Powering Sustainable Prosperity for Every One*: ENODA’s Integrated Grid Solution

“* “Every One” is a collective of singular individuals who all benefit from increases in prosperity, but experience it, benefit from it and importantly, contribute to it in different ways. Value is created when different people value the same things differently. Without those individualities, exchange would function in a different way and prosperity would mean something else entirely. ”

— ENODA

Introduction

Global power grids are undergoing a transformational shift to integrate more renewable energy, enhance resilience, and provide equitable access to electricity. However, while countries are trying to close their coal-fired generators, 2024 was the warmest year on record, leading to an unexpected jump in demand for energy from coal plants to cover the gap required for cooling buildings.¹ Using coal power to cover energy demands resulting from climate change is unsustainable to say the least, and shows a lack of understanding and foresight with regards to the energy trilemma as a whole.

In parallel, mounting evidence from thermodynamics and information theory indicates that system-wide entropy minimization and efficient free-energy utilization are the crucial mechanisms to attain sustainable and prosperous societies. Building on the principle that each local process requiring reduced entropy must be locally coupled to a free-energy source(²,³,⁴), this article proposes that Enoda PRIME® Exchangers can perform such local couplings within AC grids, enabling real-time energy exchange and efficient power management, potentially removing the need for emergency coal-fired energy generation and preventing catastrophic failures at substations from overloading transformers.

ENODA’s goal of “sustainable prosperity for every one” extends beyond technology to an economic and societal vision. This essay posits that advanced, locally coupled power conversion and coordination, as embodied by Prime Exchangers and Enoda ENSEMBLE™, aligns with both the second law of thermodynamics and the laws of economics. We argue that local entropy reduction, in the form of improved power quality and reliability, is paid for by real-time usage of free energy from the grid’s dynamic resources. This sets a realistic and attainable foundation for unlocking sustainable prosperity.

Concept review

Thermodynamics and entropy management in energy systems

Historically, the Second Law of Thermodynamics has been key to understanding why certain processes in energy systems, for example pumping energy into poorly regulated grids ends up with high losses and wasted capacity.⁵ However, local reductions in entropy, more stable voltage levels, and improved power quality are feasible if they are coupled to a suitable free-energy source. Traditional solutions, such as synchronous condensers or static VAR compensators, partially address this concept by stabilizing reactive power and smoothing load fluctuations.⁶

Modern approaches emphasize dynamic, software-driven solutions.⁷ The concept that each order-creating process (such as balancing load or smoothing waveforms) must have an energy payment resonates with the principle that complex, real-time control must harness exergonic processes, for example from the main grid or from local storage to ensure net entropy production remains non-negative.

Information-theory of free energy maximization

Shannon’s A Mathematical Theory of Communication⁸ provides mathematical tools to quantify the information in signals and how interventions reduce system uncertainty. In the energy domain, controlling power quality and grid stability can be interpreted as an information gain (less uncertainty about voltage and frequency) that necessarily costs free energy.(⁹,¹⁰)

Recent work by Kolchinsky et al. (2023 and revised 2025) proposes a rigorous framework for how systems, biological or technological, maximize free-energy gain by maintaining states far from equilibrium. In a grid context, far from equilibrium means dynamic load and generation patterns. Prime Exchangers, by design, leverage local exergonic processes, that is to say grid-level free energy to achieve stable, low-entropy conditions (for example, stable voltages, minimal harmonics, and better phase alignment). Locally coupling to the high-voltage grid or localized energy storage is essential for enabling each Prime Exchanger’s ordering function without violating global thermodynamic constraints.

Economic perspectives on grid modernization

From an economic viewpoint, prime objectives are cost minimization, reliability, and sustainability.(¹¹,¹²) Grid modernization has historically been shaped by central planning, but decentralized, modular solutions such as microgrids and advanced power electronics are increasingly favored.¹³ Prime Exchangers and the Ensemble coordination platform align with reducing grid congestion by controlling power where it is needed¹⁴, dynamically responding to real-time price signals or demand response events, and achieving returns to scale by orchestrating a fleet of devices rather than a few large-scale capital projects.

Prime Exchangers and Ensemble coordination

Enoda PRIME® Exchangers

Prime Exchangers are advanced power electronics systems designed to:

• Convert AC to AC at controllable voltage, current, and phase angles.

• Manage both real and reactive power flows.

• Remove harmonics and fluctuations.

• Integrate with distributed energy resources, for example solar PV systems, wind turbines, and batteries.

Mechanically, these devices can be seen as locally coupling the free energy available in the upstream high-voltage grid or local storage, and the load or downstream microgrid that needs stable, low-entropy power quality. Their capacity to inject or absorb reactive power, to modulate voltage in real-time, remove harmonics, and to handle frequency regulation tasks underscores how they create order at distribution points.

Ensemble fleet coordination platform

Ensemble is a cloud-based orchestration platform that is designed to coordinate fleets of Prime Exchangers. Ensemble aggregates data about grid conditions, for example, voltage, frequency, and demand forecasts, and applies machine learning algorithms to determine the optimal setpoints for each Prime Exchanger in the fleet. Prime Exchangers are activated by smart contracts, ensuring local entropy reduction is accompanied by just-in-time free-energy support from the network, in line with the broader system’s constraints.

Sustainable prosperity as a guiding principle

ENODA’s stated purpose, “sustainable prosperity for every one” emphasizes that improved access to reliable power drives prosperity by enabling economic activity, educational opportunities, and overall welfare.¹⁵ However, sustainability considerations require that such improvements do not increase carbon footprints or resource depletion. Prime Exchangers, when coordinated by Ensemble, maximize power-system efficiency, reduce transmission losses, and reduce the social marginal cost of ancillary services, thereby aligning economic and environmental objectives.

Mathematical and numeric models

A thermodynamic model of local entropy reduction in power systems

Consider a small zone of the grid, $\mathcal{Z}$, with net load $L(t)$ and power injection from a Prime Exchanger $P_{\mathrm{prime}}(t)$. Let $S_{\mathcal{Z}}$ be the entropy proxy measuring disorder in voltage/frequency waveforms and $F_{\mathrm{prime}}$ be the free-energy flux available to the Prime Exchanger (a function of upstream supply capacity and local storage).

We define an entropy-like functional $\Phi(\cdot)$ for power quality:

$$\Phi\big(V(t), f(t)\big) = \int_0^T \left(\alpha \,\sigma_V\big(V(t)\big) + \beta \,\sigma_f\big(f(t)\big)\right) dt \, \label{eq:power quality functional}$$
where $\sigma_V$ and $\sigma_f$ are measures of voltage and frequency deviation from nominal references and $\alpha, \beta$ are weighting factors. A high $\Phi$ implies greater deviation (i.e. disorder).

By modulating $P_{\mathrm{prime}}(t)$, the Prime Exchanger can minimize $\Phi$ over the horizon $T$. However, the net free-energy cost:

$$\Delta G_{\mathrm{prime}} \sim \int_0^T \big\lvert P_{\mathrm{prime}}(t) \big\rvert dt \label{eq:net free energy cost}$$
must be drawn from the local or regional grid to ensure real-time feasibility. In line with Kolchinsky et al., the Prime Exchanger maximizes free-energy gain by effectively harnessing the upstream capacity to reduce local disorder. Without this coupling $(P_{\mathrm{prime}}\rightarrow 0)$ and $\Phi$ remains high.

Dynamical analysis of AC grids with Prime Exchangers

Using the standard synchronous reference frame approach for AC analysis¹⁶ we use the state variables $i_d, i_q, v_d, v_q$ to represent the direct and quadrature components of current and voltage in an AC system. Prime Exchangers act as nonlinear controllers that set reference currents or voltages to maintain grid stability.

With that a simplified model can be described as:

$$\begin{cases} \frac{d\, i_d}{dt} = -\frac{R}{L} \, i_d + \omega i_q + \frac{1}{L}\big(v_d - v_{d,\mathrm{prime}}\big) \\ \frac{d\, i_q}{dt} = -\frac{R}{L} \, i_q - \omega i_d + \frac{1}{L}\big(v_q - v_{q,\mathrm{prime}}\big) \end{cases} \label{eq:AC analysis model}$$
where $v_{d, \mathrm{prime}}$,$v_{q,\mathrm{prime}}$ are the Prime Exchanger’s modulated outputs, R is resistance, L is inductance, and $\omega$ is the phase angle.

The Prime Exchanger reduces local disorder by ensuring $(i_d, i_q)$ match the desired setpoints $(i_{d}^*, i_q^*)$. Entropy can be measured as the time integral of the deviations:

$$|i_d - i_{d}^*|^2 + |i_q - i_q^*|^2 \label{eq:disorder}$$
or as higher-frequency content in the waveforms.

Multi-agent optimization framework for Ensemble coordination

In the Ensemble platform, each Prime Exchanger is an agent with control variables $\mathbf{u}_k$, with $k\in\{1,\dots,N\}$ for an $N$-unit fleet. Let $\mathbf{x}(t)$ be the global grid state. An optimization can be formulated as:

$$\min_{\{\mathbf{u}_k(t)\}} \; J\big(\mathbf{x}(T)\big) \quad \text{subject to} \quad \mathbf{x}'(t) = f\big(\mathbf{x}(t), \{\mathbf{u}_k(t)\}\big) \label{eq:fleet optimization}$$
where $J$ is a cost function combining power quality (the entropy measure $\Phi$); economic cost (for example, energy purchase and device wear); and sustainability metrics (i.e. $CO_2$ intensity from the generation mix).

The constraints reflect:

$$\Delta G_{\mathrm{prime},k} \geq 0, \quad \forall k \label{eq:Units pay}$$
ensuring each unit pays for the free energy used $(\Delta G_{\mathrm{prime},k})$ in local ordering. The solution yields the optimal setpoints for a given time as $\mathbf{u}_k^*(t)$.

Proof of efficiency gains and entropy reduction

We set out the argument that when a fleet of Prime Exchangers is optimally coordinated by Ensemble, the net system efficiency and local power quality is improved while respecting overall thermodynamic constraints. The proof of this argument is seen in the following scenario:

1. Assume that the global AC system has an unmitigated cost function $J_0$ capturing energy losses, imbalance penalties, and power quality deviations.

2. Introduce a set of Prime Exchangers $\{P_1, ..., P_N\}$ each locally coupling to the grid’s free energy to stabilize voltage and frequency.

3. By design, each device’s local cost of operation $\Delta G_{\mathrm{prime},k}$ is offset by the corresponding reduction in $\Phi_k$.

4. Under coordination by Ensemble, the total cost function $J\big(\mathbf{x}(T)\big)$ is strictly less than $J_0$, provided exergonic resources (synchronous generation, storage, etc.) exist to supply the local free energy.

5. Hence, the system experiences an overall net entropy reduction in the distribution lines, in the form of improved power quality, with a net increase in entropy somewhere else (for example, renewable resource flows or fuel consumption) consistent with the Second Law of Thermodynamics.

This results in measurable efficiency gains, enhanced grid stability, increased grid capacity, and renewables hosting capacity.

Discussion of real-world feasibility and impact

Scaling challenges & technological readiness

Prime Exchangers require robust power-electronic components and real-time controls. Advances in wide-bandgap semiconductors (SiC/GaN) enable higher efficiency, smaller footprints, and better heat management. Ensemble’s success is enabled by secure, low-latency communication and advanced algorithms. Emerging fields like edge computing and IoT integration reduce bandwidth constraints.

Economic viability and policy implications

Deployed at scale, Prime Exchangers can defer or replace large infrastructure investments, leading to an attractive payback. Policies that reward ancillary services, voltage regulation, and demand response will accelerate adoption. Dynamic tariffs incentivize the technology’s real-time benefits.(¹⁷,¹⁸)

Paths to “Sustainable Prosperity for Every One”

Distributed, modular solutions can leapfrog conventional grid expansions, providing reliable power in remote areas. Reducing grid losses and increasing renewable hosting capacity fosters decarbonization. Affordable, stable electricity underpins healthcare, education, and digital infrastructure.¹⁹

Conclusion and future work

In this essay, we have shown that Prime Exchangers, optimally deployed and coordinated by Ensemble, provide a thermodynamically consistent solution for local power-quality improvements in AC grids. By coupling to available free-energy sources at each node, they reduce disorder while respecting the Second Law of Thermodynamics and the principles of information theory, particularly in the sense of maximizing free-energy gain.

Ultimately, ENODA’s approach resonates with broader efforts to ensure “sustainable prosperity for every one” by combining robust engineering with sound economics, and a deep understanding of thermodynamics.

By bridging thermodynamic theory, information theory, and economic feasibility, we frame Prime Exchangers and Ensemble as essential components in the global march toward sustainability and prosperity. This synergy of advanced power electronics, real-time coordination, and solid theoretical grounding affirms that local reductions in grid disorder are indeed feasible, provided they are locally coupled to energy sources.

In response to the IEA’s Global Energy Review 2025, we show that intelligently managed electricity grids can help boost decarbonization initiatives, reduce the need for coal powered energy to cover shortfalls in energy demand forecasts, and improve grid stability and safety. The vision of “sustainable prosperity for every one” is thus more than rhetoric, it is technologically and economically viable, underpinned by robust scientific principles and the proven success of modern grid-control strategies.

Bibliography

Enoda Ensemble. Enoda Ensemble Fleet Coordination Platform.
https://enodatech.com/enoda-ensemble-fleet-coordination-platform

Enoda Prime. Enoda Prime Product Page.
https://enodatech.com/enoda-prime

Landauer, Rolf. Irreversibility and Heat Generation in the Computing Process. IBM Journal of Research and Development (1961), 5(3), 183–191.

Scobie, Andrew J. Sustainable Prosperity for Every One.
https://enodatech.com/news-insight/sustainable-prosperity-for-every-one

Scobie, Andrew J. Sustainability Defined.
https://enodatech.com/news-insight/sustainability-defined

Scobie, Andrew J. Prosperity Defined.
https://enodatech.com/news-insight/prosperity-defined

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