We interviewed Jørgen Festervoll, CEO of Heimdall Power, as part of our “Pivotal Career Moments” interview series. Heimdall Power is dedicated to enabling the global energy transition by ensuring power grid safety and efficiency. Founded in Norway in 2016, the company uses advanced sensors and software to monitor grid capacity and health—unlocking up to 40% more capacity on existing high-voltage power lines without the need for expensive new infrastructure. In this conversation, Jørgen explains the underlying technology, how autonomous drone installation plays a key role, his experience expanding the business internationally, and his personal journey into the CEO role.
Ollie Smith:
Welcome, Jørgen. To kick things off, can you explain what Heimdall Power does and the underlying technology behind it?
Jørgen Festervoll:
Absolutely. Heimdall Power is dedicated to supporting the global energy transition on our way to net zero. Our mission is to provide safe, reliable, and affordable grid capacity monitoring at scale. We achieve this by combining advanced sensors—our “Neurons”—with our proprietary software, known as Heimdall’s Brain. In simple terms, our solution enables utilities to monitor the capacity and health of their power grids accurately. This is crucial because the limiting factor on a power line is the temperature of the conductor—think of it as the grid’s speed limit. Without real-time data on conductor temperature, grid operators must run lines well below their actual capacity. With our sensors, operators can safely run grids up to their full capacity, increasing capacity by 30–40% at less than 3% of the cost of building new infrastructure.
Ollie Smith:
That’s impressive. We know that some companies have tried similar solutions, but scaling has been a challenge. What makes Heimdall Power’s approach unique?
Jørgen Festervoll:
There are a few key differentiators. First, while sensor technology for power grids has existed for 10 to 15 years, legacy solutions were too expensive, difficult to deploy, maintenance heavy, and suffered from communication issues. We engineered our sensor to be as compact as a bowling ball, weighing only 8 lbs. It harvests power directly from the power line and communicates via LTE and satellite. Moreover, our autonomous drone installation system is a game changer. A drone can fly up to a live line, mount the sensor in less than 10 seconds, and digitalise the grid safely. This method not only cuts costs and improves safety by reducing the need for personnel to work on live lines, but it also allows us to deploy sensors virtually anywhere—even in remote or hard-to-reach areas.
Ollie Smith:
Does every segment of the power grid require a sensor?
Jørgen Festervoll:
It depends on the use-case and the specific grid, but generally, for capacity monitoring you would install a sensor every 2 to 4 miles. The density can vary—denser in some areas and sparser in others—but that range is typical.
Ollie Smith:
The autonomous drone installation is certainly eye-catching on your website. What are its key benefits?
Jørgen Festervoll:
There are three main benefits. First, it vastly improves safety by removing the need for linemen to work on live lines. Second, drones allow us to install sensors in challenging locations—mountains, over flooded areas, or across bridges—where manual installation would be extremely difficult or even impossible. Third, it’s a significant time and cost saver. With a two-person crew and drones, we can install 5 to 10 sensors per day—far more efficient than using bucket trucks and line crews who are already overloaded with other tasks. Our drone installation technology, combined with our global satellite communication capability, means we can deploy our system virtually anywhere in the world.
Ollie Smith:
What about maintenance? Do the sensors require regular servicing?
Jørgen Festervoll:
Not at all. Our sensors are designed to have a mean time between failures of around 45 years, meaning they can be installed on live lines without any maintenance for decades. In the unlikely event that a sensor fails, it can be demounted by our drone system and replaced—but routine maintenance is essentially not required.
Ollie Smith:
That’s incredible—install once and forget about it. Now, you’ve recently expanded operations into the United States with a new office in North Carolina. How has that transition been?
Jørgen Festervoll:
We established a subsidiary in the US a couple of years ago and set up our main office in Charlotte, NC. The US is currently our biggest growth market. Expanding into a new country involves many logistical challenges—from visas and legal arrangements to recruitment and adapting to different cultural and time zone differences. However, I’ve learned a lot from talking to CEOs who’ve undergone similar transitions. For me, my background in the energy utility space has helped, and I’ve even been told I have an “American CEO” mindset. While there are differences between European and US business cultures, I sometimes find it easier to operate with US employees, investors, and customers.
Ollie Smith:
Speaking of international expansion, are you planning to target the entire US or focus on specific regions?
Jørgen Festervoll:
We’re covering the whole continental US. In addition to our office in Charlotte, we have representation on the West Coast, as well as personnel in Houston. Our focus is on targeting a select group of large and mid-sized utilities—which we can cover with a relatively small sales and marketing team. Beyond the US and Europe, we’re open to opportunities in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the Middle East, South America, and Canada. However, our primary focus right now is on deepening our presence in the US and Europe before branching out further.
“How can scaling organisations go about creating a culture or environment that fosters career development for its employees?”
Scaling organisations are by nature continuously evolving and so is the culture and the potential for career development. Thus, you need to establish transparent career paths and update them as the organization grows. You also need easy to understand progression criteria and communicate them clearly. I also encourage managers to conduct frequent one-on-ones, to provide career feedback and map out next steps for all employees. At Heimdall we value growth both personally and professionally and we try to use mentorship, training and cross-functional teams as tools to help people excel to the next level. Our goal is to make it easy to grow within the company. Luckily, we are an innovative tech company, so we always have plenty of exiting projects that provide employees with stretch assignments and the possibility to lead a team.
Ollie Smith:
Looking at your personal journey—this appears to be your first CEO role. What inspired you to take that step?
Jørgen Festervoll:
I’ve spent my entire career in the energy utility space and have followed Heimdall Power’s journey closely ever since its inception. I first joined the board in March 2021, became Chairman in December 2022, and then was appointed CEO in February 2023. Before Heimdall, I was the VP of Renewable Opportunities at Saga Pure, where I led sustainable investment initiatives. The opportunity to work with a cutting-edge team, building innovative technology that is critical to the energy transition and the world was too compelling to pass up. It’s incredibly meaningful to lead a company that plays such a pivotal role in ensuring that our grid infrastructure can support the growth of renewable energy, electric vehicles, and overall electrification of industry.
Ollie Smith:
You’ve also recently closed a Series B round in a challenging fundraising environment. Do you have any advice for others in a similar position?
Jørgen Festervoll:
That period was one of the most challenging times in my career. The key is to stay optimistic and never stop believing in your product and yourself—even when you encounter many “no’s” before you get to a “yes.” Always keep iterating on your strategy and pitch; listening to investors is critical. My experience as an investor myself has been invaluable—it has given me insights into what triggers interest and how to adapt your pitch accordingly. Persist through the ups and downs and always focus on the unique value your product brings to the market.
Ollie Smith:
Finally, looking ahead, where do you see Heimdall Power by, say, 2030?
Jørgen Festervoll:
I envision Heimdall Power becoming a billion-dollar company. The beauty of our market is that once one customer makes a big leap—from buying a few sensors to purchasing hundreds or thousands—it sends a powerful signal that the market is mature and others will follow. Our growth won’t be linear; we expect significant jumps in sales when we secure our first large-scale deal. Moreover, as we continue to integrate machine learning and AI into our systems, the unique data we gather from our global sensor network will become a major competitive advantage. Even as big companies like NVIDIA, Google, or Microsoft deploy AI tools, they won’t have access to the specialized, real-world data that we accumulate. That data will allow us to offer insights that no one else can, firmly positioning us as the global leader in grid capacity monitoring.
Ollie Smith:
Thank you, Jørgen, for sharing your insights into Heimdall Power’s innovative technology, your international expansion, and your personal journey to the CEO role. Your vision and experience are truly inspiring.
This interview is part of our “Pivotal Career Moments” series, where we highlight the defining milestones in the careers of industry leaders. We hope Jørgen’s story inspires you to innovate and push boundaries in your own career.
