Itron, Tendril team on smart grid technology

Two watch-worthy players on the emerging smart grid scene, Tendril and Itron, have teamed up to ensure better integration and distribution of their two technologies.

Their deal will ensure that the Tendril Residential Energy Ecosystem (aka TREE), an energy management software suite that can be used for both demand side and consumer side applications, can connect seamless with OpenWay, which is the foundation for an advanced metering infrastructure. Tendril will also get the benefit of Itron's sales force, which will now be able to sell Tendril's software to utility and energy companies throughout the United States.

I'm keeping my eye on Tendril not just because it was developed with an eye to integration into all sorts of different enterprise applications AND because it can be used by both utilities and consumers for home utility management applications but because the company was recognized late last year as the "Best Late State Investment of the Year" by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Here's some more background on the company's technology.

Itron is a big deal because close to 8,000 utilities around the world use its metering technology and software to manage reading and data collection.