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The primary goal of the Technology Priority Maps (TPMs) is to provide a framework to help CalNEXT identify high priority needs across utility service areas. They capture the emerging technology areas of the investor–owned utility program portfolios and help inform the project types that CalNEXT selects to implement.
The current TPMs were developed in 2020. The CalNEXT team is updating these TPMs over the course of the 2022 calendar year and will be releasing them as they are completed.
For more details, download the full Technology Priority Maps and Appendix PDFs.
This broad category includes electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), white good appliances, home entertainment and office equipment, medical equipment, and miscellaneous plug loads.
Decoupled ventilation and heating/cooling systems incorporating low energy technologies with advanced design and control features—including heat recovery ventilators, variable refrigerant flow systems, chilled beams, and radiant systems—are leading the movement for greater efficiency gains.
Advanced controls, system integration, and fault detection are gaining importance in advancing building energy efficiency and occupant comfort. Non-compressor and variable capacity compressor technologies, and sustainable refrigerants are also emerging areas of interest.
LEDs and related controls have demonstrated the ability to achieve high efficacies and connectivity between lighting, window shades, and other building systems. New research into the role lighting plays on physical well-being of occupants may push requests for increases in total installed lighting power, making continued development in easily installed, programmed, and tested lighting controls imperative to prevent achieved lighting demand reductions from backsliding. OLED hardware remains an immature but advancing technology. LEDs and connected lighting controls continue to draw consumer and operator interest for their non-energy benefits.
Signage and indoor agricultural lighting have emerged as practical energy-saving opportunities.
Advanced controls, variable speed compressors and fans, and hybrid condensing units provide flexibility and load management opportunities that have not previously been available.
Employing sensors to gather data and leveraging existing data collection sources with advanced data analytics will provide cost-effective opportunities for efficiency improvements in wastewater and water treatment, water delivery, and water use processes.
New applications of heat recovery technologies in the food processing industry have the potential to reduce energy and water consumption.
Water heating electrification using heat pump water heater (HPWH) technologies represents one of the major strategies to achieve deep greenhouse gas emission reductions from buildings. Driven by this strategic goal, active research and development efforts are underway to advance HPWH equipment, grid-interactive load control technologies, and system integration solutions.
The continued expansion of energy storage and other distributed energy resources (DERs), as well as the emergence of building demand flexibility as an important design attribute, help support California’s legislation and decarbonization goals. Maintaining building performance and integrating systems to achieve ongoing energy management information systems.
Project submissions will be scored by the CalNEXT Team based on the following criteria:
Projects are eligible for a high score in this criteria category if they have a strong benefit to utilities.
It is important that you answer the Idea intake form questions with as complete an answer as possible to ensure full evaluation of the Idea. We recognize that you might be performing research to answer some of the project questions, especially in the Quality of Idea/Project category. We request that you indicate this within your answers.
Idea submissions will be evaluated based on their likelihood to be developed into a project by meeting the above criteria.
Yes, and we recommend that you prepare your answers before using the online form, as your answers may not be saved if you leave the session and come back to it later. Here are the links to the PDFs of each form:
Yes, all ideas will be acknowledged and if a project has sufficient information to move to scoring, evaluators will provide comments and feedback on the idea during scoring as necessary. These include:
Projects may be selected, deferred, or rejected. Ideas will be deferred if the idea is strong, but is not the right fit with the program at a particular time. Ideas will be rejected if they do not meet the program scope or evaluation criteria.
Ideas or Project submissions can be submitted at any time, but they will only be evaluated once a quarter. You can find the current submission deadline listed on the How to Participate page.
All idea proposers will receive an email response with information on the selection status of their idea.
The types of projects that fall under the CalNEXT Program include, but are not limited to: verifying a technology’s technical claims, understanding the market barriers, or assessing a technology’s ability to provide savings for the IOU (investor-owned utilities) portfolios at scale, and evaluating new program approaches.
Project ideas that are not in scope include:
If your project is selected, we will provide funding and implementation support from our team of partners. The funding is meant to cover the costs of implementation and any equipment that would need to be purchased as part of the project. This funding ranges for different projects. We also support projects that leverage co-funding from other Emerging Technologies (or similar) programs.
The ETP categories are based on qualitative ratings, energy efficiency performance, and four key factors from the 2020 TPMS: energy efficiency performance, demand flexibility, codes and standards alignment, and decarbonization potential. Those all receive qualitative ratings from subject matter experts (SMEs) and are subject to utility feedback. Then, that flows up to prioritization based on other programs’ focus.
Project and field sites need to be in the CA IOU electric service area, which includes CCAs in CA. There is an exception for lab demonstrations. Your product or solution can be developed in other regions, but you must justify the benefits specific to CA (climate zones or specific to CA buildings) since this is a CA ratepayer-funded program. Your company can be based outside of CA, but the site test demo, site demo, or field installation (where the project is being tested) must be based in CA.
Not necessarily, but having a project site identified will make your submission stronger. If you do not yet have a site identified, please clarify in your submission how you intend to recruit a site, whether you will need CalNEXT partner support to find a site, and whether your site recruitment is part of your project scope.
CalNEXT will not take equity and there is no intent to take any ideas. To receive the funding and implement a project, you will need to be under contract with Energy Solutions and abide by SCE terms and conditions.
It depends on the project. Please plan for at least two weeks of contracting review.
You can expect to have one of the partner teams assigned to support you throughout the process. For more details, please refer to the Participant Expectations Guide.
Projects may be deferred for a variety of reasons: