The EU Energy Projects Podcast

This episode delves into how the TALOS Project is developing cutting-edge robotics and artificial intelligence to automate operations and maintenance tasks in photovoltaic plants.

The crucial role of solar power in the energy transition requires no introduction, but the ever-increasing scale of solar PV operations has thrown up a range of challenges.

These large-scale solar energy installations, often located in remote areas, face challenges like finding skilled labor and ensuring worker safety.

In this episode we explore sustainability and ethics in energy with Marine Cornelis. 

This conversation is part of a special double episode, the first discussion of which will be published on the EU Energy Projects podcast, and the second on Energ’ethic, Marine’s own podcast that has been running for over three years.

We also delve into the opportunities for meaningful change that European Sustainable Energy Week 2024 - where Marine is a panel moderator - brings to the European Energy Sector.

Marine has a profound belief in making the energy and climate transition relatable to people. “If we only stay at the technical or business level, we’ll never reach people’s hearts,” she said. Her podcast focuses on giving a human face to the energy and climate transition, emphasising personal stories to engage people and demonstrate that they can make a difference.

In this episode we explore the learnings of the EU-funded EV4EU project, diving deep into the challenges and opportunities surrounding EV adoption across Europe.

The European transportation sector is facing a massive transformation, and electric vehicles are set to play a crucial role Europe’s race to meet emissions targets.

We'll hear about the project's findings on consumer behaviour, infrastructure needs, technology, data sharing and an EU policy and regulatory landscape in desperate need of attention.

This episode also features a new host, Ross Hastie, who spoke to some of the leading minds in the project, in Lisbon.

He is joined in conversation by Rui Martins, the Head of R&D Structural Funds at Smart Energy LAB, one of the Project’s 16 consortium members.

We also hear from Sónia Sampaio, Smart Energy LAB’s Head Of Experience Design and Diogo Briuto, who lead’s their Engineering department

Smart Energy LAB is leading a crucial work package focused on understanding the key factors influencing V2X integration in smart cities and societal adoption across Europe

The project’s participants are based in Denmark, Greece, Portugal and Slovenia, thus covering a broad range spectrum of the European environment, at very different levels of electric mobility maturity.

So, buckle up, as we explore the challenges and opportunities for making electric vehicles a mainstream reality across the continent.

The European Union finds itself at a crossroad, balancing the growth of renewable energy sources against the potential benefits of nuclear power.

In this episode, we delve into the intricate dance of progress and safety, exploring cutting-edge advancements and the contrasting views on nuclear energy's role in the EU's energy transition. 

In a world where the consequences of climate change are becoming increasingly evident, the debate surrounding the future of energy production has never been more critical. 

This Episode of The EU Energy Projects Podcast features insights from data experts Jelle Wilders (CCO Axual) and Laurent Schmitt (Head of Utilities & European Developments at dcbel & President at Digital4Grids), and unveils how the Kafka platfrom is becoming the cornerstone of secure and efficient power data exchange platforms. The team also discusses the examples of Projects Eddie and OneNet. 

The European Union's ambitious clean energy transition hinges not just on technological innovation but also on robust data management frameworks. As the EU leans into a future powered by renewable sources, the security and privacy of the data that orchestrates this monumental shift have taken the center stage.

Project EDDIE is the first data space to bring real-time consumer data into European energy markets.

In this episode of the EU Energy Projects Podcast, Areti is joined by Laurent Schmitt, who represents Project EDDIE, to discuss the importance of robust EU regulations in data protection, cybersecurity, cost efficiency, as well as Europe’s competitiveness in cloud and data spaces compared to China and the US.

Project EDDIE focuses on reducing cost of data sharing, making data interoperable and managing consumer consent. The whole endeavour isn’t without challenges, though. For example, flexibility management, as well as concerns regarding data access and security.

Laurent talks us through the intricacies of data spaces, a phenomenon shaping how we share and govern data across a federation of clouds with an emphasis on sovereignty, cybersecurity, and the geographic nature of data.

Laurent also addresses the nuances between freely available data and models that necessitate payment, and the role of open-source technology in this ecosystem.

Amidst the discussion, GDPR and the imperative of maintaining data anonymity resonate as foundational aspects of this transformation.  

The Podcast explores the emergent role of specialised companies like Decibel in the energy transition, Europe's standing in the global data sharing echelons, and the need for stringent technological safeguards against external cyber threats.

The conversation will also charge into the realm of electric vehicles, touching on the projected surge in both EVs and homes equipped with PVs by 2035, laying down the tracks for a future powered by renewables.             

Project EDDIE demonstrates how the need for robust regulations aligns with the ambition of making Europe a powerhouse of smart industry.

Stay tuned for a visionary episode full of insights and optimism for a greener, smarter world.

*Laurent Schmitt is the Head of Utilities & European Developments at dcbel & President at Digital4Grids

The building sector accounts for 36% of the EU's greenhouse gas emissions and 42% of the energy consumed. This episode of The EU Energy Projects Podcast explores the concept of green buildings and neighborhoods, with a focus on the EU-funded project PROBONO.

Key points:

• The EU is taking steps to promote green buildings, including mandating all new buildings to be zero-emission by 2030.
• Green buildings and neighborhoods offer numerous benefits, including reduced energy use, improved air quality, and enhanced community well-being.
• Challenges include affordability, social acceptance, and integrating new technologies with existing infrastructure.
• Project PROBONO highlights the potential of digital twins for planning and managing green communities.
• Collaboration, shared knowledge, and public support are crucial for widespread adoption of green building practices.

In this episode of The EU Energy Projects Podcast, Areti delves into the EU initiative called "Clean Energy for EU Islands" and the impact it's having on over 2400 islands within the European Union. Areti interviews Zia Leonard and Cecile Barrer, who are part of the EU-funded project NESOI, which aims to facilitate the energy transition on EU islands.

They discuss the challenges and successes of the project, including the differences between islands in the north and south, the importance of capacity building and knowledge exchange, the role of energy communities, and the need for collaboration and funding. Join us as we explore the complexities of transitioning from fossil fuels to renewables on EU islands and the valuable support provided by projects like NESOI.

In this episode of the EU Projects Zone Podcast, Areti Ntaradimou is joined by Markus Taumberger to talk about iFLEX, an EU funded project that aims at empowering energy consumers.

To achieve that, the project tries to make it as easy as possible for energy consumers to participate in the demand response process.

"The iFLEX project is directly addressing the EU policies, namely the 2020-2030 climate and energy framework and the Energy Union" says Markus.

Adding, "There's a strong focus on renewables, self consumption, energy market overhaul and consumer empowerment".

The project’s ambition is, among other things, to create an intelligent personal assistant for the energy consumer, called the iFLEX Assistant.

And while the consumer will still have full control of the flexibility, the operation can be fully automated so that the consumer does not have to do anything on a daily basis.

Listen to this episode of the EU Projects Zone Podcast and hear from Markus Taumberger about the concept and objectives of the iFLEX project.

In this episode of the EU Projects Zone Podcast, Areti Ntaradimou is joined by Mònica Aragüés Peñalba to talk about BD4OPEM, a Horizon 2020-funded project that creates an open energy marketplace, offering innovative AI-based services.

The goal of the project is to enable the efficient management of energy distribution grids and associated assets.

According to Mònica, the ambitious goals of EU Commission's Green Deal exist within the realm of possibility and BD4OPEM can help "by applying artificial intelligence techniques and in particular machine learning".

Because - among other things - both AI and Machine Learning when applied "enable services that improve the management of electrical grids with high penetration of renewables".

Listen to this episode of the EU Projects Zone Podcast and hear from Mònica Aragüés Peñalba the open marketplace that BD4OPEM focuses on is going to work and how it will ensure secure data flows.

In this episode of the EU Projects Zone Podcast, Areti Ntaradimou is joined by Samuel Borroy Vincente about how FLEXIGRID helps improve the distribution grid operation, making it more flexible, reliable and cost-efficient.

To achieve that, the project has developed hardware solutions and can demonstrate eight different use cases to address the most common EU distribution grid problems.

"FLEXIGRID is closely involved with the distribution grid and the development of technology solutions linked with advanced monitoring, control and automation of the network" says Samuel.

He adds, "the project is is quite focused on addressing some of the main challenges related to the energy sustainability and Europe's objectives, in terms of energy".

In addition "it presents an ambitious scenario for the coming years, which involves [a focus in] reduction of emissions, electrification, stainability and energy efficiency".

Listen to this episode of the EU Projects Zone Podcast and hear from Samuel Borroy Vincente about the context as well as the solutions that FLEXIGRID proposes.

In this episode of the EU Projects Zone Podcast, Areti Ntaradimou is joined by Massimo Bertoncini to talk about the idea behind the BD4NRG project, how the team approached it, and finally the purpose of the project.

BD4NRG is an EU-funded project that focuses on unlocking and exploiting the economic potential of big data for the energy sector.

Massimo pointed out that while big data presents opportunities, it can also introduce challenges, particularly in the context of electricity grids. "The electricity grid could become more and more efficient in a landscape where renewable energy is playing a more prominent role," he said.

One of the main challenges that energy companies face nowadays, however, is according to Massimo "the capability to manage enormous amounts of data sets".

Listen to this episode of the EU Projects Zone Podcast and hear from Massimo Bertoncini how BD4NRG will stand as a testament to the potential of data sharing in shaping a more efficient and sustainable energy future.

In this episode of the EU Projects Zone Podcast, Areti Ntaradimou is joined by Francesco Saverio Nucci to talk about MATRYCS and how this project will combine existing modern technological breakthroughs to develop a new decision-making and data analytics solution for energy-efficient buildings.

MATRYCS is an EU-funded project that focuses on seven objectives, divided into three categories: Scientific, Technological and Business.

Francesco explains that the main goal of the projects "is to use machine learning, data and artificial intelligence to understand how to save energy in a building".

In other words, the project focuses on energy saving, while "at the same time we are trying to develop a cloud-based data analytics toolbox".

Listen to this episode of the EU Projects Zone Podcast to hear from Francesco Saverio Nucci how MATRYCS will develop a data-driven Reference Architecture for AI-based scalable big data management and analytics in smart energy-efficient buildings.

Listen also to other episodes of The EU Project Zone Podcast:
PlaMES with Matteo Pozzi
SmartSPIN with Luciano De Tommasi and Ruchi Agrawal
Smart2B with Nuno Mateus
ACCEPT with Ismini Dimitriadou
Graphene Flagship with Piero Gamarra

In this episode of the EU Projects Zone Podcast, Areti Ntaradimou is joined by Matteo Pozzi to talk about PlaMES and how this project will deliver a more reliable and effective energy system across all sectors.

PlaMES is a Horizon 2020 project that aims to plan the development of integrated energy infrastructure to guarantee a more reliable and effective energy system across all sectors.

"The objective of the project is to design decarbonized scenarios for the future, looking at 2040 and beyond, in a way that the investments can be sustainable," says Matteo.

"The problem", adds Matteo, "is that there is a lack of tools that actually cover the complexity of putting in the same place grid versus supply. Both systems will change quite dramatically in the future but understanding how to invest in the supply structure, is is going to be a big challenge at the EU, but also on a global level".

And the objective that the PlaMES project's team set for themselves was, according to Matteo, "to create something which would manage such problems and data structures with the capability to actually navigate and use the data effectively, which was a second element that was opted".

Listen to this episode of the EU Projects Zone Podcast to hear from Matteo Pozzi about how PlaMES will enable governments, from regional up to EU-level, jointly with Transmission and Distribution System Operators (TSO and DSO) as well as multi-utilities, to better plan the development of integrated energy infrastructures.

Listen also to other episodes of The EU Project Zone Podcast:

SmartSPIN with Luciano De Tommasi and Ruchi Agrawal
Smart2B with Nuno Mateus
ACCEPT with Ismini Dimitriadou
Graphene Flagship with Piero Gamarra

In this episode of the EU Projects Zone Podcast, Areti Ntaradimou is joined by Luciano De Tommasi and Ruchi Agrawal to talk about SmartSPIN and how this project will deliver a new business model for the energy sector.

This EU funded project aims at removing the current market barriers for integrating energy efficiency smart services in the commercial rented sector. To succeed in doing so, the project is developing a new business model beneficial for all parties involved.

"The new business model is expected to allow both owners and tenants to profit from energy efficiency improvements and flexibility services, redistributing the costs and also the benefits in a more fair and transparent way" says Luciano.

As for the main target audience of the project, Ruchi says that would be the "landlords and tenants of commercial rated buildings across Europe". As well as "Facility management companies, energy service providers, associations, finance providers, policymakers, etc."

Listen to this episode of the EU Projects Zone Podcast to hear from Luciano De Tommasi and Ruchi Agrawal about how SmartSPIN’s business model will integrate the latest advanced smart energy services concepts and technologies available on the market along with other non-energy services.

In this episode of the EU Projects Zone Podcast, Areti Ntaradimou is joined by Daniele Porcu to talk about Smart5Grid and how this project contributes to smart grid development through 5G.

The EU-funded Smart5Grid project aims to revolutionise the energy industry by establishing four novel fundamental functions in modern smart grids and allowing for the continuous and stable advancement of 5G technology by developing a 5G experimental facility for new improvements and changes.

The project focuses on investigating the use and implementation of 5G in the energy industry. It has several partners including DSOs , TSOs, technology partners and SMEs who make up more than half of the consortium.

Said Porcu: "We always seem to think about 5G as a medium to connect field devices to whatever, but since it is a digital network, there is an opportunity to modify this communication infrastructure based on our needs."

Listen to this episode of the EU Projects Zone Podcast to hear from project coordinator Daniele Porcu about how they are planning to tackle the issue of 5G tech not being spread throughout the European continent equally, which is hindering the project's pan-European approach.

In this episode of the EU Projects Zone Podcast, Areti Ntaradimou talks to David Emanuel Rua about the interoperable solutions InterConnect uses.

Project manager for InterConnect, Rua discusses the project's solutions that are connecting smart homes, buildings and grids.

"This is a large project, but if I was to summarise it in a few words, I would say it's designing the basics of, and the tools for, semantic interoperability of digital systems that cover the demand side" says Rua.

He adds, "we are creating the tools to certify different components in different systems that allow the interaction between them to produce".

When asked how the EU Commission and local authorities can help projects like InterConnect, Rua mentions that "initiatives such as Bridge for instance, where we share experiences" are a good start.

Listen to the discussion and find out about InterConnect’s seven large scale pilots, as well as lessons learnt now that the project is approaching its conclusion in October 2023.

In this episode of the EU Projects Zone Podcast, Areti Ntaradimou talks to Konstantinos Arvanitis and Yuliya Degtyariova about the cutting edge technologies that PRECEPT uses.

Konstantinos Arvanitis is the coordinator of the project, while Yuliya Degtyariova represents the Ukrainian company that is a member of the project's consortium.

Together, they explain the main focus points of the project, as well as how the war in Ukraine and the Russian invasion have affected PRECEPT.

"Less energy, smarter buildings" is the motto of the project according to Konstantinos. He says that "there is a proposal to all European member states for all citizens to cut down the electricity and gas they spend, and basically, that is all PRECEPT is about".

Also, in a time of war, since one of the 5 use cases of the project is in Ukraine. According to Yuliya "We were quite active before the war, but when it started, we decided to put the project on hold".

That did not last long however, as in the course of a few months, the Ukrainian partners of the project realized that despite the difficulties they could continue. And so they did.

"We immediately informed our partners in the EU and our project partners that we are able and eager to continue" Yuliya says.

Listen to the discussion and find out how, according to Konstantinos and Yuliya, PRECEPT will help transform conventional residential buildings into highly efficient and proactive residential buildings. As well as what it means running a project in time of war.

In this episode of the EU Projects Zone Podcast, Areti Ntaradimou talks to Nuno Matheus about the ways in which Smart2B will enable smarter buildings through innovative technologies.

Nuno Mateus is the Coordinator of Smart2B and in this podcast episode, he explains the objectives and innovations of this Horizon 2020-funded project.

"This project intends to develop a smart building ecosystem that aims to improve the smartness of an existing building" says Nuno.

"We are developing 3 main technological pillars including smart to be devices, platform, service and user interaction app" he adds.

The project's innovative technologies will interact with the occupants and the grid in real time and will manage themselves efficiently, so as to become an active element of the energy system.

As for the target audience of the project, according to Nuno "Since we are developing a full ecosystem, our technical audience includes from the end users to any other stakeholders in the energy sector".

Listen to the discussion and find out why Nuno counts Regulation as one of the big challenges that Smart2B had to face and overcome.

In this episode of the EU Projects Zone Podcast, Areti Ntaradimou talks to Carsten Rothballer about the ways in which Act!onHeat will raise awareness on heating and cooling on a pan-European level.

Carsten Rothballer is the Coordinator within ICLEI Europe of project Act!onHeat. In this podcast episode, he explains the objectives and innovations of this Horizon 2020-funded project.

The Act!onHeat project's aim is to "accelerate strategic heating and cooling planning within municipalities" says Carsten.

And to accomplish that, he adds, "it provides the framework methods in a structured way for municipalities to lead their decision making towards decarbonizing".

Heating and cooling is responsible for roughly half of Europe’s energy and depends mainly on fossil fuels. The project aims to raise awareness of that fact, as well as propose alternatives.

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According to Carsten and Act!onHeat they can be replaced by Renewable Energy Sources (RES).

"There are many alternatives to fossil fuels," says Carsten. He uses the example of district heating.

"District heating is a wonderful connector of different sources," he says, adding that all we need to do is "take a local inventory of what is available within the city boundary and even beyond, within the region".

Listen to the discussion and find out why Carsten believes that it will be a political and not a technological failure if we do not achieve our 2050 energy goals.

In this episode of the EU Projects Zone Podcast, Areti Ntaradimou talks to Igor Steiner about the ways in which project GIFT helps European islands achieve decarbonization.

Igor is the coordinator of the project, which is developing, among other things, innovative systems to allow islands to integrate vast amount of renewables.

This is the second episode dedicated to this project. Last year together with Igor we demystified the project’s focus and action points. This time, we are focusing mostly on outcomes so far and lessons learnt, as well as next steps.

And as far as outcomes are concerned, according to Igor, those would be "the system integration of various solution providers and their technologies into one comprehensive solution".

Listen to the first episode about Gift

That, because "it's not so easy to integrate so many very advanced solutions from consortium partners in one integrated solution to operate consistently."

GIFT is in its final stages of development and according to Igor, the next steps would be "collecting and analyze all appropriate data from deployment".

Listen to the whole discussion and find out also what Igor hope to have accomplished once the project's work is concluded, as well as the lessons so far learnt.

In this episode of the EU Projects Zone Podcast, Areti Ntaradimou talks to Luca Ferrari about the ways in which RETROFEED will support industrial users.

Luca Ferrari is a senior energy consultant and responsible for the development of the digital tool of the project. In this podcast episode, he explains the project’s objectives and innovations.

"The idea on which RETROFEED is focusing is ways to reduce emission and increase the energy efficiency of industrial processes," says Luca. The word RETROFEED itself comes from the retrofitting of industrial applications.

"What we are trying to do is create technologies and innovation that could reuse materials in a different way, creating some circular economy and some synergies between different processes," says Luca.

At the same time, the project is trying to lower the impact on the environment of industrial processes and create innovation.

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And in addition, the project is "paving the way for future application also on a digital level because we think it's important now to start monitoring emission and energy efficiency on this industrial processes".

And how would one tackle the issue of local rules and regulations which might be different from country to country even within the union? Well, "luckily", says Luca, "digital solutions are borderless. So we could develop them n Italy and apply them in other the places as well".

Listen to the discussion and find out also how the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the operation of RETROFEED and how the issue was tackled.

In this episode of the EU Projects Zone Podcast, Areti Ntaradimou talks to Vincenzo Croce about the novel community-centred social, technological and business ecosystem that BRIGHT promotes.

Vincenzo Croce is the project’s coordinator and in this episode, he explains the project’s ambition to create a demand response strategy that will work from a day ahead scheduling up to real-time adaptive control.

"The project is addressing the needs of flexibility, which are changing due to the renewable energy resources that are penetrating the grid more and more", says Vincenzo.

Follow the Projects Zone for the latest news about EU projects

One of the project's objectives is to understand energy consumer behaviour. Given the diversity of the continent's various grids and consumers' mentalities, this can be, as Vincenzo says, "a challenging task".

"We have four different pilots, in four different countries, involving different regions. And this is our way to approach this diversity issue, by having diverse pilots."

After all, the project needs to "tailor specific solutions for a specific region, for specific needs. So, the wider the range of pilots and the information and content gathering that we can get the wider and more effective is the solution that we can bring".

Listen to the discussion and find out also how BRIGHT is going to allow individual assets to simultaneously provide power balancing service, grid congestion management, and economic benefits to participating stakeholders.

In this episode of the EU Projects Zone podcast, Areti Ntaradimou talks to Alvaro Nofuentes and Anastasis Tzoumpas about the cross border electricity interconnections that both TRINITY and Farcross promote.

Alvaro Nofuentes is the project coordinator of TRINITY and Anastasis Tzoumpas the technical manager of Farcross.

In this episode of the podcast they discuss the similarities and the differences between the two projects as well as ways that they can collaborate to promote cross border collaboration in a major scale.

"TRINITY is a project that focuses in enhancing the collaboration between the TSOs and facilitating the operation of the electricity markets" says Alvaro.

Farcross, on the other hand, "is a project that aims to facilitate the cross border flows between countries and also to unlock the capacities of the existing grids" says Anastasis.

Both projects want to help improve the cross border flow of electricity. They mostly focus on the South Eastern Europe, as well as the Central Europe.

"After some discussions, we figured out that we have a lot of synergy potential and together we have developed a common paper. There we show how our technologies are complementary" says Alvaro.

Extra focus is given to creating a resilient and safe grid when mobilizing RES, although according to Anastasis "The grids are not ready yet and thats why we need to apply innovation".

Listen to the discussion and find out also how TRINITY and Farcross unlock resources for the cross border collaboration flows despite the different rules and regulations in the various member states.

In this episode of the EU Projects Zone podcast, Areti Ntaradimou talks to Javier Valiño about data and the proposed concept and architecture of the Omega-X project.

Javier Valiño is the coordinator of the project and in this episode of the EU Projects Zone Podcast Series he is explaining the concept and objectives of the project.

Like, for example, the primary goal of the project’s reference architecture relies on deriving appropriate requirements for sound, secured and trusted data trading.

"Technology aside, the idea for us is to prove the benefits for everybody to share data, even if they are small data owners such as prosumers or large utilities," says Javier.

This is a much-needed operation since large amounts of valuable data are available in energy systems but are often underused.

Follow the Projects Zone for the latest news about EU projects

There is no single data platform, for example, connecting data from Europe's electricity sector's generation, transmission, distribution and consumption domains or across the various energy vectors – electricity, gas, heat, etc.

The barriers also imply the lack of proper mechanisms and policies that ensure secure, sovereign and fair data sharing according to the projects "manifesto".

Therefore, it makes sense that the EU Commission is looking for a single data market and projects like Omega-X are helping the commission achieve that goal. How?

The project is collaborating with other data spaces working on the same topic.

According to Javier, "we are collaborating with each other to maximize potential. We are always making sure that whatever we are doing is interoperable with whatever they are doing".

"Ultimately, in the following years, we will be testing how our data providers or service providers will be able to register, login, etc. on the other data spaces".

Listen to the discussion and find out also how Omega-X will help users achieve data sovereignty, the ability of a given actor (corporate or person) to act as self-determined for its own data.

In this episode of the EU Projects Zone podcast, Areti Ntaradimou talks to Ismini Dimitriadou about the digital toolbox that ACCEPT intends to develop and deliver.

Ismini is the project's coordinator and in this episode of the EU Projects Zone Podcast, she explains how this tool will facilitate the energy communities and achieve its goals without compromising the quality of living for the members of the communities.

The Core of the ACCEPT project is the concept of “energy communities” with the collective approach to bring citizens, local businesses and organisations together to produce and consume locally generated, renewable energy.

Ideally the project will increase their comfort with the assistance of smart devices. "What Accept will do" says Ismini, "is develop a suite of digital tools that will unlock flexibility for the energy communities."

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And by unlocking flexibility, the energy communities will be able to, according to Ismini, "offer services to third parties, for example DSOs, aggregators, retailers, and so on, but also to its members".

The project already accommodates the members of four energy communities.

According to Ismini, together with the communities, "what we do is look into business models that they can implement going forward.

"And we do that baring in mind that an energy community can assume different roles...for example the role of the retailer, or the aggregator or that of a service company".

The developed tools of the project will be demonstrated and validated in four pilot sites in Greece, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland involving more than 3,000 people and 750 residences.

Listen to the whole discussion and find out also how ACCEPT will help energy communities reduce their dependency on fossil fuels, save energy and thus be able to reduce their electricity bill.

Listen also to other episodes of The EU Project Zone Podcast:
Graphene Flagship with Piero Gamarra
Synergy with Ugo Stecchi
The EU Projects Zone Podcast: OneNet with Helena Gerard

In this episode of the EU Projects Zone podcast, Areti Ntaradimou talks to Helena Gerard about the OneNet approach to creating a fully replicable and scalable architecture that enables the whole European electrical system to operate as a single system.

Helena is the Workpackage leader and focuses on the market design of this EU-funded project, which aims to build a customer-centric approach to grid operation.

The project OneNet (One Network for Europe), led by the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology FIT, brings together a consortium of over 70 partners.

“The ultimate goal of OneNet is based on three pilars” says Helena, “first, we want to have one common market architecture for Europe. Second, we want one common ICT architecture for Europe. And third, we want to have this validated in one policy recommendation which will be supported by all stakeholders in the value chain”.

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If you have that as an objective, then you obviously need to be, according to Helena, “innovative, but you also need to test it in very different circumstances. And that is exactly what the OneNet project is doing”.

One big challenge that the project is tackling is “the coordination between TSOs and DSOs”. This is not a new challenge for the sector, but it is one that is becoming ever more urgent for the energy transition.

Tune in for more information on how OneNet’s architecture works across all levels, from small consumers to large producers.

In this episode of the EU Projects Zone podcast, Areti Ntaradimou talks to Carlos Damas Silva about the EUniversal approach to the use of flexibility by DSOs and their interaction with new markets.

Carlos is the coordinator of this EU-funded project, the focus of which is the development of the concept of the Universal Market Enabling Interface or UMEI, a unique approach to foster interoperability across Europe.

This is the second episode dedicated to this project. Last year together with the project’s representative we demystified the project’s focus and action points. This time, as the project enters its final stage we discuss the outcomes and next steps.

Listen to the first episode about EUniversal

According to Carlos, the years working on the project gave the team "a much clearer view on what we can take away from flexibility, as well as the grid's needs in terms of planning, expansion and operation".

One of the most important lessons learnt by working on EUniversal, among other things, "was how to run cost-efficient networks" says Carlos.

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As for the next steps for the project as it approaches its "expiration" day? "We have a very well-structured plan," says Carlos, "because the UMEI is open source for any stakeholder of the industry to use". In other words, the "expiration" date is anything but.

Listen to the whole discussion and find out also Carlos' vision for achieving interoperability at a pan-European level, as well as how regulators can help.

This episode was recorded at Enlit Europe in Frankfurt.

In this episode of the EU Projects Zone podcast, Areti Ntaradimou talks to Ugo Stecchi about how the Synergy project will introduce a novel framework in response to the need for “end-to-end” coordination between the electricity stakeholders.

Ugo Stecchi is the coordinator of this EU-funded project, the framework of which references significant data architecture that leverages data, coming from diverse sources.

It includes 24 Partners in 9 countries, namely Spain, Greece, Finland, Cyprus, Croatia, Italy, Portugal, Austria, and Denmark.

“Synergy aims at designing and developing a big data and artificial intelligence analytics platform for energy purposes where the different stakeholders in the energy value chain are allowed to participate and to exchange their data in a trustful manner,” says Ugo.

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Working with data equals working with new and innovative technologies, such as blockchain, machine learning and artificial intelligence, but as Ugo says “we are keeping an eye on new technologies in general as they are evolving”.

According to the project’s ‘message’, a big data platform like this is due to help the electricity value chain stakeholders to:

• Simultaneously enhance their data reach;
• Improve their internal intelligence on electricity-related optimization functions while getting involved in novel sharing/trading models of data sources and intelligence to gain better insights;
• Shift individual decision-making to a collective intelligence level.

Most of the time, big data brings also big issues to the table. “In order to validate your model you need a big volume of data that needs to be coherent,” says Ugo. And that brings us to the harmonization issue.

On top of that we have the speed issue, meaning that “we need the correct, relevant data at the proper time” says Ugo.

Listen to the whole discussion and find out also Ugo’s vision on the uses of the platform, as well as how the Synergy project is going to remain an ethical tool respecting among others GDPR.

In this episode of the EU Projects Zone podcast, Areti Ntaradimou talks to Piero Gamarra about how graphene will jump out of the lab and into commercial applications of the energy sector.

Piero Gamarra is the business developer of the Graphene Flagship and as he says, his role is “to help the researchers bridge the gap between the lab and the industry”.

The Graphene Flagship can’t really be described as just an EU-funded project. And that is because it is one of Europe’s largest research initiatives, counting 170 partners in 22 European countries.

It is a huge project divided into six divisions and 19 Work Packages - covering everything from Fundamental Research, to Sensors, and Innovation.

With a budget of €1 billion, the Graphene Flagship represents a new form of joint, coordinated research on an unprecedented scale, forming Europe's biggest-ever research initiative.

“A lot of research has been done on graphene,” says Piero. “It is conductive, flexible, extremely light and selectively permeable”. And these attributes bring this form of carbon to a unique position to assist in the energy transition as it opens the path to many applications.

Follow the Projects Zone for the latest news about EU projects

“The energy sector is one of the important markets for graphene,” says Piero, as graphene can have various uses “from energy generation to energy storage, but also for electronics, sensors and composites to reduce carbon emission”.

Listen to the whole discussion and find out also Piero’s vision on the future uses of graphene, as well as how the Graphene Flagship is going to revolutionize the energy sector.

Listen also to other episodes of The EU Project Zone Podcast:
eCrew with Johannes Slacik
SmartBuilt4EU with Régis Decorme
FlexPlan with Gianluigi Migliavacca

In this episode of the EU Projects Zone podcast series, Areti Ntaradimou talks to Johannes Slacik about how the eCrew project will support the transition of passive consumers to active participants in the local energy system.

Johannes Slacik, a senior expert in the department of energy economics of the Energy Institute at the JKU Linz, is a project associate for the Horizon 2020 funded eCREW project.

This EU-funded project supports innovators from the smart building value chain through concrete networking and communication actions.

According to Johannes, "With eCrew project we developed an additional business model, namely creating or establishing virtual energy communities that are managed with a collective action entity".

And the project will assist by creating a digital platform which will also show "the tariffs, the energy consumption and how much the consumers can save’ so that everything for the virtual energy communities will become transparent and visible.

To achieve that, eCrew will develop community renewable energy webs allowing households to optimise energy efficiency and reduce expenditures.

In addition, and since the European market is a mix of various countries that have differences in their regulations, Johannes says that "Due to the different regulations and due to the different national settings we do have to adjust the business model sometimes in a minor way and other times actually in a major way which means our business model is actually bound to the platform".

Listen to the whole discussion and find out also Johannes’ vision of the smart communities of the future, as well as how eCrew is going to promote regulation discussions in order to enable energy communities.

In this episode of the EU Projects Zone podcast series, Areti Ntaradimou talks to Régis Decorme about how the SmartBuilt4EU project will support the further uptake of smart buildings.

Régis Decorme, Managing Partner for R2m Solution, is one of the project partners of SmartBuilt4EU.

This EU-funded project supports innovators from the smart building value chain through concrete networking and communication actions.

Régis describes the project as “a coordination and support action funded by the European Commission”. In addition, the aim of SmartBuilt4EU “is to develop the European community of stakeholders who are interested in Smart buildings”.

That is a networking action which has as a focus according to Régis “to collect basically best practices and examples of technologies”.

In addition, the project also develops a Strategic Research Agenda combined with policy recommendations.

Régis believes that at least on an EU level “there is a strong element which is coming in terms of regulation and it’s the smart readiness indicator”. The smart readiness indicator is a new certificate promoted by the EU Commission and it is going to rate the smart readiness of a building.

“The smart readiness indicator is similar to the EPC (Energy Performance Certificate), and it is of course linked to energy efficiency,” says Regis and he adds that “it is really all about how smart is your building”.

Again, like with EPC the SRI is going to have grades from A to G. “A certificate like this is really going to push for smart building technologies,” Régis says.

Not to mention that the certificate can also support the regulation and facilitate the implementation of these new technologies.

Listen to the whole discussion and find out also Régis' vision of the smart cities of the future, as well as how SmartBuilt4EU is going to promote energy efficiency and flexibility for the grid.

In this first episode of the 2023 season of The EU Projects Zone Podcast, Areti Ntaradimou talks to Gianluigi Migliavacca about the FlexPlan project and how it is going to play a role in Europe’s flexible energy transition, while at the same time helping create a secure and sustainable smart grid for Europe.

Gianluigi Migliavacca, project manager at Ricerca sul Sistema Energetico (RSA SpA) is the coordinator of FlexPlan. By creating an innovative new methodology and a tool, Migliavacca explains, FlexPlan aims to support European system operators in performing mid-to-long-term planning studies. Focussing on three grid years (2030, 2040 and 2050), the project will consider system flexibility as an alternative to new grid investments.

Naturally, a large part of the conversation revolves around Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and the push for a steadily increasing penetration to the grid infrastructure in Europe and the world. That is due – among other things – to the ambitious decarbonisation goals for 2050 and beyond.

According to Migliavacca, especially for operators of the future, “RES is becoming a priority both for decarbonisation and for making possible to make Europe independent from fossil fuels”. This is also in line with the EU Commission’s directives.

But since this kind of generation is characterised by high variability, it makes the electric grid operation much more complex and affected by uncertainty. There is indeed a high request for resources providing flexibility to the system. And this is what motivates the FlexPlan Horizon2020 project.

Listen to the whole discussion and find out also how Migliavacca believes that the FlexPlan will facilitate the European energy transition according to the official mandates.

With a special attention to extreme weather conditions, the X-Flex project is going to design and develop a set of tools that will enable the integration of decentralized ecosystems and flexibility systems into the existing European energy system. Lola Alacreu is an industrial engineer and the project’s coordinator. She is going to describe for us during this last episode for this season’s EU Project Zone Podcast, how the X-Flex project is going to achieve this integration in an efficient and cost-effective way, while on the same time help create a secure and sustainable smart grid for Europe.

The project is developed by a consortium including members from six European countries. “We have currently pilots in three different locations” says Lola “two in Slovenia, one in Bulgaria and one in Greece”

The pilots, cover different scenarios and according to Lola “this is a very good thing, as we can address different geographical, economic and social conditions”.

Some of the challenges that X-FLEX is addressing focus on ensuring that the energy we are using is clean as well as cheap as it can be.

“And at the same time” says Lola, “that we are improving the flexibility and stability of the supply chain on the network with a special focus on extreme weather conditions”.

Listen to the full discussion and find out also how Lola believes that we can achieve flexibility in a Pan European level and which technologies best enable flexibility.

In this episode of The EU Projects Zone Podcast, Areti Ntaradimou speaks with Álvaro Nofuentes Prieto to find out more about project TRINITY, a Horizon2020 project designed to enhance cooperation and coordination among the transmission system operators (TSOs) of southeastern Europe.

The core objective of EUniversal, an energy project funded by the European Union, is to develop a universal approach on the use of flexibility by DSOs and their interaction with new markets.

This approach will be enabled through the development of the concept of the Universal Market Enabling Interface or UMEI, a unique approach to foster interoperability across Europe.

But how possible is it to achieve interoperability in a pan European level or would it have to be localized? According to Pedro Marques, coordinator of the project, “It is possible if you keep it simple”.

And that is because the various European grids may have some peculiarities, “but the flexibility issue is not that different” says Pedro and he adds “Our aim is to reduce this barrier to introduce new stakeholders”.

“Since the main challenges are common, we should not limit innovation too much. We should standardise what’s essential and leave the rest to the market”

Pedro Marques

“By proposing an open solution without imposing limits. So, the UMEI will become publicly available and it can be a basis for a direct interface between all these stakeholders allowing for future enrichment”.

Moreover, Pedro adds that one of the project’s many goals is “the integration of different market flexibility options”. After all, in a union of so many different states and grids, flexibility is where most stakeholders focus on.

In the end however, it all comes down to the consumer. “We should never forget the customers. The customers are the ones that will make the best decisions maximizing social welfare if they have the right tools at their disposal”, says EUniversal’s coordinator.

Listen to the full discussion and find out also why Pedro believe that Europe is a leading authority when it comes to Smart Grids and why Artificial Intelligence will eventually take the lead.

INTERRFACE is an EU funded project under the Horizon 2020 framework. Its core objective is to facilitate the coordination between TSOs and DSOs. And in order to achieve that, it will create a common architecture that connects market platforms, links wholesale and retail markets and allows transparent and non-discriminatory trading and procurement.

And in addition, as Nikos Bilidis, coordinator of the INTERRFACE project, says in this episode of The EU Projects Zone Podcast “in a nutshell, the project is an open architecture for sharing data among all participants in the electricity system value chain, from local to European level”.

Emphasis on the European level and its peculiarities. So, how possible is the creation of a pan European grid architecture to be applied? “Yes, it is possible,” says Nikos “but of course, there are certain restrictions to take into consideration”.

This is why the team of the INTERRFACE project “tried to develop a platform that would be as modular as possible and to develop a system that would follow a plug and play manner”, adds Nikos. And that was made by design.

The platform supports the formulation of different products and services and the implementation of different and versatile coordination schemes based on the study of active system management that was published by ENTSO-E and E.DSO.

Listen to the full discussion and find out also how Nikos describes the ways that blockchain and smart contracts can help promote the participation of individual consumers in the energy sector.

FITGEN, a Horizon Europe project, aims at developing a functionally integrated e-axle ready for implementation in third-generation electric vehicles and therefore ready for mass-market production. 

During the EU Project Zone Podcast discussion with Michele de Gennaro, team leader of FITGEN and senior scientist at Austrian Institute of Technology, he emphasises how busy the sector is nowadays. 

“First and second life of battery cells, linking the automotive to the energy sector, as well as the reuse and recycling of red hearts from electric motors magnets. So a lot is happening. And we have also to give the time to regulation to develop,” he says. 

Moreover, retail prices get a prominent role. As Michele says: “The two elements that influence the retail price the most are the cost of the energy storage system, so, the cost of the battery, as well as the cost of the traction system”. 

And both of them are exacerbated by the relatively low production volume feature and work on the traction system. “It is designed to have a production cost of 2000 euros per unit at scale, and this is very close to the actual production cost of a midsize gasoline engine,” Michele adds.

When discussing e-vehicles and the infrastructure needed to integrate them into the power grid, Michele emphasises the fact that “super fast charge is not a need”. Contrary to what people think. 

“The only scenario where super fast charge is needed,” he adds, “is in the case of long road trips. And this is a scenario that is met a few times a year for most users”. Fair enough, but what happens when it is indeed needed? Even for those few times per year?

Michele does not worry and argues that in the case super fast charge is needed, "the rate needs to be deployed mainly along motorways where the driver can stop, rest and recharge the battery in 1520 minutes. Very much likely it happens today with gas stations”. 

Listen to the full discussion about FITGEN and find out also how “mobility will move away from the car ownership model to migrate towards an integrated system” as well as that “the end user product is not the car anymore in this system, but the mobility service and the experience of the mobility service itself”.

GIFT is a Horizon 2020 project that aims to help decarbonise the energy mix of European islands. To accomplish that, the international teams working on the project are developing innovative systems to allow islands to integrate a vast amount of renewables.

In this episode of The EU Project Zone Podcast, Areti Ntaradimou talks to project coordinator Igor Steiner about the ways in which GIFT aims to increase the penetration rate of renewable energy sources into the islands’ grid, in order to reduce their needs for diesel generation and decrease the greenhouse gases emissions directly related to it.

Within the course of 4 years, the project’s partners will develop and demonstrate solutions in two lighthouse islands. In Hinnøya, which is Norway’s largest island and on the small island of Procida in Italy. At the same time, they will study the replicability of the solutions in two other islands. A Greek and Italian island, respectively Evia and Favignana.

One of the focus points of the project and the conversation is that of electric vehicles and the data coming from them. According to Igor, “the countries, especially in the North, are already experiencing issues due to the high number of electrical chargers”. Mainly the fact that all that “should somehow be coordinated and managed to a degree that it causes no bigger issues than it already has”.

Another “hot” subtopic of the electric transportation concerning the European islands, is that of electric ferries. A very popular means of transportation between islands and between islands and the mainland in Europe. “When working with ferries, one needs to worry about whether the grid is strong enough to support them. Electric ferries require storage and their batteries can have the power of one megawatt or more. That can be a bit of an issue” says Igor.

And of course, all objectives of the GIFT project are only feasible with the support and participation of the people that live on the islands. Indeed, as the projects coordinator says, “the citizens of the islands are an important part of the energy community and as such, they are a priority”.

Listen to the full discussion to find out more about this innovative island project.

POLYPHEM is a Horizon 2020 project with the main objective to improve the performance of small-scale Concentrated Solar Power plants and their flexibility, in order to generate power on demand. In this episode of The EU Project Zone Podcast, Areti Ntaradimou talks to project coordinator Alain Ferriere about a new technology that is proposed: a solar-driven combined cycle with integrated thermal energy storage.

Pantera is a Horizon 2020 project that aims at setting up a European forum composed of Research & Innovation stakeholders active in the fields of smart grids, storage and local energy systems.

The name itself is an acronym standing for PAN European Technology Energy Research Approach and the vision behind the project is to create, through the EIRIE (European Interconnection for Research Innovation & Entrepreneurship) a multi-functional collaborative platform.

According to Venizelos Efthymiou, who is the Project Coordinator “the Pantera project attempts to bridge the gaps that currently exist in the energy field in Europe, between member states regarding research and innovation, and a foot and financial commitment for achieving the strategic objectives of Europe for 2030 and 2050, leading to a low carbon economy in support of them environmental aspirations of humanity”.

“Digitalization highly depends on communication infrastructure and related technologies”

Venizelos Ethymiou, project coordinator

The project is targeting specific areas of smart grids storage and local energy systems. Key objectives in this process is the development of a multifunctional platform to connect the EU research and innovation community and to enhance collaboration. “All contributing entities will benefit through the enhanced connectivity and wider range of services leaving no one behind” says Venizelos.

And as far as the diversity of the continents is concerned, the various grades and the peculiarities of each EU member state, securing fair and competitive research and innovation in a Pan European level is one of the objectives of the project.

“Diversity is actually a main objective of our project” says the Project Coordinator “and, it is true that we have diversity in the detail of the evolution of systems supporting the energy needs of Europe. And that is both natural and desirable.

But that diversity can at times be an obstacle, especially when it comes to rules and regulations. Policy according to Venizelos “is not responding to technology developments fast enough” and in addition “faster adoption of maturing technologies in research and development requires regulations to go a bit faster too”.

And Pantera, as a forum, will help unite the various voices of the industry and give them an opportunity not only to be heard, but to collaborate too.

Listen to the full discussion and find out also how Pantera assists the EU Commission and the stakeholders of the sector in connecting the dots so as to accelerate the energy transition.

Platone, an acronym for PLATform for Operation of distribution NEtworks, is a four-year Horizon 2020 project. It involves an international consortium of energy and IT experts, which works jointly to develop solutions to make flexible power generation and consumption a tradable good.

Unlocking these flexibilities allows integrating more renewable energies while maintaining grid stability. And in consequence to realize an open and non-discriminatory market, linking users, aggregators and operators.

Project coordinator Antonello Monti, University Professor and Director of the Institute for Automation of Complex Power Systems at RWTH Aachen University says, “Platone is unique in its approach. While creating open and fair conditions for all the stakeholders in managing flexibility, it promotes a tight interaction between markets and operation. This tight link is critical for the grid of the future where the dynamics will be faster requiring more and more real-time services and a high level of awareness for the operators.”

Platone solutions will be implemented and tested in three of the participating countries:

In the Italian case, Acea Energia S.p.A., represented by Areti S.p.A., with the support of Siemens, experienced Engineering – Ingegneria Informatica S.p.A. and start-up Apio S.r.l., will implement a local flexibility market in the metropolitan area of Rome.

The objective of the German field test is to implement a flexibility management instance balancing generation and demand within an energy community to a virtual island.

“The energy transition is only possible if customers are involved. And that's why I wish to emphasize that one key element of the Platone project is to create the condition for customers to be involved in the energy system”

Antonello Monti

And finally the Greek demonstration will take place in the Mesogeia area, which is considered suitable for demonstration purposes since it has a good penetration of various types of renewable energy sources, provides a mix of rural, urban and suburban areas with a customer mix including households and small, medium and large industries.

According to Antonello Monti, “the more renewables we have in the grid, the more flexibility will play a role. And with Platone we wish to create the conditions to access as much flexibility as possible in the distribution grid, as well as to create fair data management”.

Moreover, one of the main points of the Platone platform “is to facilitate the better use of the infrastructure we already have”.

Listen to the full discussion and find out also how Platone assists both the local DSOs and TSOs by providing them solutions for their ever growing needs.

In this episode of The EU Project Zone podcast, Areti Ntaradimou speaks with Antonis Papanikolaou, Project Coordinator of MERLON and Head of R&D at Hypertech Energy Labs.

Listen to the conversation to find out how MERLON assists the local DSOs by providing them with the tools for the provision of added value services to the overlay distribution grid.

Host:

• Areti Ntaradimou, Content Director, Enlit

Guest:

• Antonis Papanikolaou, Project Coordinator of MERLON and also the Head of R&D at Hypertech Energy Labs

For more information, visit: https://www.enlit.world/projects-zone/

In this episode of The EU Project Zone podcast, Areti Ntaradimou speaks with Peter Kelly-Detwiler, energy expert and author of the book The Energy Switch, about the future of the energy sector.

Host:

• Areti Ntaradimou, Content Director, Enlit

Guest:

• Peter Kelly-Detwiler, energy expert and author of the book The Energy Switch