OPENTUNITY’s mission is to create a flexibility ecosystem reducing interoperability barriers and favouring the use of standards in order to decarbonize EU grids and put the end-user in the spotlight. Grid operators, prosumers, market actors etc. will be supported by OPENTUNITY via innovative methodologies backed by advanced, interoperable software modules, in order to provide them with new features and services related to: 1) Technologies to boost flexibility in prosumer’s environment; 2) Technologies for grid operators to better manage grid operations). OPENTUNITY will also evolve, adapt and integrate a Federated Data Space infrastructure in which actors from different fields will share services and find synergies among them in order to create a reliable energy system in which different verticals (electromobility, gas, OEM etc.) will be able to seamlessly collaborate with each other. OPENTUNITY will be demonstrated in 4 different countries (Greece, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland), benefitting 26.852 citizens and reducing 91,22 MtCO2eq GHG emissions and energy poverty by 30% by 2032.

The transition to the smart grid era is associated with the creation of a meshed network of data contributors that necessitates for the transformation of the traditional top-down business model, where power system optimization relied on centralized decisions based on data silos preserved by stakeholders, to a more horizontal one in which optimization decisions are based on interconnected data assets and collective intelligence. Consequently, the need for “end-to-end” coordination between the electricity stakeholders, not only in business terms but also in exchanging information is becoming a necessity to enable the enhancement of electricity networks’ stability and resilience, while satisfying individual business process optimization targets of all stakeholders involved in the value chain. SYNERGY introduces a novel reference big data architecture and platform that leverages data, primary or secondarily related to the electricity domain, coming from diverse sources (APIs, historical data, statistics, sensors/ IoT, weather, energy markets and various other open data sources) to help electricity stakeholders to simultaneously enhance their data reach, improve their internal intelligence on electricity-related optimization functions, while getting involved in novel data (intelligence) sharing/trading models, in order to shift individual decision-making at a collective intelligence level. To this end SYNERGY will develop a highly effective a Big Energy Data Platform and AI Analytics Marketplace, accompanied by big data-enabled applications for the totality of electricity value chain stakeholders (altogether integrated in the SYNERGY Big Data-driven EaaS Framework). SYNERGY will be validated in 5 large-scale demonstrators, in Greece, Spain, Austria, Finland and Croatia involving diverse actors and data sources, heterogeneous energy assets, varied voltage levels and network conditions and spanning different climatic, demographic and cultural characteristics.

Highly efficient energy conversion of solar power and storage will play a vital role in a future sustainable energy system. Thus, this project focuses on the development of a novel high-efficiency solar thermal power plant concept with an integrated electricity storage solution. The project combines air-based central receiver Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) and Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) to maximize conversion efficiency and power grid energy management, enabling a new operation strategy and business models. The hybrid concept initiates a futuristic era with adaptive renewable power plants, producing both electrical and thermal energy, including process heat supply and reverse osmosis desalination. Because cheap off-peak electricity is used to provide the air compression work of the topping Brayton cycle, the overall peak solar-to-electric energy conversion efficiency of the proposed power plant may reach up to 40% efficiency, which roughly doubles the peak efficiency with respect to state-of-the-art CSP technology. The project’s activity will cover the techno-economic-environmental optimisation of the innovative CSP-CAES plant using representative boundary conditions, provided by grid operators and specialised partners, as well as the development and extensive testing of key components needed for its implementation. The main development will cover: (i) an advanced high-efficiency solar receiver, (ii) optical sensors and AI-based control, (iii) optimized CAES with heat exchangers and compressor/expander detailed designs and (iv) innovative integration of desalination. The proposed technology is set forth by an interdisciplinary partnership spanning the entire CSP value chain. Targeting a TRL of 6-7, the ASTERIx-CAESar concept will be validated with a demonstration scale of 480 kWth prototype in a relevant environment.

The Electric Vehicles Management for carbon neutrality in Europe (EV4EUThe Electric Vehicles Management for carbon neutrality in Europe (EV4EU) project will propose and implement bottom-up and user-centric Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) management strategies creating the conditions for the mass deployment of electric vehicles. The strategies will consider the impact on batteries, the needs of the users, power systems, the integration with energy markets, and cities’ transformation. The proposed V2X management strategies will be tested in four demonstration sites, allowing an evaluation of the proposed methodologies and tools, the definition of the appropriate implementation conditions, and a consolidation of the most promising solutions and business models. Technology providers will test different V2X management approaches, evaluating their feasibility and adequacy for the existing conditions in cities. System Operators will estimate the impact of V2X on transmission and distribution levels, proposing new services to profit from V2X flexibility, mitigating the effect of V2X, and supporting the development of both V2X and renewables. Tools and Apps for electric vehicle users will be developed to provide valuable information about the use of electric vehicles and available energy services. An open platform that considers interoperability, scalability, security, and privacy requirements will ensure the information exchange between stakeholders and systems. The impact of V2X management strategies in different cities will be evaluated in a co-simulation tool considering different perspectives, namely, the power network, cities constraints (existing parking lots, buildings characteristics, etc.), electric vehicle use patterns, and, finally, V2X management strategies. New services (Green Charging, Sharing Charging, and Surge Pricing), Demand Response programs, and flexible capacity contracts will be designed and a regulatory framework promoting user adoption will be proposed.