The energy-tech company Qvantum has been named the winner of the BloombergNEF Pioneers Award 2026 in the category ‘Flattening the Duck Curve’. The award highlights companies that address one of the biggest global energy challenges: how electricity systems with a growing share of renewable energy can maintain balance when production and demand are no longer aligned in time.
Energy systems around the world are facing a rapidly growing challenge, the so-called Duck Curve. The phenomenon occurs when solar energy plants produce more electricity in the middle of the day than what is demanded and then plummet sharply when the sun goes down and demand increases. In markets with a high share of renewable energy, such as Spain and California, the problem is already acute.
The picture shows the so-called Duck Curve and how Qvantum’s heat pumps can help to move and even out the load over the day. The curve got its name because its shape resembles the silhouette of a duck – with a tail, belly and a protruding neck in the evening. Image: Qvantum
The phenomenon is growing rapidly as renewable energy is installed globally. In several markets, solar power capacity has almost doubled, which has made the curve ever deeper. This has forced system operators to increasingly limit or even shut down renewable generation to protect electricity grids from congestion.
BloombergNEF has identified Fattening the duck curve as one of the top three global energy challenges in 2026. More than 600 innovations participated, which is a measure of how extensive and important the issue has become not only for energy companies, but for households, companies and entire communities. Of the 600 finalists, 29 were left and today BloombergNEF announces that Qvantum is the winner in the category for “Flattening the Duck Curve“. “For us, this award is just as much about a vision for how the energy system of the future will function as technology and connectivity. When heat pumps become active resources in the electricity grid, a completely new logic is created: households, properties and companies go from passive consumers to key players in the green energy transition. This is exactly the future we are building for, and I am both proud and happy that BloombergNEF is recognizing it,” says Fredrik Rosenqvist, CEO, Qvantum, who will participate in the award ceremony during the BloombergNEF Summit in New York.
Three system-integrated innovations from Qvantum strengthen the role of the heat pump in the energy system of the future through flexible electricity use (HP2G – Heat Pump to Grid), automated interaction with the electricity market and electricity grid (flexready®) and digital monitoring for long-term optimized performance and preventive maintenance (Digital Doctor).
Read Bloomberg’s press release here
Stina Albing
Corporate Communication Manager
0046 701 44 06 11
stina.albing@qvantum.com
About Qvantum
Qvantum is an energy-tech company at the forefront of the energy transition that manufactures, designs and develops heat pumps and digital platforms for the energy system of the future. The vision is to make fossil-free heating and cooling available to everyone, regardless of whether it is a single-family house, an apartment building or an entire district.
The heat pumps are available in four categories: air/water, ground source, exhaust air and complete system solutions. The devices are connected, easy to install, and built on the same modular platform. Qvantum is headquartered in Åstorp, Sweden, and has sales offices in Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, France, Austria and the United Kingdom. The company has approximately 350 employees and two manufacturing facilities: Åstorp and Nyíregyháza, Hungary, of which the Hungarian was acquired from Electrolux in 2023.
Qvantum is backed by long-term investors, including Thomas von Koch (partner and former CEO of EQT) and the IMAS Foundation, a sister foundation to the INGKA Foundation that owns the majority of IKEA stores globally.
