CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--EnerTech Capital is pleased to announce that Scott Ungerer has been asked to broaden his role within the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP) to become Chairman of a new working group. As the head of the Business Sustainment Plan Working Group, Ungerer will lead the planning and implementation of the transition of the SGIP from a fully government-funded entity toward a privately-funded organization.
“I’m very excited to have this new and more involved role with the SGIP,” said Ungerer. “Efficient energy use and Grid reliability, interactivity and functionality are all very important to our national energy security, and SGIP is enabling all Smart Grid stakeholders to work together to accomplish our common goal as quickly and efficiently as possible, including collaboration with similar organizations across the world.”
The NIST formed the SGIP in 2009 to help the energy industry grow the Smart Grid; bringing together manufacturers, consumers, energy providers, and regulators to coordinate development of a framework that includes protocols and model standards for information management to achieve interoperability of Smart Grid devices and systems. “Interoperable standards” ensure that technologies created for the Smart Grid are compatible. More than 700 organizations are working within the SGIP to provide guidance for the Smart Grid.
Ungerer was elected to the Governing Board of the SGIP in January 2010. The Governing Board is responsible for ensuring the SGIP is running smoothly, recruiting new industry experts for advisement, and engaging the industry for compliance.
Ungerer is also Co-Chairman of the Communication, Marketing and Education Working Group of the SGIP Governing Board, which has responsibility for membership recruitment, retention, and engagement. The group also acts as a “spokesperson” for the industry. While primarily promoting the definition and importance of “interoperability,” it also plays a key role in helping broader audiences to better understand the scope and significance of the Smart Grid itself.
“As the representative of the Venture Capital industry on the Board, I am honored to bring my industry’s perspective to this all important mission,” says Ungerer, “Plus it allows me to directly engage with the broad eco-system of stakeholders that designs, builds, operates and finances the most impactful infrastructure modernization program in contemporary times.”
In addition to his role with the SGIP, Ungerer has nearly 20 years of experience investing in energy technology and clean energy companies across the entire energy value chain, from down-hole sensing technologies in oil & gas to control technologies for power consuming devices.
Ungerer continues his leadership role as a Managing Director and the Founder of EnerTech Capital where, as a result of the recent first closing on its fourth flagship fund, EnerTech Capital Partners IV, L.P., he is currently exploring technology investments in the following areas: smart grid, central and distributed generation, environmental systems, customer energy management and transportation.
Ungerer is also Chairman of The Nanosteel Company and sits on the boards of CURRENT Group and Tangent Energy Solutions. He is also a member, and recent past Chairman, of the Venture Capital Advisory Board for the National Renewable Energy Lab. He received a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Princeton University.
About EnerTech
EnerTech Capital is a private investment firm focused on innovation in the energy and power industries: early to mid stage companies that offer products or services that dramatically improve the profitability of producing or consuming energy. Founded in 1996, the firm has managed approximately $450 million and has delivered 30 exits. EnerTech is currently investing out of its fourth fund and has offices in Philadelphia, Toronto, and Calgary (summer 2012).