Dublin-based Grid Beyond has raised €12 million ($13.8 million) in an equity round led by Samsung Ventures. The startup uses software and hardware to connect disparate parts of the grid into larger virtual power plants. It already manages around 1 gigawatt of solar, batteries, wind, and hydropower, and has several gigawatts across commercial and industrial facilities in Australia, Ireland, Japan, the UK, and the United States. The company has also managed several large energy storage installations, including a 200-megawatt battery in California. Batteries can also absorb much of the load, smoothing out the facility's profile on the grid so it doesn't cause unwanted fluctuations.