Periodic Reporting for period 1 - FlexRICAN (Flexibility in RIs for global CArbon Neutrality)
Reporting period: 2024-03-01 to 2025-08-31
The FlexRICAN project brings together three landmark ESFRI infrastructures that have, or will have, when in operation different usages of energy: the European Spallation Source ERIC (ESS) in Sweden, the Extreme Light Infrastructure ERIC (ELI), with two running facilities (Czech Republic and Hungary) and the European Magnetic Field Laboratory AISBL (EMFL), with facilities in Grenoble and Nijmegen for DC fields and Dresden and Toulouse for pulsed fields (CNRS, SRU, HZDR). The RI’s and partners involved in FlexRICAN will unite their strength to optimise their ongoing (and/or future) energy projects. They will demonstrate that the RIs, as electro-intensive actors, are at the good scale to develop a global energetic approach delivering services to the European electrical grid through optimised energy flexibility and to local heating networks by developing Waste Heat Recovery projects.
Developing renewable energy capacity production and managing these developments in an integrated way thanks to energy oriented modelisation integrating RIs user communities and the new stakeholders appears like a promising solution.
Through the development of a multi-energy approach integrating academic knowledge and two key actors of the energy sector, Alfa Laval (AL) and Energy Pool (EP), FlexRICAN will propose new technologies and solutions to increase resource use efficiency and reduce the environmental impacts of European Research Infrastructures (RIs). The project will focus on assessing and validating the implementation of new solutions and technologies at the three ESFRI infrastructures involved. Prototypes and solutions will be developed and tested to identify solutions at the real scale of the infrastructures. It will contribute to quantify energy services and carbon print gain the RIs can performed throughout their full life cycle in order to increase the long-term sustainability of European Research Infrastructures and to contribute to the resilience of the energetical European system.
Developing renewable energy capacity production and managing these developments in an integrated way thanks to energy oriented modelisation integrating RIs user communities and the new stakeholders appears like a promising solution.
Through the development of a multi-energy approach integrating academic knowledge and two key actors of the energy sector, Alfa Laval (AL) and Energy Pool (EP), FlexRICAN will propose new technologies and solutions to increase resource use efficiency and reduce the environmental impacts of European Research Infrastructures (RIs). The project will focus on assessing and validating the implementation of new solutions and technologies at the three ESFRI infrastructures involved. Prototypes and solutions will be developed and tested to identify solutions at the real scale of the infrastructures. It will contribute to quantify energy services and carbon print gain the RIs can performed throughout their full life cycle in order to increase the long-term sustainability of European Research Infrastructures and to contribute to the resilience of the energetical European system.
During the first 18 months of project implementation, seven milestones and seven deliverables were successfully submitted as planned. Three consortium meetings were organised during this period: the project kick-off meeting (March 2023), the second consortium meeting (September 2024), and the third consortium meeting (April 2025). Each meeting had a distinct focus, ranging from project initiation and coordination to technical progress review and training activities. While some meetings involved external experts from Accelerator Science, Building Management, and Sustainability to provide insight into the project’s broader impact, others were dedicated to internal discussions on work package and task implementation, and the first training of Research Infrastructure (RI) staff to strengthen internal capacities and ensure the adoption of new methodologies.
Significant technical progress was achieved across all technical work packages.
• WP3 developed a digital modelling tool to be built in Jupyter Notebook to simulate the performance of PV installations at any location, integrating meteorological databases (PVGIS and Open-Meteo), and financial and environmental estimations (LCOE, carbon payback time, and CO2 emissions). In parallel, a comprehensive study on solar-thermal and hybrid panel technologies was done, while site-specific wind turbine performance assessments were performed on-site at ESS.
• WP4 conducted detailed power data analyses and risk assessments, optimising key parameters and the successful installation of a CHP system at ELI, improving grid stability and energy efficiency. Three national markets (France, Sweden, and the Netherlands) were integrated into the proprietary simulation tool, JOSE, to enable initial multi-market simulations.
• WP5 demonstrated the technical feasibility of heat recovery from research infrastructures, achieving Milestone 5 ”Production of waste water at 50°C by high field magnets” and advancing towards prototype implementation for integrating a heat exchanger or/and associated piloted valves to connect the high field facility to heating networks..
• WP6 successfully deployed an open-access version of the OMEGAlpes modelling platform, developed multi-energy models for all partner sites, and performed combined remote and on-site flexibility audits. A case study at LNCMI Grenoble quantified a potential 27 % reduction in GHG emissions through optimised rescheduling and waste heat recovery management, forming the basis of a scientific publication.
• WP7 progressed in the areas of digital twin development, creation of a tool for program block. Additional studies that considered all the planetary boundaries linked to 2 liquefaction cycles of distribution were completed in collaboration with Transylience.
Significant technical progress was achieved across all technical work packages.
• WP3 developed a digital modelling tool to be built in Jupyter Notebook to simulate the performance of PV installations at any location, integrating meteorological databases (PVGIS and Open-Meteo), and financial and environmental estimations (LCOE, carbon payback time, and CO2 emissions). In parallel, a comprehensive study on solar-thermal and hybrid panel technologies was done, while site-specific wind turbine performance assessments were performed on-site at ESS.
• WP4 conducted detailed power data analyses and risk assessments, optimising key parameters and the successful installation of a CHP system at ELI, improving grid stability and energy efficiency. Three national markets (France, Sweden, and the Netherlands) were integrated into the proprietary simulation tool, JOSE, to enable initial multi-market simulations.
• WP5 demonstrated the technical feasibility of heat recovery from research infrastructures, achieving Milestone 5 ”Production of waste water at 50°C by high field magnets” and advancing towards prototype implementation for integrating a heat exchanger or/and associated piloted valves to connect the high field facility to heating networks..
• WP6 successfully deployed an open-access version of the OMEGAlpes modelling platform, developed multi-energy models for all partner sites, and performed combined remote and on-site flexibility audits. A case study at LNCMI Grenoble quantified a potential 27 % reduction in GHG emissions through optimised rescheduling and waste heat recovery management, forming the basis of a scientific publication.
• WP7 progressed in the areas of digital twin development, creation of a tool for program block. Additional studies that considered all the planetary boundaries linked to 2 liquefaction cycles of distribution were completed in collaboration with Transylience.
The FlexRICAN project began by targeting the supply of high-temperature waste heat (e.g. 50°C) to meet external demands such as district heating. The consortium has since shifted to a more innovative approach, treating RIs and district heating managers as co-stakeholders and optimising heat delivery based on technical realities at the facilities. As of today, the project demonstrates that even low-temperature waste heat (down to 25°C) can deliver significant societal value. This marks a clear departure from conventional practices and establishes a new paradigm in sustainable heat recovery, achieving results beyond the current state of the art.