The EU power system's shift towards decarbonisation and decentralisation poses serious challenges in managing the increasing variability of the generation mix while ensuring grid stability. Unleashing demandside flexibility (DSF) plays a key role in this transition.
It is estimated that in a full-DSF activation scenario, which unleashes the flexibility from buildings, electric vehicles and industry, €4.6bn is saved due to lower costs of generating electricity, while €11.1–29.1bn would be saved in grid investment needs at EU 27 annually between 2023 and 20301.
To achieve this, smart and innovative solutions are required, that will enable citizens to access flexibility markets and allow distribution system operators to have a higher level of observability and controllability in their grids, while ensuring seamless coordination among all actors of the energy value chain. Moreover, utilizing the flexibility available in other energy carriers beyond electricity – such as heat and e-mobility – can be a game changer for increasing the grid flexibility.
The ENFLATE approach
The ENFLATE project develops a collaborative platform of tools, that builds upon existing solutions, enabling consumer-driven business models for energy services, valorising their multi-vector flexibility potential and integrating them with other non-energy services. This platform features consumer centred flexibility markets, smart grid technologies and innovative applications creating an ecosystem in which owners of flexible assets, prosumers, aggregators, TSOs and DSOs exchange flexibility in a truly collaborative approach for a socially fair energy transformation.
The developed solutions will be demonstrated through 6 demonstration campaigns across 5 European countries, i.e. Bulgaria, Greece, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, ensuring their replicability and scalability.
More specifically, an integrated flexibility market will be demonstrated in Switzerland, a blockchain-based flexibility marketplace for small-scale DER in Greece, tools for flexibility prediction and management and a health-assessment tool based on energy monitoring in Spain, a realtime control system for coupling heat and electricity network in Sweden, as well as non-energy services for health and mobility in Bulgaria and Switzerland respectively.
Energy networks digital twins will be developed for all demo sites and will be utilized to validate the feasibility of the ENFLATE proposed business models. The impact of the ENFLATE innovations at the pan-European level will be assessed leveraging the capabilities of the Artelys Crystal Super Grid modelling platform, which is also used by the European Commission to power the METIS model.
Engaging citizens in demand side flexibility schemes is a pivotal step towards achieving energy transition targets. It involves educating and empowering consumers to participate in local flexibility markets and demand response programs. In this context, ENFLATE tests new innovative business models and the provision of non-energy related services, while adopting robust consumer engagement strategies".