The present context shows the potential of electricity grids to lead the energy system transition as long as new solutions deal with the challenges related to flexibility solutions, grid observability and controllability, market mechanisms and interoperability in a holistic way. The new solutions need to cover the technological aspects by linking smart and integrated services and tools for distribution grid with market mechanisms. This architecture will guarantee a significant impact on the environment and society. The project consortium accepted this challenge and will develop “EUniversal Project” which will enable the transformation of the electricity grid by resolving existing limitations in the energy system through the introduction of a Universal Market Enabling Interface (UMEI). Through this concept, grids will become capable of accommodating all future scenarios through the active use of grid services, acting as an extensive toolbox of flexibility solutions and innovate market mechanisms. The primary goal of EUniversal is to enable the transformation of the energy system into a new multi-energy and multi-consumer concept guaranteeing a sustainable, secure and stable manner of electricity supply by bringing forward an universal, adaptable and modular approach through a Universal Market Enabling Interface (UMEI) to interlink active system management with electricity markets and the provision of flexibility services, taking also into consideration the activation needs and the coordination requirements with both commercial parties and TSOs. To do so, EUniversal will define, develop and validate a set of market-oriented flexibility management services from DER in a real environment, under a large RES integration and high electrification scenario. In order to demonstrate the services generated in the development phase of the project, 3 different DEMO sites (located in Portugal (PT), Germany (DE) and Poland (PL)) will be run to validate the project solutions

The overall objective is to ensure an efficient and sufficient level of system services are provided to facilitate meeting world leading levels of RES-E while maintaining the level of resilience that consumers and society have come to expect from the European electricity system. This requires defining the right amount of flexibility and system services to support transmission system operators using a threefold approach. Firstly, the technical needs of the pan-European system will be defined for scenarios with more than 50% RES-E in will be identified and translated to services and products to be delivered in an enhanced market design. Secondly, the electricity market design and regulation needs to be augmented to efficiently and effectively procure the appropriate combination of these system services. Thirdly, implicit and explicit barriers to competitive forces being applied need to be removed. This requires an in-depth understanding of all stakeholders’ roles (Generation and flexibility providers, Transmission system operators (TSO) and Distribution System Operators (DSO) and regulators) at all system levels (interconnected system, national transmission and distribution sub-systems and consumers). For doing so, EU-SysFlex joins a multidisciplinary team of 34 partners from 14 European countries, led by the (Transmission System Operators) TSOs representing four different synchronous systems that integrate the pan-European interconnected electricity system: EirGrid & SONI (Ireland), PSE (Poland), AST (Latvia), Elering (Estonia), supported by the necessary (Distribution System Operators) DSOs, technology providers, and research & experienced entities. In addition, a group of three other European TSOs: Fingrid (Finland), LitGrid (Lithuania) and Ceps (Czech Republic), will join the advisory board of the project, in addition to EDSO for Smart Grids and USEF, in order to help the project maximising its impact.

Rivers rank among some of the most threatened ecosystems in the world, and are the focus of costly restoration programmes that cost billions to taxpayers. Much of Europe depends on water from rivers for drinking, food production, and the generation of hydropower, which is essential for meeting the EU renewable energy target. Yet only half the EU surface waters have met the WFD’s 2015 target of good ecological status, due in part to the fragmentation of habitats caused by tens of thousands of dams and weirs which also pose a flood hazard. Some barriers are old and out of use, but may have historical value, while the life span of others will soon come to an end and may need to be removed. But barriers also provide energy, water, fishing and leisure opportunities, and may also help to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species. Improving stream connectivity has been flagged as one of the priorities for more efficient stream restoration but effective rehabilitation of ecosystem functioning in European rivers needs to take the complexity and trade-offs imposed by barriers into account. AMBER will deliver innovative solutions to river fragmentation in Europe by developing more efficient methods of restoring stream connectivity through adaptive barrier management. The project seeks to address the complex challenge of river fragmentation through a comprehensive barrier adaptive management process, based on the integration of programme design, management, and monitoring to systematically test assumptions about barrier mitigation, adapt and learn.

The FarmConners project supports the implementation and industrialisation of Wind Farm Control (WFC) as an additional feature for the development and operation of wind power plants. It brings together actors in all relevant fields connected with the market uptake of WFC: research institutes, industry and certification agencies. FarmConners will coordinate a reliable assessment of the WFC possibilities, promising more green power from existing and upcoming assets for the price of a software update. WFC technology brings a collaborative approach to wind power plant design and operation, mitigating the losses due to turbine-turbine interaction within the plant. Accordingly, it promises an increase in power production and a decrease in structural loads while providing better integration of wind power in the grid. Additionally, it enables better revenue management, especially for the upcoming flexible electricity markets, making wind power “market fit”, which in turn decreases the project cost and increases the share of the leading green power source. FarmConners will provide a unique platform for the marketability of this feature; bringing the state-of-the-art achievements, ongoing projects and industrial interest together to remove barriers for commercial implementation of WFC.