Wirepas Deploys NR+ RF Mesh to Power Europe’s Smart Grid Growth

Wirepas, the global leader in ultra-reliable, large-scale mesh connectivity, today announced plans to roll out its NR+-based RF mesh technology in Europe, bringing a new standard of resilient, scalable connectivity to the continent’s next-generation energy networks. The move follows the company’s major milestone in India, where more than 10 million smart electricity meters are now connected using Wirepas technology – a proving ground widely regarded as one of the most demanding IoT environments in the world.

As a wholly European innovation, Wirepas’ technology offers the secure, cost-effective and dependable communications foundation required to support the continent’s energy transition and to strengthen resilience across its grids.

“Reliability at scale is not a theoretical exercise for us – it is a core responsibility,” said Teppo Hemiä, CEO of Wirepas. “India is arguably the toughest IoT environment anywhere: dense, diverse and constantly changing. If a radio network can thrive there, it can thrive anywhere. This experience provides Europe with compelling evidence as it modernises its infrastructure. Europe, in turn, sets the world’s highest bar for compliance and trust. Meeting these stringent requirements for connectivity, interoperability and data protection further underlines the maturity of our technology.”

Europe’s grids require proven resilience

Europe is currently undertaking a wholesale transformation of its energy systems, driven by rapid electrification. By 2029, smart meter penetration across the continent is expected to reach 80%, representing approximately 285 million devices. The European Commission forecasts €580 billion in grid investments by 2030, with €170 billion earmarked specifically for digitalisation.

Yet many European networks continue to operate on legacy PLC or cellular technologies that were never designed to accommodate the scale, reliability or cost-efficiency demands of today’s decentralized energy landscape. As utilities prepare to integrate millions more connected devices, resilient, self-healing RF mesh networks are emerging as the best tool for the energy transition.

“As Europe accelerates both electrification and decentralization, one often-overlooked factor is the choice of connectivity,” Hemiä said. “The future grid will rely on data every bit as much as electrons. Each meter and sensor must communicate seamlessly to balance demand, optimise supply and maintain system stability – while providing non-repudiable data to support countless low-value financial transactions between consumers, asset owners and system operators. Decentralized energy systems require decentralized communications. NR+ and Wirepas provide exactly that.”

Field-proven connectivity at unprecedented scale

Wirepas’ mesh technology has now been extensively tested in one of the world’s toughest markets - India - as well as other regions. It underpins some of the world’s largest smart metering deployments, including networks exceeding one million electricity meters operating cohesively within a single system. These deployments achieve 99.99% reliability across vast and varied geographies – from densely populated high-rise districts to remote rural communities – and remain robust in harsh environmental conditions.

New meters are added every few seconds, enabling networks to expand continuously with minimal manual intervention. This significantly reduces workforce demands at a time when qualified engineering capacity is in short supply across the sector.

In contrast to centralised cellular or PLC-based systems, each meter within a Wirepas RF mesh serves as both transmitter and receiver, forming a decentralized, self-healing network capable of maintaining service even when individual nodes encounter disruption. The outcome is uninterrupted, large-scale data transmission without reliance on costly infrastructure or vulnerable single points of failure.

NR+: Purpose-built for the energy transition

Wirepas’s technology is ideal to overcome the Energy Trilemma - the competing priorities that every country must balance to make sure that the lights stay on: energy security, energy access (or equity) and environmental sustainability.

Wirepas’ technology is based on NR+, the new Europe-born global standard for massive IoT that uses licence-exempt spectrum rather than costly mobile licences.

This architecture offers: 

• Resilience by design: decentralized, self-healing connectivity 

• Affordability at scale: independence from proprietary networks and high patent fees 

• Sustainability: low-power, flexible infrastructure that supports data-driven energy optimization without network sunsets. This means that the network is available as long as needed, and not just as long as operators keep the spectrum in place. 

Meet Wirepas at Enlit Europe 2025

Wirepas will showcase its latest technology and share insights from its large-scale Indian deployments with OEMs and solution providers at Enlit Europe 2025, taking place in Bilbao, Spain, from 18–20 November 2025. Attendees can find Wirepas at the ESMIG Pavilion, stand 1.D40.