According to Silicon Republic, Full Stack Energy, a Limerick-headquartered energy technology company founded in 2007 by CEO Liam Relihan, is expanding into the US market through a partnership with Massachusetts-based energy consultancy Skipping Stone. The Boston-headquartered consultancy, founded in 1996 with additional offices in Houston, Los Angeles, and Tokyo, will collaborate with the Irish firm to deliver data-driven solutions for utilities, traders, and energy service providers facing challenges in decarbonization, renewables integration, and distributed energy management. Full Stack Energy CEO Liam Relihan emphasized that the partnership expands their US presence and amplifies their ability to help clients thrive in rapidly evolving energy markets, while Skipping Stone principal Eric Alam highlighted both companies’ non-traditional consulting approaches. This expansion follows broader Irish clean energy sector momentum, including Cavan-based Galetech Group’s recent announcement of 65 new jobs and international expansion into Africa, Australia, and the UK. This strategic move represents a significant transatlantic energy technology partnership with implications for the broader clean energy transition.
The Strategic Logic Behind Transatlantic Energy Partnerships
Full Stack Energy’s partnership with Skipping Stone represents a sophisticated market entry strategy that avoids the pitfalls many European technology companies face when expanding to the United States. Rather than establishing a costly standalone operation, the Irish firm is leveraging Skipping Stone’s established client relationships and regulatory expertise in key energy markets including Texas, California, and New England. This approach provides immediate access to decision-makers at utilities and energy traders who are facing mounting pressure to integrate renewable resources while maintaining grid reliability. The timing is particularly strategic as the US energy sector grapples with implementing the Inflation Reduction Act’s provisions and managing the complex interplay between federal incentives and state-level energy policies.
The Growing Complexity of Distributed Energy Management
What makes this partnership particularly relevant is the escalating complexity of distributed energy resource management that utilities and grid operators now face. The rapid proliferation of rooftop solar, community solar projects, battery storage systems, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure has created operational challenges that traditional energy management systems weren’t designed to handle. Full Stack Energy’s technology platform likely addresses the data integration and forecasting needs required to manage these distributed assets effectively. Meanwhile, Skipping Stone brings deep understanding of wholesale market structures and regulatory frameworks that determine how these resources can participate in energy markets and provide value to both system operators and asset owners.
European Energy Innovation Finding American Markets
This partnership signals a broader trend of European energy technology firms finding receptive markets in the United States, where the scale of energy transition challenges often justifies premium solutions. European companies frequently bring experience from markets that have been further along in renewable integration, having navigated similar challenges with higher renewable penetration rates. The Irish company’s two decades of experience across “every layer of the energy landscape” positions them to offer solutions tested in European contexts that can be adapted to American market structures. This knowledge transfer becomes increasingly valuable as US regions approach renewable penetration levels that European markets have already managed.
The Convergence of Consulting and Technology Delivery
The partnership highlights an important evolution in how energy sector challenges are being addressed—through the convergence of specialized consulting expertise and purpose-built technology platforms. Traditional consulting approaches often produced recommendations without implementation capabilities, while technology vendors frequently offered generic solutions without deep domain expertise. The combined approach described by both companies—bringing “small teams of experienced resources to focus on specific challenges”—reflects a more targeted, implementation-focused model that delivers measurable outcomes rather than theoretical frameworks. This hybrid model may become increasingly common as energy transition challenges require both strategic insight and technical execution capabilities.
Future Implications for Energy Technology Ecosystems
Looking forward, partnerships like this could accelerate the maturation of energy technology ecosystems on both sides of the Atlantic. Successful implementations could establish reference cases that other companies emulate, potentially leading to more standardized approaches to common challenges like renewable integration forecasting, distributed energy resource management, and carbon accounting. The collaboration also creates competitive pressure on domestic US energy technology providers to either develop similar capabilities or seek their own strategic partnerships. For utilities and energy service providers, this increased competition and specialization should lead to more sophisticated, cost-effective solutions for managing the complex transition toward decarbonized, distributed, and digitalized energy systems.
