At a recent roundtable meeting, it was revealed how Whiffle and Levi9 intend to apply their expertise to solve complex challenges in the energy market. Aimed at CxOs from a range of industries, the session provided an insight into Whiffle’s unique predictive models and the technological solutions offered by Levi9.
Whiffle is renowned for its hyper-localized weather forecasting and simulations with unprecedented precision. Rather than traditional weather stations, the company uses what is known as a Large Eddy Simulation (LES) model that harnesses computer power to focus on air currents as a means of accurately predicting complex weather patterns. Currently, these advanced simulations focus on trade in the energy market and can accurately predict the performance of wind and solar farms.
During the session, Thijs van Winden, CTO at Whiffle, made it clear how the company’s combination of AI and physics can eradicate uncertainty in weather forecasting. To illustrate this, he cited a recent example of negative energy prices caused by unexpectedly large amounts of wind and sun. Whiffle’s models enable energy companies to anticipate fluctuations of this kind more effectively, resulting in immediate financial benefits.
The role played by Levi9
Levi9 Technology Services has been instrumental in enabling access to Whiffle’s deep tech intelligence. When the first version proved not to be scalable, Whiffle worked with Levi9 on the development of a platform that enables customers to run simple simulations and optimize wind farms. The platform, developed in the space of ten weeks, offers a user-friendly, click & play solution.
The collaboration with Levi9 makes it possible for Whiffle to offer the service at a fraction of the original costs, something seen as incredible by many customers. By simplifying the complex processes, Levi9 has helped Whiffle to widen its customer base and more effectively upscale its technology.
Use and opportunities for growth
A key aspect of what Whiffle offers is the insight it provides into the financial impact that changes in the weather have on energy yields. For example, in the case of an existing offshore wind farm, Whiffle’s LES model can predict what the effect would be of building one or several additional wind farms around it. The resulting wind shadow can reduce the yield of the first wind farm by as much as 40 percent. Insights of this kind are crucial for energy companies such as Eneco and Shell, enabling them to make better informed decisions on whether or not to participate in tenders for new wind and solar farms.
Whiffle is already active in real-time weather forecasting for energy companies and envisages opportunities for growth in other weather-sensitive sectors, such as aviation and agriculture.
The combination of advanced forecasting and scalable technology could open the door to even more innovative applications. Participants at the roundtable discussion saw plenty of potential: “Why not sell the calculations to companies that stock confectionery and drink vending machines, enabling them to plan their route based on which vending machines are exposed to the sun? Supermarkets are also regular users of weather models. This includes Walmart, which monitors forecasts at the time of the Superbowl in order to decide how many barbecues it should purchase.” Whiffle’s technology also has the potential to transform various markets.
Powerful combination
Whiffle is currently in search of investors to accelerate the company’s growth. However, further growth will require the availability of more GPUs. Across the world, there are more than 50,000 wind farms that generate a total of 150 GW. Hundreds of simulations are run for every new wind park. The same applies when wind parks change ownership.
For a new wind farm, as many as 20,000 to 30,000 different configurations are calculated in order to achieve the optimum layout, the best of which can then be compared with each other using Whiffle technology. With its 45 employees and support from Levi9, Whiffle will be able to further expand programming capacity and certification of its SaaS. There is a huge potential, with opportunities to grow to ten times its current size by meeting current and future market needs.
The collaboration between Whiffle and Levi9 represents a powerful combination of specialist meteorological knowledge and experience in building and upscaling technological solutions. With their innovative approach and advanced technologies, they not only have the wind in their sails, but the combined power to unleash a veritable technological storm that will transform the future of numerous sectors.
