Strategic Partnership Forges Next-Generation Smart Meters
In a significant move for the global energy technology sector, MicroEJ, a world leader in embedded software solutions, has announced a new partnership with Kimbal, one of India's fastest-growing energy-tech firms. The collaboration, announced on November 14, 2025, will see Kimbal's new on-device software platform, Kimbal EI (Edge Intelligence), powered by MicroEJ's VEE Energy™ technology.
Accelerating India's AMI Deployment and Global Ambitions
This partnership is a cornerstone of Kimbal's strategy to support India's ambitious national plan to deploy 250 million Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) endpoints by 2028. As a leader in Energy Engineering, Kimbal already ships an impressive nearly 10 million smart meters annually. The new Kimbal EI platform introduces an app ecosystem that transforms standard meters into intelligent, software-defined devices capable of hosting AI-enabled services for both utilities and consumers.
The core of this strategic shift is the adoption of a modular, software-defined approach. By leveraging MicroEJ's technology, Kimbal can now decouple software from hardware. This enables several key advantages:
- Faster customization for different utility requirements.
- Agile, over-the-air updates for new features and maintenance.
- Support for a wide range of hardware, from cost-effective 16-bit microcontrollers to powerful 64-bit processors.
Powering the Future of Grid-Edge Intelligence
The launch of Kimbal EI is not just about meeting current needs but is designed to future-proof energy infrastructure. The platform serves as the digital backbone for Kimbal's expansion into advanced energy markets like Australia and the United States. In these markets, utilities increasingly demand programmable meters that can perform real-time decision-making at the grid edge.
Powered by MicroEJ's service-oriented architecture, the Kimbal EI platform will empower a new wave of innovation. It is engineered to support advanced use cases, including:
- Predictive maintenance and power-quality analytics.
- Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring (NILM).
- Integration of Distributed Energy Resources (DER).
- Behind-the-meter energy management for consumers.
This strategic move fundamentally accelerates the evolution of smart meters toward distributed intelligence, aligning with global AMI 2.0 and energy transition goals. By embedding intelligence directly into the device, Kimbal and MicroEJ are creating a more responsive, efficient, and intelligent future for the world's energy grids.
