When Renault launches its new electric Renault 5 later this year, the car will come with a revolutionary feature – the ability to sell power back to the electrical grid when plugged in at home.
This "vehicle-to-grid" (V2G) capability could help reduce owners' energy bills while supporting the integration of renewable energy. Making this complex system work required bringing together three innovative companies, including triPica, a Paris-based software startup that's positioning itself at the intersection of energy and mobility.
The V2G partnership announced in November 2024 combines Renault's electric vehicles and Mobilize Power charging stations, The Mobility House's energy trading technology, and triPica's billing and customer relationship management platform. While Renault provides the hardware - both cars and chargers - The Mobility House determines when vehicles should charge or discharge based on grid conditions and energy prices. triPica's role is making all of this transparent and seamless for customers, handling the complex billing that tracks both consumption and power sales back to the grid.
"We provide what is going to be very visible for the customer in the end - that's what they're going to pay in their energy bill," said Mathieu Horn, triPica's CEO. The company's AI-powered platform enables instant monetization of electricity reinjected into the home or sold back during periods of high demand.
For triPica, the V2G partnership represents a prime example of how energy and mobility markets are being disrupted by new technologies and business models. Founded in 2016 and primarily bootstrapped until now, the company has built a flexible software-as-a-service platform that can handle complex billing and customer management for both energy and telecom providers. Horn sees a massive opportunity as these sectors undergo rapid transformation.
"The energy sector was a very stable place for a very long time. And now there are all these innovations starting," Horn said. "It's a bit like telecom with 20 years apart. The innovation is starting now, and they are facing issues with their IT stack because it has been built like 10-15 years ago for the big players."
New Energy
Traditional utility billing systems were designed for a simpler world where meters were read once or twice a year. But the growth of smart meters, which provide readings every 15 minutes, combined with innovations like dynamic pricing and V2G, require much more sophisticated capabilities. Many incumbent systems simply can't handle these new requirements.
"Their IT stack is not ready for a world of smart meters," Horn said. "When you want to introduce all those new pricing methods, like dynamic pricing where you charge exactly depending on how you consume, with prices coming from the spot market, when you want to do things like Mobilize Power where you inject power back into the grid - obviously the IT stack is not ready to do that."
This technological gap creates an opening for triPica's platform. The company has structured its software with a core set of microservices that can be customized for different industries and use cases. For the V2G project, triPica was able to quickly adapt its energy sector blueprint to handle the novel requirements.
"When we do V2G, there is very little we have to do in the core," Horn said. "We took the blueprint and basically upgraded that code so that it can be available for our customer The Mobility House, but it's also now available in the product for other players."
The V2G implementation required triPica to integrate two key data streams - traditional energy consumption data from the grid, plus charging session data from Mobilize Power wall boxes that track when cars are plugged in and discharging power. The company's platform then calculates customer bills incorporating both standard energy charges and credits for power sold back to the grid.
The company's platform is also powered by artificial intelligence capabilities that enhance customer service and operational efficiency, Horn said.
The AI system acts as a co-pilot for customer service agents, analyzing customer data to provide instant account summaries and actionable recommendations.
"When you're a new agent, or you're getting trained, or you know, those people are moving a lot, they need to go faster in understanding what's the situation of the customer," Horn said.
The system includes an AI-driven customer scoring feature and can generate comprehensive account overviews with a single click. For example, the AI can instantly identify when a customer has accumulated significant debt and provide relevant context and suggested actions.
It's part of triPica's broader strategy of using AI to boost productivity while improving service quality.
"We try not to get dazzled by the AI technology," Horn noted. "We strongly believe that the key capabilities for success revolve around talent and process excellence. You need to have specific skills, such as data science, general enthusiasm for innovation, and the ability to reimagine and implement new approaches."
Energy Ecosystem
The Mobility House was founded 15 years ago with a vision of enabling zero-emission, zero-cost vehicle charging. Founded in Germany, the company established itself as a pioneer in optimizing energy storage and charging systems, gradually building expertise in both traditional EV charging and vehicle-grid integration (VGI).
The company has evolved into a multifaceted operation, becoming one of Germany's leading retailers of home charging stations while also developing sophisticated solutions for fleet management, including synchronized charging systems for electric bus fleets.
The Mobility House's core mission ties directly to the broader energy transition taking place globally.
"The founder of the company funded it with the idea to enable customers to charge at zero emission and zero cost," said Mobility House Director Antonin Coliche. "V2G is a key solution to the challenges in the energy and mobility transition towards green electricity. We are really working with mainly automotive companies - OEMs of course, but also utilities - so we can help them create value from flexibility, wherever the flexibility comes from. That's a core value of The Mobility House."
The Mobility House's technology enables it to determine optimal times for vehicles to charge or discharge based on grid conditions and energy market prices. This expertise made it a natural partner for Renault's V2G initiative, where it provides the critical intelligence that decides when connected vehicles should draw power from the grid or feed it back.
But when it came to the software and consumer interface, Coliche said Mobility House knew it needed a partner – and immediately recognized triPica's potential. He said that triPica's agility was a key factor in selecting them as a partner.
The entire V2G project came together quickly. While Renault spent years developing the bi-directional charging capabilities for the Renault 5, the software integration between The Mobility House and triPica took just three to four months. This speed was essential given the planned launch of the vehicle in 2024.
"When we met triPica with their system, which is quite agile and also real-time, we thought it was a good match," Colice said. "We are really doing an innovative product, and innovation means agility. What you do, no one has done before, so you will discover issues or challenges and you need to react."
Energy Innovation
Looking ahead, triPica sees V2G as just one example of how energy markets are being transformed. The company is expanding beyond its base in France and Germany, with plans to enter Italy next year. It's also beginning to attract attention from major utilities who recognize they need new technological capabilities to support innovations like community solar projects and microgrid management.
Horn believes triPica's combination of deep industry expertise and modern, flexible technology positions it perfectly to capitalize on this market evolution. The company has been profitable since shortly after its founding but is now considering raising venture capital in 2025 to accelerate its expansion – particularly as it considers entering the U.S. market.
"That's typically how we enter into those new players - by solving the new problems that are coming with the new models," Horn said. "The energy market was great for a very long time. But now you have all these innovations starting, and they have no clue how to do it on their legacy stack. That's why it's a fantastic time for us."
