Hi guys! Marina Ventura here.

Map App and I are on a mission to explore how we might generate our own electricity in the future… and distribute it to local people around us.

Wanna come too? Excellent!

We’ve seen how batteries can stash away energy for later, like giant rechargeable treasure chests. But if we’re going to build thousands of local micro-grids, we’re going to need some seriously clever technology to bring them to life.W

Joining the team today are Captain Prosumer, Battery Buddy, Captain Car Charger, and… the mysterious mastermind… Artificial Intelligence!

Captain Prosumer

An engineer in a hard hat at a solar farm

The word prosumer is a mash-up of two words – Producer and Consumer. In the old days, most people simply bought electricity from the grid. They were consumers. But as more and more homes have solar panels, when the sun shines… they make electricity, which means they’re producers as well. And if they generate more electricity than they need, they can send spare electricity back into the network to help neighbours nearby.

It’s like having your very own well that other people can use too! So… why can’t we all share our electricity around now? The challenge is that the old grid was designed as a one-way street and still largely works this way. If thousands of houses suddenly start sending electricity back into that grid for others to use, all at the same time, things get complicated – without a way to share it out, it could get wasted or damage the grid itself. That’s why engineers are creating a Smart Grid that can manage electricity travelling in both directions.

Battery Buddy

When homes generate more electricity than the family needs, powerful batteries can store it for later… Like putting leftovers in the fridge!

Then at night, when the sun has gone to bed or if there’s no wind, the battery can provide power for the home. And racing to help reach our future destination is another superhero…

Captain Car Charger

An electric car parked at a charging station

Electric cars are actually giant batteries on wheels. Normally electricity flows into the car to power the wheels. But special bi-directional chargers let electricity travel both ways, so your car can power other things as well.

You can already plug things directly into your car… things like camping fridges, laptops, lights and even power tools. It’s like a mobile power station!

But if your home electricity supply is interrupted, your car could also help keep your home running… lights on, fridge cold, devices charged.

A robot head, representing artificial intelligence

And if you wanted to go bigger… your electric car, along with thousands of others, could work together to help support the wider electricity network during busy periods.

It’s a mastermind… Artificial Intelligence

AI is like a super-fast robot brain. It can spot patterns, make predictions and help keep the grid running smoothly. With by studying weather forecasts and energy habits, it can work out how much electricity people will need. If tomorrow is going to be very hot, AI knows people might switch on lots of fans and air conditioners.

So it gets ready in advance, and plans for when electricity will be generated in real time and when it will need a battery boost. Like an orchestra conductor making sure every instrument joins at the right moment.

Another amazing thing about AI is that it’s also a Grid Doctor – monitoring cables, transformers and equipment, and looking for signs that something might be going wrong.

“IT’S THE MIGHTY MICRO GRIDDERS!”

Hi Marina, we need your help. You’ve talked about things like solar panels and electric cars – but not everyone has those, so what else could we use at home to make energy to share?

The exciting thing is that right now people are coming up with all sorts of new ideas for tech to help – and it doesn’t have to be super-sized! Maybe you could have a generator on your skateboard, or kinetic pad on the footpath to capture energy from people walking past. In your plan, have a think about other ways that we could generate electricity and where you would put them!