuclear power as backup power sources to cover gaps in sudden wind and solar supply, they could take minutes to start producing more electricity. There would be a potentially devastating time delay.”
Flower’s proprietary platform ensures that electricity grids can run on renewables without the kind of blackouts recently experienced in Spain. Its customers are the owners of battery storage farms—officially known as battery energy storage systems (BESS). These are often infrastructure funds, but can also be energy companies and large manufacturers that have created their own power supplies, or even governments, in countries where the energy supply is a public asset. Flower uses its platform to take over the daily running of each BESS, with the aim of making it as efficient and reliable as possible, enabling the green energy revolution while maximizing the owner’s revenue generation.
To ensure there is always a steady energy supply, the platform works by gathering and analyzing data, thanks to the power of AI. “It collects three main types of data,” said Jildenbäck. “The first is obviously related to the weather. The next is trading data from the energy markets, which are run like financial markets. And the third is consumer data, in terms of how much electricity people are using and when.
“For example, our platform collects data from electric vehicle chargers, so we can understand on an aggregated level how much power is being charged at any given point during the day. From this information, we can do things to keep the grid going, like shut off the EV chargers for 10 or 30 seconds, if the energy system doesn’t have enough capacity to keep them running.”
Recognized by UNESCO World Engineering Day as a Global Pioneer for Sustainable Development, Flower was dreamt up by Diklev while he was studying engineering in Stockholm and on a placement with Sweden’s largest utility company. He pitched the idea to his then-employers, but they did not share his vision, so he duly set up his own.
Just five years later, the Flower team is using the company’s platform to optimize the largest portfolio of battery farms across Sweden. For example, in 2022, in a first-of-its-kind partnership with project developer Ellevio Energy Solutions, Flower set up the first BESS to balance the Swedish energy grid, in the industrial town of Grums, to the west of Stockholm, and has been running it ever since.
The platform’s biggest test came in June 2024, when a nuclear power plant at Forsmark on the Swedish coast was taken out of operation, meaning the entire energy grid could easily have gone down. However, the BESS at Grums released stored energy from renewable sources and stabilized the supply, proving the value and power of Flower’s unique technology.
After so much success at home, the plan is to take Flower’s technology to other countries.
“First, we want to make the whole energy system of Europe more efficient and, at the same time, create financial incentives that enable mass investment in the building of solar and wind power,” said Jildenbäck. “As well as reducing emissions and accelerating the move to low-carbon energy, consumers will benefit from affordable and reliable power. Everyone will win.”
To learn how Flower is making renewable energy reliable with AI-optimized battery storage—and why that matters for the future of Europe’s grid, visit flower.se.
Catch up on other interviews in our Sustainability Leadership Series: