Page 37 - European Energy Innovation - Winter 2015 publication
P. 37
Winter 2015 European Energy Innovation 37
COMMUNICATION
The Scanergy Project
a SCAlable and modular system for
eNERGY trading between prosumers
Scanergy is an EU FP7 Marie Curie Industry-
Academia Partnerships and Pathways
(IAPP) project running for 3 years between
February 2013 and January 2016. The
project is a partnership between Vrije Universiteit
Brussel in Belgium and Sensing & Control Systems –
an SME in Barcelona, Spain.
Scanergy aims to develop a scalable and modular LVQHHGHGUHGXFLQJWKHQHHGWRƓUHXSHPHUJHQF\
system for energy trading between producers and peak power generators, which are both costly and
consumers of energy in the smart grid. These end pollutant. The novel concepts developed in the
users can collectively reduce their carbon footprint, Scanergy project have been compared against state-
as well as their dependence on fossil-fueled power of-the-art mechanisms in Repast Simphony simulator
plants by trading locally-produced renewable energy. using real data and they are shown to provide
VXIƓFLHQWHFRQRPLFEHQHƓWVZKLOHPRWLYDWLQJWKH
The main contributions of the project are the consumption of renewable energy.
development of an incentive mechanism for
renewable energy trade, called NRG-X-Change, and To demonstrate the applicability of Scanergy in the
a novel digital currency for energy, called NRGcoin. smart grid, the team deployed these concepts in a
model replica of a typical Belgian neighborhood
The innovative aspect of NRG-X-Change is that it featuring mini solar panels and Raspberry Pi for
allows prosumers to generate their own revenue smart meters. This interactive demonstration won the
when feeding energy in the grid. This mechanism Best Demo Award1 at the International Conference
was shown to improve over the net metering on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems
subsidy policy applied in some countries and offers (or AAMAS) in Istanbul in May 2015. The Scanergy
additional advantages for all actors in the grid. project was also featured in a popular science article
Similar to Bitcoin, NRGcoin is a digital currency with in Intel’s iQ Magazine2.
no central issuer – it is governed by a cryptographic
peer-to-peer decentralized protocol. On a global The team is now working on scaling up the
level, NRGcoin allows direct investments in the deployment to real houses and demonstrating the
energy sector and has the potential in the long run replicability of the concepts in real-life scenarios.
to boost the renewable energy economy. These Additional project proposals are being currently
concepts have sparked the interest of a large player developed that build on the success of Scanergy. O
on the hydro-power market, who has contacted the
team to negotiate further developments. 0RUHLQIRUPDWLRQRQWKH6FDQHUJ\3URMHFW\RXFDQƓQGDW
www.scanergy-project.eu.
Additional concepts developed in this project
include a novel demand response mechanism and 6FLHQW\ƓF&RRUGLQDWRU$QQ1RZH9ULMH8QLYHUVLWHLW%UXVVHO
a battery control strategy both using advanced
machine learning techniques. The team showed Technical Coordinator: Narcis Avellana, Sensing & Control
how the combination of these concepts allows to
decrease the overall stress on the grid, saving on 1 http://www.aamas2015.com/en/Best-Demo-Awards.html
infrastructure costs, and to reduce the demand for 2 http://iq.intel.co.uk/the-scanergy-smart-grid-earning-u-more-money-from-your-solar-panels/
energy from non-environmentally friendly sources.
The Scanergy system incentivizes consumers to use
the cheap renewable energy when it is available
and rewards prosumers for injecting energy when it
www.europeanenergyinnovation.eu
COMMUNICATION
The Scanergy Project
a SCAlable and modular system for
eNERGY trading between prosumers
Scanergy is an EU FP7 Marie Curie Industry-
Academia Partnerships and Pathways
(IAPP) project running for 3 years between
February 2013 and January 2016. The
project is a partnership between Vrije Universiteit
Brussel in Belgium and Sensing & Control Systems –
an SME in Barcelona, Spain.
Scanergy aims to develop a scalable and modular LVQHHGHGUHGXFLQJWKHQHHGWRƓUHXSHPHUJHQF\
system for energy trading between producers and peak power generators, which are both costly and
consumers of energy in the smart grid. These end pollutant. The novel concepts developed in the
users can collectively reduce their carbon footprint, Scanergy project have been compared against state-
as well as their dependence on fossil-fueled power of-the-art mechanisms in Repast Simphony simulator
plants by trading locally-produced renewable energy. using real data and they are shown to provide
VXIƓFLHQWHFRQRPLFEHQHƓWVZKLOHPRWLYDWLQJWKH
The main contributions of the project are the consumption of renewable energy.
development of an incentive mechanism for
renewable energy trade, called NRG-X-Change, and To demonstrate the applicability of Scanergy in the
a novel digital currency for energy, called NRGcoin. smart grid, the team deployed these concepts in a
model replica of a typical Belgian neighborhood
The innovative aspect of NRG-X-Change is that it featuring mini solar panels and Raspberry Pi for
allows prosumers to generate their own revenue smart meters. This interactive demonstration won the
when feeding energy in the grid. This mechanism Best Demo Award1 at the International Conference
was shown to improve over the net metering on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems
subsidy policy applied in some countries and offers (or AAMAS) in Istanbul in May 2015. The Scanergy
additional advantages for all actors in the grid. project was also featured in a popular science article
Similar to Bitcoin, NRGcoin is a digital currency with in Intel’s iQ Magazine2.
no central issuer – it is governed by a cryptographic
peer-to-peer decentralized protocol. On a global The team is now working on scaling up the
level, NRGcoin allows direct investments in the deployment to real houses and demonstrating the
energy sector and has the potential in the long run replicability of the concepts in real-life scenarios.
to boost the renewable energy economy. These Additional project proposals are being currently
concepts have sparked the interest of a large player developed that build on the success of Scanergy. O
on the hydro-power market, who has contacted the
team to negotiate further developments. 0RUHLQIRUPDWLRQRQWKH6FDQHUJ\3URMHFW\RXFDQƓQGDW
www.scanergy-project.eu.
Additional concepts developed in this project
include a novel demand response mechanism and 6FLHQW\ƓF&RRUGLQDWRU$QQ1RZH9ULMH8QLYHUVLWHLW%UXVVHO
a battery control strategy both using advanced
machine learning techniques. The team showed Technical Coordinator: Narcis Avellana, Sensing & Control
how the combination of these concepts allows to
decrease the overall stress on the grid, saving on 1 http://www.aamas2015.com/en/Best-Demo-Awards.html
infrastructure costs, and to reduce the demand for 2 http://iq.intel.co.uk/the-scanergy-smart-grid-earning-u-more-money-from-your-solar-panels/
energy from non-environmentally friendly sources.
The Scanergy system incentivizes consumers to use
the cheap renewable energy when it is available
and rewards prosumers for injecting energy when it
www.europeanenergyinnovation.eu
