Intelligent interconnection of prosumers in positive energy communities with twins of things for digital energy markets

Project Information

TwinERGY

Grant agreement ID: 957736

DOI

10.3030/957736

Project closed

EC signature date 31 August 2020

Start date 1 November 2020

End date 30 April 2024

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Secure, clean and efficient energy

Total cost

€ 7 090 310,00

EU contribution

€ 5 903 474,39

Coordinated by

PANEPISTIMIO PATRON
Greece

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - TwinERGY (Intelligent interconnection of prosumers in positive energy communities with twins of things for digital energy markets)

Reporting period: 2022-05-01 to 2024-04-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The current energy market model is largely driven by the perspective of the suppliers. As a result, consumers are not generally able to track their energy consumption or actively participate in the market. Nevertheless, current challenges (social, economic, environmental etc.) highlight the need to move from this paradigm towards a more user centered approach. These proposed new models focus on the transformation of citizens from passive consumers to active prosumers. This requires a broad spectrum of interventions, ranging from technology deployments to engagement and participation initiatives. The goal is to provide significant benefits towards tackling energy poverty in the EU, currently affecting almost 11% of the European population. To achieve this TwinERGY developed a suite of tools and applications for retailers and local energy communities, enabling them to: Accurately forecast Demand Response potential and demand flexibility of prosumers under the Consumer Digital Twin paradigm, Optimally segment, classify and cluster/ aggregate demand and storage assets for the formulation of spatio-temporal VPPs, Continuously monitor the evolution of Demand Response events and signals and revise pre-defined strategies with the re-configuration of dynamic VPPs, Gain access to a wide variety of DER assets through a properly configured open and Transactive Energy Marketplace, Negotiate with individual DER owners on the terms of flexibility activation in the frame of the Transactive Energy Marketplace, Ensure objective DR settlement and prosumer remuneration on the basis of a properly adapted Measurement and verification framework facilitated by the use of Distributed Ledger Technologies. The results of the TwinERGY project can facilitate the transition towards more democratized energy markets that allow open participation of currently excluded flexibility sources and promote transparent and fair distribution of the benefits achieved through Demand Response.
Project Objectives: O1: Introduce residential energy consumers as active players in energy markets and ensure significant benefits through their engagement in human-centric demand response programs, O2: Safeguard distribution grid reliability and the transition to a more fossil-free energy future (increased RES integration) through highly effective demand response strategies on the basis of aggregated flexibility utilization, O3: Deliver an open standards-based modular solution that ensures interoperability between smart grids, energy management systems and smart home devices and holds a high replication potential around the EU, O4: Enable intelligence enhancement of Smart Home Systems and the provision of innovative energy and non-energy services to consumers, O5: Establishing local flexibility markets for the transparent sharing of benefits achieved through flexibility-based DR optimization to all involved stakeholders, O6: Tackle major market entry barriers for prosumers with the introduction of suitable business models for local energy communities and retailers.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

1) Completion of all WPs,2) Deliverables submitted: 65/65,3) Milestones achieved: 7 /7, 4) Development of 8 modules: Consumer well-being module, Home & Tertiary realtime Energy Monitoring Module, Consumer and Neighborhood demand flexibility profiling Module, RES integration and DER management Module, Electric Mobility as a Service Module, Transactive Energy Module, Customer Deployment and Social Engagement Module, Risk Management and event handling Module, 5) Development of the Digital Twin Platform, 6) Development of the TwinERGY System 7) Households engaged: 67 (20-Athens, 12-Bristol, 20-Benetutti, 15-Hagedorn) 8) Organization of 2 Pan European workshops 9) 14 scientific publications10) 19 videos for project dissemination purposes.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Progress beyond the state of the art:1) Digital Twin Platform: A digital twin interconnected platform was developed forming the interlink between the consumer and the community Digital Twin. The development DT was based on calibrated physics-based models and the arrays of IoT sensing and metering devices. The same models were used to develop the different energy services that allow the building's performance optimization with respect to comfort, energy and especially, flexibility. One of the novelties was the creation of a digital twin of the consumer, using data aggregated by a wearable on her/him. The connection between the physical and the digital world by building the exact replica of the user’s routine energy and comfort wise, creates a secure path leading to the most sought out predictability of consumption and consumer behavior, putting the consumer/prosumer right at the heart of the energy market. 2) Transactive Energy Platform: Developed a TEP which its core is a decentralized transactional platform that offers its participants to sell their flexible energy loads and excess capacity on an open market to the (micro) grid operators or to each other. The Platform uses the Ethereum network and technology to create a trustless auction house where flexible capacity and demand from DERs are auctioned off through encrypted, shared, immutable, and publicly auditable Smart Contracts. This platform offers a path to grid decentralization, energy democratization, and a way to effectively leverage and monetize the emerging DER infrastructure. 3) EVs Dynamic Tariff Charging Platform: An EVs charging network, in a peer-to-peer context, based on a dynamic tariff trading model, was developed and operated within TwinERGY. The proposed solution was supported by the development of a comprehensive information system of the network, as well as by an App for mobile devices addressed to the users – owners of electric vehicles. The information system collected all the information from the charging stations, the energy data in real time as well as information from the end users via the mobile application and supported the integrated management of the network of charging stations, customers and their pricing. Expected results and impacts: 1)Increased number and types of consumers engaged in demand-response across EU, 2)Increased uptake of services that combine energy efficiency with other energy services, technologies and non-energy benefits, 3)Increased reliability of innovative energy services, 4)Accessibility to innovative energy services, 5)Demonstrated and improved viability of innovative energy services, best practices and effective incentives that can be replicated at large scale, 6)Increased predictability of consumption patterns and consumer behavior, 7)Increased data protection and privacy for customers, 8)Increased share of energy or power that can be mobilized to provide flexibility to the grid and increase the hosting capacity for RES.

TwinERGY leaflets, Smarter E event in Munich

TwinERGY booth, presence at the ENLIT Fair in Milano

TwinERGY coordination team at the ENLIT Fair in Milano

2nd Pan European Workshop in Barcelona 2024

TwinERGY leaflets, Smarter E event in Munich

2nd Pan European Workshop in Barcelona, 2024