Sacramento, California, March 16, 2026 — Momentum today announced the public launch of the Industrial, Agriculture, and Water Load Flexibility Hub (IAW FlexHub), California’s premier initiative dedicated to advancing scalable and interoperable load-flexible technologies to transform the state’s energy landscape in the industrial, agricultural, and water sectors.
The IAW FlexHub will serve as a centralized platform for demonstration projects, technical collaboration, market development, and stakeholder engagement, developed by Momentum in partnership with UC Davis, EPRI, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), and other cutting-edge research partners.
Background
Funded by the California Energy Commission (CEC) through the Electric Program Investment Charge, with additional support from Southern California Edison, and Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), the launch marks a significant statewide commitment to advancing grid-interactive, flexible load technologies that can strengthen reliability, lower costs, and support California’s secure, reliable, and affordable energy future. IAW FlexHub is focused on large industrial, agricultural, and water facilities that together represent electricity users with high potential for grid supportive operations.
The Hub has been created within an ecosystem of innovation:
- CalFlexHub: an LBNL and CEC initiative to advance commercial and residential load flexibility
- DC Flex: an EPRI initiative to demonstrate how a range of flexibility solutions can accelerate the integration of large loads into power systems and support grid reliability
- National Alliance for Water Innovation: a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), California Department of Water Resources, and California State Water Resources Control Board effort led by LBNL in collaboration with four additional National Labs to radically lower the cost of energy in desalination and water reuse
- UC Davis Industrial Decarbonization Solutions Hub: a research and deployment consortium advancing practical, scalable solutions to reduce industrial greenhouse gas emissions through electrification, energy efficiency, and process innovation
The need for flexible demand resources has become critical. The IAW FlexHub is designed to:
- Advance scalable load flexibility in the industrial, agricultural, and water sectors
- Bridge research and commercialization
- Support demonstration and validation of grid-interactive technologies
- Foster cross-sector collaboration among utilities, regulators, innovators, and communities
- Accelerate market adoption and policy alignment
By aligning technical expertise with real-world deployment opportunities, the Hub aims to reduce barriers to implementation and speed integration of flexible load solutions into California’s grid planning and operations.
“California’s energy future depends not just on generating power, but on making demand more intelligent and responsive,” said Matt Hart, CEO, Momentum. “The IAW FlexHub represents a coordinated, statewide investment in load flexibility — bringing together utilities, researchers, policymakers, technology developers, and communities to move from research to real-world deployment.”
Call for Projects
The IAW FlexHub is actively inviting participation from stakeholders across the energy ecosystem through demonstration project concept submissions and event attendance. The Hub has issued a call for demonstration project concepts, seeking innovative approaches that advance load flexibility in industrial, agriculture, and water applications. Open to any individual, public, or private entity, with the exception of publicly owned utilities[1], the Hub is particularly seeking to fund project concepts with secured site hosts or sites interested in hosting a relevant demonstration.
Concepts may be submitted through an online form at the newly launched website. The application seeks high-level project details including technology readiness level, anticipated budget with match share, and relevant past research showing the project is informed by existing work, while contributing new solutions toward the Hub’s goal of scalable, replicable impact. Concepts will be accepted from March 16 through June 19, 2026.
IAW FlexHub Events
The IAW FlexHub will mark its public debut with two launch events, one in Berkeley and one in Davis, designed to introduce the Hub’s vision, outline pathways for engagement, and convene leaders from research, utilities, industry, and policy. Registration and additional details are available at www.iawflexhub.org.
The first launch event will take place on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, at the 2026 CalFlexHub Symposium, in partnership with LBNL. The event will spotlight how stakeholders are leveraging lessons learned from the multi-year load flexibility research effort to expand industry innovation and deepen impact across California’s innovation hubs.
“Load flexibility is becoming an essential grid resource for making California’s electric grid more reliable by reducing demand when the grid is under stress,” said Jessica Granderson, Senior Scientist and Director of the Building and Industrial Energy Systems Division at LBNL. “The IAW FlexHub builds on years of research and real-world demonstration to help translate proven approaches into scalable solutions. By connecting research, utilities, and market actors, this initiative accelerates the path from insight to impact.”
The second launch event will take place on Friday, April 17, 2026, following the UC Davis Industry & Materials Decarbonization Symposium on April 16, at the UC Davis Conference Center. Together, the events in Davis will focus on the industrial sector and its transition toward more energy-efficient, electrified, and flexible operations.
“At UC Davis, we translate research into practical solutions that can be deployed at scale,” said Dr. Kelly Kissock, Faculty Director of the UC Davis Energy and Efficiency Institute. “This applied approach is critical to the energy, industrial, agricultural, and water sectors as they integrate flexible load technologies and modernize operations. The IAW FlexHub provides a platform to demonstrate and validate these strategies in real operating environments, strengthening grid reliability and accelerating deployment of demand-side resources that support California’s energy future.”
The public launch of the IAW FlexHub sends a clear signal to utilities, regulators, investors, and innovators: load flexibility is a cornerstone of California’s energy future. By creating a statewide coordination platform, the Hub positions California to improve grid reliability amid extreme weather and peak demand, without overbuilding infrastructure, and to reduce system costs through smarter demand management.
“Through EPRI’s DCFlex initiative, we are field-testing operational flexibility for large loads, designed to accelerate the adoption of solutions through real world validation,” said EPRI Vice President of Electrification and Sustainable Energy Strategy David Porter. “Insights from our nine demonstration projects are helping to establish how large loads can incorporate flexibility into design and operations to support a reliable, affordable power system. As electricity usage continues to accelerate across California, collaborative approaches – such as the work underway in the IAW FlexHub – will be essential for enabling progress and maintaining a stable grid.”
Momentum and its partners are eager to embark on this next chapter in advancing statewide load flexibility and invite stakeholders across California’s energy ecosystem to stay engaged, participate, and follow the IAW FlexHub for ongoing updates as this collaborative journey unfolds.
About Momentum
Momentum is a California-based energy innovation organization focused on accelerating clean energy deployment, grid modernization, and cross-sector collaboration. Through strategic partnerships and market-focused initiatives, Momentum works to advance scalable solutions that strengthen reliability and accelerate decarbonization. For more information, visit www.buildmomentum.io.
About EPRI
Founded in 1972, EPRI is the world’s preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, with offices around the world. EPRI’s trusted experts collaborate with more than 450 companies in 45 countries, driving innovation to ensure the public has clean, safe, reliable, and affordable access to electricity across the globe. Together…shaping the future of energy.®
About LBNL
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science, is a leading research institution advancing solutions in energy, science, and technology innovation. Located in Berkeley, California, the Lab focuses on discovery science and solutions for abundant and reliable energy supplies.
About UC Davis
The University of California, Davis is a leading public research university serving California and the world through interdisciplinary research, education, and public engagement. The campus is home to the UC Davis Energy and Efficiency Institute (EEI), which advances practical, scalable energy and efficiency solutions. Through its affiliated research centers and faculty, EEI develops applied research and deployment strategies in energy efficiency, electrification, demand flexibility, and grid-integrated systems. For more information, visit energy.ucdavis.edu.
Contact
IAW FlexHub Program Team
[1] This exclusion is in accordance with California Public Utilities Commission Decision 12-05.037.