The large-scale digitalisation of the energy system, key for the delivery of a fit-for-purpose grid for net zero, is bringing with it new demands for cybersecurity, which must cover the whole value chain, from production and transmission to distribution and the consumer, including all the digital interfaces along this path.

As the number of connected resources grows – and they are rapidly with the fast-increasing uptake of distributed energy resources – so too do the number of interfaces and the number of involved parties. And with that the challenges to achieve a cyber secure system.

The EU’s new network code on cybersecurity, one of the 25 key deliverables of the energy system digitalisation action plan, is focussed primarily on the cross-border electricity flows that form a central component of the single market and was widely consulted in development.

Have you read?
US developing uniform guidance on distribution cybersecurity
Energy Transitions Podcast: Cybersecurity innovation at the core of digital transformation

In its 60+ pages, it covers a breadth of topics, prefaced with a ‘General’ section covering such issues as the need for national competent authorities to carry out the tasks assigned in the regulation, cooperation between parties at national level, the important cooperation between ENTSO.E and the DSO Entity, which is at the heart of its implementation, and cooperation with ACER.

A key foundation for the network code is the establishment of a recurrent – every three years – process of cybersecurity risk assessments in the electricity sector at national and regional levels, aimed at systematically identifying the entities that perform digitalised processes with a critical or high impact in cross-border electricity flows and their cybersecurity risks, and then the necessary mitigating measures that are needed.

For that, the network code establishes a governance model that is aligned with existing mechanisms in EU legislation, such as the revised Network and Information Security Directive, with ENTSO.E and the DSO Entity required to propose the risk assessment methodologies.

‘High impact’ and ‘critical impact’

This notion of ‘high impact’ and ‘critical impact’ is fundamental and depends on the degree of impact of possible cyber attacks in an entity’s processes or operations, with those entities primarily those that have a direct impact on cross-border flows of electricity in the EU.

A second key component is the establishment of a common electricity cybersecurity framework with minimum and advanced controls respectively for ‘high impact’ and ‘critical impact’ entities.

Cybersecurity procurement and the broader supply chain are another key area, with recent cyber-attacks show that entities are increasingly becoming the target of supply chain attacks.

The TSOs are required to develop non-binding procurement recommendation for ICT products, services and processes – again differentiating whether the entity is deemed of high or critical impact.

Information flows and crisis management in the wake of a cyber attack also are crucial and the network code establishes rules around reporting and information sharing.

Finally, the regulation sets out rules for the undertaking every three years by critical impact entities – and on their request also critical service providers – of a cybersecurity exercise including one or more scenarios with cyber attacks affecting cross-border electricity flows directly or indirectly and related to the risks identified during the cybersecurity risk assessments.

The template for this is to be developed by ENTSO.E and the DSO Entity, with the involvement of ACER and ENISA.

Under the EU rules of procedure, the delegated act is subject to scrutiny by the EU co-legislators, i.e. the European Parliament and Council, each for 2 months with a possible 2-month extension.

Jonathan Spencer Jones

Specialist writer
Smart Energy International

Follow me on LinkedIn

With this comes the risk that grid investments may be insufficient to deliver on the 2030 energy security and climate targets and need to be urgently addressed given the longer timescales of grid developments compared with clean technologies.

The analysis was based on the national grid development plans of 35 countries, including the EU-27, Norway, Switzerland, the UK and the Western Balkans.

Among the findings is that the grid plans of seven countries – Bulgaria, Greece, Ireland, Lithuania, Norway, Portugal, Romania – are based on lower wind and solar deployments than national targets, while those of a further six countries – Czechia, Denmark, France, Hungary, Luxembourg, Poland – are based on either lower wind or solar.

Have you read?
Action plan for Europe’s grids launched
Europe’s grid action plan: a step in the right direction, but is it enough?

Of these solar tends to be more affected, with its capacity underestimated by a total of 60GW across the 11 identified countries and wind by 27GW.

Conversely, in four countries – Croatia, Denmark, Finland, and the Netherlands – the plans are based on scenarios with higher capacities for wind and solar, ranging from 50% higher for Denmark to 200% higher for Finland and totalling 81GW.

Another finding is that in 19 out of 23 national grid plans examined, the deployment of solar expected under SolarPower Europe’s business-as-usual scenario is undershot by a total of 205GW by 2030, while in ten out of 31 plans wind is underestimated by a total of 17GW.

These discrepancies imply grid congestion may worsen in the short-term as grids are ill-equipped to manage the rapidly growing renewable fleet, the report states.

A third key finding is that spending on grids today in EU member states reaches approximately €63 billion ($68 billion), with an average of €28 billion per year earmarked for transmission grids and €35 billion invested in distribution grids in 2022.

This spending surpasses the European Commission’s REPowerEU estimate for annual grid investment of €58.4 billion until 2030 by at least €5 billion.

Furthermore, investment in national transmission systems will likely need to be augmented to make them ‘fit for purpose’ in those countries where the grid plans lag behind existing energy policy.

Commenting on the findings, Elisabeth Cremona, Energy & Climate Data Analyst at Ember, says there is no transition without transmission.

“We can’t afford to overlook grids. They risk holding Europe’s supercharged energy transition back if plans aren’t updated. Making sure solar and wind can actually connect to the system is as critical as the panels and turbines themselves.”

Expanding transmission grids capacity

Among other findings of the analysis is that European countries are planning to add over 25,000km of internal transmission lines between now and 2026. This corresponds to an increase of over 5% and would bring the total length to approximately 523,000km by the end of 2026.

Moreover, that accelerating network expansion is feasible is illustrated in the plans of ten TSOs. In particular, Energinet plans to expand its 7,440km grid by 3,300km by 2026, corresponding to an annual growth of 7.6% – over double the average growth since 2015.

Non-wires solutions – also known as ‘grid enhancing technologies’ in the US – in particular dynamic line rating and local flexibility also are being increasingly adopted by TSOs to increase the grid capacity as an alternative to new or upgraded infrastructure.

A further finding is the emergence of hydrogen in grid planning and the need for integrating both the demand and supply sides and coordination with the gas TSOs.

For example, strategic deployment of electrolyser plants could reduce bottlenecks in the electricity transmission grid and lower the need for grid expansion but is contingent on proximity to the existing natural gas network or planned hydrogen network.

Preparing the grid

To prepare the grid for the clean energy transition the report recommends political prioritisation of the grids, revision of regulatory frameworks to allow timely planning and investment and increased oversight and scrutiny of network plans along with enhanced reporting by TSOs on for example grid connection queues, available grid capacity and planned investments.

Placing clean power at the core of grid planning also would enable anticipatory investments.

The blueprint, which has been prepared by the Interoperability Network for the Energy Transition (int:net), is aimed to guide on transitioning the existing energy sector data infrastructures towards data space solutions and to define a general data space architecture that can enable an initial set of real-world business use cases.

In particular, the architecture is aimed at interconnecting the existing data infrastructures with federated data spaces, in which multiple datasets are mapped.

The concept of data spaces has been gathering momentum in various domains for sharing of data between multiple participants and the establishment of a common energy data space is one of the key actions set out in the EU’s energy sector digitalisation action plan.

Have you read?
First version of the European energy data space is up for funding
Creating data space with smart meter hubs

Foundational aspects that must be considered pertain to security and privacy, data quality and integrity and governance, while other aspects that need to be taken into account include the business model related to data exchange, legal and operational details and the technology, with a primary objective to ensure interoperability both internally and with other data spaces.

The blueprint document states that at the highest level, the CEEDS is foreseen as the common framework that federates different data spaces implemented at national, sub-national or international levels and allows the participation of single users.

Business use cases

The five representative business use cases, in which specific exchanges of data from diverse sources must occur among the involved actors, were defined as:

• Use case #1 – Collective self-consumption and optimised sharing for energy communities
• Use case #2 – Residential home energy management integrating distributed energy resources (DER) flexibility aggregation
• Use case #3 – TSO-DSO coordination for flexibility
• Use case #4 – Electromobility: services roaming, load forecasting and schedule planning
• Use case #5 – Renewables O&M optimisation and grid integration.

Based on these the proposed model corresponds to the creation of the energy data space as the combination of multiple ‘distributed data ecosystems’, i.e. the existing legacy data platforms, with an overarching layer defined as the ‘federated data space’ where the data is indexed and made discoverable and providing a ‘marketplace’ for sharing and possibly trading of data and data services.

Data space connector

The different data space participants are connected through a software component known as the ‘data space connector’, which realises the interconnection and data exchange.

This data space connector should be incorporated into the pre-existing platforms to enable identification, data harmonisation and brokerage towards data spaces, which can be useful for integrating data from different sources or for allowing multiple applications to access the same data without having to duplicate it in multiple places.

Moreover, in this model, the data space connector also enables the exchange of energy data and execution of services both among the existing legacy platforms and through the federated layer.

The document notes that to fully achieve the deployment of the CEEDS, starting from the federation of projects’ data space instances, detailed interoperability measures are necessary including technical interoperability, semantic interoperability and governance interoperability.

The document states that the presented blueprint underscores the critical need to adopt data space solutions within the energy domain, marking a pivotal moment for the transformation of the industry.

“The fundamental pillars of data spaces not only foster the active engagement of key stakeholders across the energy value chain but also promise mutual benefits, ranging from monetary compensations to an elevated quality of services.

“At this scope, the establishment of clear rules, policies and regulatory adaptations is a linchpin in facilitating fair data exchange, paving the way for an open market that fosters the participation of new actors, including data and service providers, as well as data consumers.”

The int:net initiative managed by the Fraunhofer FIT is an EU Horizon Europe-supported project to bring together stakeholders from across the European energy sector to jointly work on developing, testing and deploying interoperable energy services.

Key parties are the projects in the ‘energy data spaces cluster’, i.e. Omega-X, EDDIE, Enershare, Synergies and DATA CELLAR, whose findings have fed into the blueprint, while further inputs should come from the newly launched HEDGE-IoT, ODEON and TwinEU projects.

In the meantime, the blueprint will continue to be updated with version 2 due to be released in June 2024.

In 2023 the installed base of smart gas meters amounted to 55.9 million units and at a CAGR of 6.8% is projected to reach 77.6 million units by 2028, Berg Insight’s data indicates.

The annual shipment volumes amounted to 4.8 million units in 2023 and are expected to be around 5 to 5.8 million throughout the period.

The UK, Italy and Belgium were the most active markets, together accounting for the majority of the smart gas meter shipments during the year.

Have you read?
Italgas rolls out first 20,000 Nimbus H-ready smart meters
The need for speed on smart meter rollouts

While the rollouts in Italy, France and the Netherlands are largely completed, the UK market is ramping up yearly installations to reach a peak of around 3.3 million units per year during 2024–2025.

Belgium and Ireland also are expected to contribute with significant shipment volumes in the coming years. The Spanish market is expected to reach yearly shipment volumes of 1 million units by the end of the forecast period.

Smart gas meter networking

Berg Insight highlights how the smart gas meters deployed in Europe have been networked somewhat differently from the smart electricity meters.

A common model observed in the UK, the Netherlands and Belgium is to utilise a local wireless or wired interface to transmit gas data via the customer’s smart electricity meter.

A mix of 169MHz RF and 2G/3G cellular communications has been the primary model for the largest projects in which smart gas meters have been deployed independently of smart electricity meters, such as in Italy and France.

However, with the more ready availability of new types of LPWA technologies a shift in favour of these has begun.

Italy, for example, was the first to initiate large-scale adoption of NB-IoT as a primary smart meter connectivity choice and in 2023 the installed base of gas meters with NB-IoT connectivity in that country reached more than 2.5 million.

Berg Insight anticipates that by the end of the forecast period NB-IoT/LTE-M will become the go-to connectivity option for smart gas meters in several European markets, reaching an installed base of around 13.2 million units and accounting for as much as 60% of the annual shipment volumes.

The analyst also highlights the anticipated increase in the use of hydrogen in the European gas supply, with pilots underway in the UK and Italy with metering devices capable of measuring blend of hydrogen and natural gas or pure hydrogen and that interest in hydrogen meters is likely to increase as the technology matures.

Active in over 40 countries and five continents, MYTILINEOS’ activities on the energy side of the business span across grids, power plants, thermal technologies and renewable energy sources (RES), all contributing to a sustainable and vibrant energy future.

On the Metals side, MYTILINEOS is the largest bauxite producer in Europe, operating the sole bauxite to aluminum integrated unit in the European Union, with aluminium recycling making up about a quarter of overall production in 2023

Grids driving the green revolution

Managing an extensive portfolio of 30 ongoing power projects across 10 countries, MYTILINEOS M Power Projects segment showcases the kind of global reach and impact that transcends all segments.

With a thermal project portfolio exceeding 16GW for third parties worldwide, the company is actively involved in constructing natural gas-fired power plants in the UK and Poland, illustrating its commitment to expanding its international operational footprint.

MYTILINEOS recognises the pivotal role that grids play in shaping the future of our energy landscape, paralleling the significance of renewable energy sources. Beyond being instrumental in the green transition, grids open up exciting avenues for growth and collaboration.

According to the European Union, a substantial €584 billion (US$634 billion) investment is needed in new networks and the upgrading of existing infrastructure, setting the stage for a sustainable energy evolution.

Recently, MYTILINEOS as awarded a £1 billion (US$1.3 billion) contract to construct the UK’s first high-capacity East Coast subsea link in collaboration with GE Vernova, benefitting Scottish Power and the UK’s National Grid, enabling the transmission of renewable green energy to power more than two million homes across the UK.

Based on track record, MYTILINEOS has completed among others a significant 130km interconnection line between Maritsa East 1 (BG) and Nea Santa (EL), enhancing transfer capacity and ensuring safe integration of renewable energy in northeast Greece and Bulgaria.

Expertise in designing and building high voltage lines, like the DISTOMO-High Voltage Centre AGIOS NIKOLAOS I & II transmission line, another of the Company’s major projects, is crucial for safe distribution and supporting increased power flows.

WATCH: Avokado is breaking new ground in Energy AI

Cutting-edge power generation: the energy trilemma

In the realm of natural gas, MYTILINEOS is a standout player in the Southeastern Europe market, engaging in extensive trading and supplying operations.

Seven state-of-the-art industrial thermal (gas-fired) power plants showcase MYTILINEOS’s commitment to innovation and energy security, boasting cutting-edge technology that enables an annual power generation exceeding 5TWh. These plants not only signify technological prowess but also underline the company’s dedication to meeting the surging global demand for energy.

Countries worldwide grapple with the energy ‘trilemma’, balancing accessibility, affordability and sustainability. Recent crises have spotlighted vulnerabilities in existing energy infrastructure, highlighting the need for a transition towards more sustainable and integrated solutions.

Global impact: portfolio, expansion and commitment

Founded in Greece in 1990, MYTILINEOS has evolved into a global player with a firm commitment to the communities it serves. As a publicly listed company on the Athens Stock Exchange, boasting a consolidated turnover of €5.5 billion and an EBITDA of €1 billion, MYTILINEOS possesses the financial strength to invest in cutting-edge technologies and projects that contribute to sustainable energy solutions globally.

Moreover, the company is a leader in renewable energy projects across Europe, Chile, Australia, the Americas, and Asia. With a capacity of 14GW in different stages of development, these initiatives underscore MYTILINEOS’s commitment to shaping a cleaner and more sustainable energy landscape.

Shaping the energy transition future

MYTILINEOS is not just an energy company; it’s an energy transition powerhouse. As it pioneers advancements in grids, power plants, thermal technologies, customer solutions and renewable energy, MYTILINEOS remains dedicated to a future where energy is not just accessible and affordable, but most importantly, sustainable.

With innovation as its driving force, MYTILINEOS continues to empower the future of energy, contributing to a world where sustainable solutions thrive.

About MYTILINEOS

MYTILINEOS Energy & Metals, founded in Greece in 1990, is an industrial and energy multinational company, listed on the Athens Stock Exchange, with a consolidated turnover of €5.5 billion and EBITDA of €1 billion with activities across 40 countries and 5 continents. Through the energy sector, the company is strategically positioned at the forefront of the energy transition as an integrated utility of the future, while through the metallurgy sector the company is establishing as a benchmark for competitive ‘green’ metallurgy in the European landscape. Focused on sustainability, it has set a target to reduce CO2 emissions by at least 30% by 2030 and achieve by 2050 net zero carbon footprint in all its operations in accordance with the criteria for Environment, Society and Governance (ESG).

Though the ‘edge’ has been talked about for years, it is increasingly taking central stage as more and more homes and businesses take up solar and battery systems, switch to electric vehicles ((EVs) and heat pumps and instal the smart appliances that are advertised as bringing more convenience to life.

In broad terms the edge is where the utility and customer meet and is effectively represented by the meter – the utility side in front of the meter and the customer side behind the meter.

With this growth of decentralised resources and the increasingly complex and unpredictable power flows, some of the risks include the likely emergence of hyper-local capacity constraints and that ageing infrastructure can be put at risk.

Have you read?
Generative AI solutions for utilities on the rise
‘We need to think smart and fast’ to future-proof the grid

But there has been what Itron has termed a ‘control gap’, with the challenge that whereas a typical SCADA manages approximately 1,000 assets per million customers and a typical advanced distribution management systems 10,000 assets, that to the point of service is a further two orders of magnitude greater at around 1 million points.

But that is changing, with the evolution of IT and other technologies opening the way for a variety of new products and services to provide visibility and control to address the challenges of the evolving grid.

Itron’s grid edge intelligence portfolio

A pioneer of edge intelligence in the energy sector, Itron has consolidated its offerings into a cloud-based edge intelligence portfolio combining connectivity, analytics and applications with intelligence for AMI operations and optimisers for the low and medium voltage grid, DERs and EVs, coupled to a central datahub.

To simplify the process the Itron Enterprise Edition has been made available in the Microsoft Azure marketplace, also opening the way for integrating the Azure OpenAI generative AI solution for users to expedite and improve visibility on data and operations.

Among the new solutions launched are Active Transformer Load and Voltage Monitoring (ATLM/ATVM) applications to enable visibility on transformer loading and voltage statistics in real-time along with configurable threshold-based alarms.

Key for broader uptake of the solutions is partnerships with other providers with these opening the way for Itron’s grid edge intelligence solutions to be integrated into Schneider Electric’s digital grid solutions and to GE Vernova’s new GridOS Data Fabric alongside the GridOS apps.

A further partnership is with the Mobility House as part of its Fast & Flexible Interconnect (FIX) programme for charging of EV fleets in constrained distribution systems.

Don Reeves, senior VP of Outcomes at Itron, reports that customers have advised that the company’s Grid Edge Intelligence portfolio can enhance grid capacity by approximately 20% through the optimisation of existing grid assets.

“Utilities are operating in a more complex environment than ever before and there is a real sense of urgency that change is needed to ensure grid reliability, resiliency and sustainability and improve the customer experience.”

Landis+Gyr and Span partnership

Landis+Gyr has announced a partnership with home electrification technology developer Span, with the first joint product combining their respective solutions to deliver a grid edge solution with circuit-level billing-grade metering, DER visibility and controls.

Describing the co-innovated solution as “a whole-home multi-asset virtual power plant (VPP)”, Werner Lieberherr, CEO of Landis+Gyr, says: “The partnership not only expands our flexibility management platform but also helps [utilities] reduce costly grid infrastructure investments required for electrification. We’re particularly excited to bring SPAN’s service upgrade avoidance capabilities and intuitive app experience … to drive energy efficiency and flexibility.”

While full details of the solution are still to be released, the companies promise to evaluate it in pilots with US utilities starting later in the year.

Siemens Gridscale X

Siemens has launched Gridscale X as a modular software to scale grid capacity and handle the complexity of DERs.

A key component of Gridscale X is DER Insights which is designed to unlock visibility over the distribution grid, with features including the location and behaviour of DERs, grid impact identification and digital grid mapping and modelling.

“With the electrification of everything and the exponential growth of DERs, there is an urgent need for increasing grid capacity fast,” says Sabine Erlinghagen, CEO Siemens Grid Software, pointing to the use of such software as enabling utilities to focus on critical infrastructure upgrades and reducing the impact and occurrence of grid equipment failure, outages and technical debt.

Users of these or similar softwares are invited to contact us with case studies.

Jonathan Spencer Jones

Specialist writer
Smart Energy International

Follow me on Linkedin

To support the decision-making process, Microsoft has launched a guide on the North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s Critical Infrastructure Protection (NERC CIP) standards, which play a crucial role in ensuring the security and reliability of the electric grid.

Updates to NERC CIP guidelines

As of January 1, 2024, significant changes have been implemented, allowing the storage of medium- and high-impact Bulk Cyber System Information (BCSI) in the cloud, subject to specific requirements.

By embracing cloud technologies, while adhering to NERC CIP guidelines, power and utilities leaders can enhance operational efficiency, promote sustainability, and ensure grid reliability.

As the energy sector evolves, proactive engagement with NERC CIP standards will be pivotal in shaping a resilient and interconnected future.

1. Cloud Adoption and Security
   • The recent changes permit power companies to leverage cloud infrastructure for storing BCSI. While this opens up new possibilities for scalability and efficiency, it also introduces security challenges.
   • Organizations must carefully evaluate cloud service providers, ensuring compliance with NERC CIP requirements. Robust encryption, access controls, and continuous monitoring are essential.
     
2. Benefits of Cloud Adoption
   • Cloud-based storage offers flexibility, enabling seamless data sharing across geographically dispersed teams. It promotes collaboration and accelerates decision-making.
   • Scalability allows utilities to handle increasing data volumes, especially with the proliferation of smart meters and IoT devices.
   • Cost savings result from reduced on-premises infrastructure maintenance and operational expenses.
     
3. Challenges and Mitigation Strategies
   • Security Concerns: Cloud adoption introduces potential vulnerabilities. Companies must implement robust authentication mechanisms, intrusion detection systems, and regular vulnerability assessments.
   • Compliance: Organizations must align cloud practices with NERC CIP requirements. Detailed documentation, audit trails, and incident response plans are critical.
   • Data Residency and Sovereignty: Address legal and regulatory aspects of data storage locations.
   • Third-Party Risk: Evaluate cloud providers’ security practices and contractual agreements.
     
4. Future Outlook
   • The evolving landscape of cybersecurity necessitates continuous adaptation. Companies should actively participate in shaping future NERC CIP standards.
   • Collaboration among industry stakeholders, regulators, and technology experts will drive innovation and resilience.

You might be interested in:
Microsoft power and utilities eBook: Orchestrating the Grid

The dataset for 2019, chosen rather than the latest available COVID-impacted 2021 dataset, aims to provide insights into the usage patterns of different energy products in the EU and to investigate energy scenarios to 2050.

With a more detailed understanding of how energy is produced, traded and transformed across different regions, the tool should allow spatial analyses to identify patterns, bottlenecks and opportunities for optimising the energy infrastructure.

At a scale previously not impossible, the map is likely to provide a powerful tool for policymakers and infrastructure planners as well as for others such as energy service providers.

Have you read?
Europe’s TSOs set out vision roadmap to 2025
Greening the grid is vital for energy transition says Schneider’s Lawrence

“This concept is totally unique,” says Salla Saastamoinen, JRC Deputy Director-General.

“[Policymakers and infrastructure planners] will be able to see on a map what fuels are being used and where, in unprecedented geographical detail. It will help them gauge the future impact of energy policies in every community across Europe.”

The basic dataset is the Eurostat national energy balances, which are downscaled to the 1kmx1km cell size in a series of steps drawing on other data sets such as the Emissions Trading System and socioeconomic data and then mapped using land use and land cover data.

Some of the energy products with supply and demand mapped include electricity, natural gas, heat, renewables and biofuels, solid fossil fuels and oil and petroleum products.

Among the general findings highlighted is that natural gas is primarily consumed by power plants, industry and households, with high concentrations in densely populated areas.

Electricity consumption is also significant in urban areas, while other energy carriers, such as manufactured gases, oil shale and waste are consumed near their sources for industrial processes.

The same methodology used to break down national energy balances to the 1km square cells is applied to the energy scenarios.

An example highlighted is projected changes in natural gas demand from 2019 to 2050 showing a general shift towards lower consumption, indicating progress towards decarbonisation goals.

The energy atlas has been embedded in the Energy and Industry Geography Lab geospatial tool, which combines energy and industry data.

A key role considered for this tool is to support EU member states in identifying acceleration areas for the rapid deployment of wind and solar.

Combined with other datasets, the new energy atlas provides a boost to the EIGL’s spatial analysis capabilities.

As the Eurostat data is produced on a two-year basis and published two years after the reporting period, the next available dataset for 2023 is likely to become available only in 2025.

Providing a comprehensive understanding of grid orchestration, its challenges, and the transformative potential it holds, this eBook focuses on:

1. Grid Orchestration: The art of harmonising diverse energy sources, demand patterns, and grid infrastructure.
   • Explore the role of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and predictive analytics in optimising grid operations.
     
2. Decentralisation: The shift toward decentralised energy production.
   • Decentralised grids empower local communities, enhance resilience, and reduce reliance on centralised power plants.
     
3. Smart Grids: Smart grid technologies, including advanced sensors, real-time data analytics, and demand-side management.
   • Smart grids enable efficient load balancing, fault detection, and self-healing capabilities.
     
4. Cybersecurity Challenges: Grid orchestration faces cybersecurity threats due to increased connectivity.
   • The importance of robust security measures to safeguard critical infrastructure.
     
5. Renewable Integration: Integrating renewable energy sources seamlessly into the grid.
   • Addressing challenges related to intermittency, storage, and grid stability.
     
6. Policy and Regulation: Policy frameworks and regulatory aspects influencing grid orchestration.
   • Balancing innovation with compliance is crucial for a sustainable energy future.

Watch the latest interview with Microsoft:
Accelerating the energy transition with Artificial Intelligence

“Orchestrating the Grid” eBook, serves as a roadmap for energy professionals, policymakers, and researchers. By embracing grid orchestration, together we can create a resilient, efficient, and sustainable energy future.

In the latest Europe smart meter review, Berg Insight reports that at the end of 2023, there were more than 186 million smart electricity meters – an increase of about 4% over 2022.

By 2028 the installed base is projected to grow at an over 6% CAGR to reach 78% penetration by 2028, driven by second generation rollouts in countries such as the UK, Italy, Spain and Sweden alongside first generation projects in Germany, Poland and Greece.

For 2022, the last year for which data is broken down, Italy was the largest market in terms of shipments with around 2.6 million units installed during the year.

Have you read?
Navigating the 2G/3G sunset in the energy sector
The need for speed on smart meter rollouts

This was followed by the UK with more than 2.5 million units and Sweden with shipments of around 1.4–1.5 million units.

Poland and France rounded out the top five in terms of shipment volumes, while other markets with large installation volumes during the year included Austria and Belgium.

Looking ahead, as countries aim to meet targets, Berg Insight projects a total of more than 88 million smart electricity meters to be deployed across the region from 2024 to 2028.

In the period, replacements of first-generation smart meters are expected to be in the range of 25–40% of total smart meter shipments in Europe throughout the next five years, or 4–8 million units annually.

Eastern Europe

With the rollouts in many countries in western Europe and the Nordics now either well advanced or largely completed, the focus is increasingly shifting to central, east and southeast Europe, Berg Insight comments.

The outlook for the region has improved significantly over the past years with multiple major rollouts now planned or already under way. Overall, the CEE and southeast European region is expected to account for as much as half of the annual EU smart meter shipments in 2028, up from less than a third in 2022.

Looking only at the growth in annual shipment volumes of first-generation smart meter projects, all the ten fastest growing markets can be found in CEE and southeastern Europe.

Wireless technologies

Berg Insight also points to the impact on Europe’s smart metering market from the development of new wireless technologies for IoT communications and in particular the growing traction of 3GPP-based LPWA technologies such as NB-IoT and LTE-M.

Several major deployments utilising these technologies are now either underway or about to begin in Benelux, the Nordics and Baltics.

3GPP-based LPWA is expected to more than quadruple its smart meter connectivity market share throughout the forecast period.

At the moment, various forms of PLC will remain the dominant technology group in terms of installed base although standalone wireless communications options are forecast to account for over half of shipment volumes during the forecast period.

Gas smart meters

The adoption of smart metering is also growing fast in the European gas distribution market, Berg Insight reports.

At the end of 2023, the installed base was around 56 million units and is expected to increase at a rate of around 5-6 million units annually to 78 million units, amounting to a penetration of over 61%, by 2028.

Shipment volumes are expected to decrease in Italy until 2025 and then increase until the end of the forecast period while yearly shipments in France are at around 0.1 million.

The UK market is expected to gradually ramp up smart gas meter installations and reach a peak of 3.4 million units in 2025.

A significant volume of smart gas meter installations is also anticipated in additional countries over the coming years, particularly Spain and Belgium, where the former will account for almost a quarter of yearly shipment volumes in Europe by 2028.

When one thinks of professionals in the electricity sector one tends to think first of engineers as a key role, be they electrical or mechanical.

But a new study by Britain’s Institute of Physics (IOP) highlights the important role of physics and physicists in delivering the energy transition and net zero – and perhaps no less important.

For example, physics has played a uniquely important role in the development of climate science which uses physics modelling techniques to help understand our world and its biosphere.

Have you read?
What’s on the technology radar for Europe’s DSOs?
GE’s Claudia Blanco talks reshaping the industry through tech and leadership

Equally, most clean technologies are built on physics discovery and innovation and need physics skills for their continued development.

Tellingly, the study reports, since 2006 almost three-quarters of the £2.4 billion UKRI research council R&D investment in five of the central green economy technology areas – nuclear, renewables, hydrogen and clean fuels, energy storage and carbon capture, usage and storage – has been for research topics classed by the IOP as ‘core physics’ and ‘strongly physics’.

In particular, the greatest investment has been into less mature research topics, such as energy storage and newer areas of nuclear such as fusion, while hydrogen has seen a slight increase in growth over the last five years.

Conversely, the better established technology areas such as wind have seen lower levels of funding across the two decades, reflecting the maturity from an R&D perspective.

Green technology advancement

The report Physics powering the green economy states that investment in physics R&D over the last two decades has enabled a dramatic transformation in the energy system, reduced the amount of greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere and supported the development of significant numbers of low carbon businesses.

However, the scale of change still required cannot be overstated – as indeed IOP members believe, with 83% of those responding to a survey not thinking the UK is on track to net zero in 2050.

The report continues that each of the five technology areas are crucial to growing the green economy, but none will achieve this alone and they need to work in concert to successfully replace fossil fuels.

For example, the non-constant nature of renewable electricity generation from solar and wind means that energy storage is vital to their effective deployment.

Aside from fossil fuels, only nuclear energy or gas turbines/combined-cycle gas turbines powered by hydrogen or alternative fuels, and/or with carbon capture and storage, can provide the constant baseload power.

Alternative fuels are needed to power aircraft and heavy vehicles for which battery power is not enough.

Meanwhile, carbon capture, usage and storage is vital as a mitigating technology while fossil fuels continue to be used in conjunction with alternative fuels.

From its analysis, the IOP identifies no less than 41 key green technology advancement areas and 158 physics dependencies underpinned by a wide range of physics disciplines that are still needed to unlock their potential as drivers of change.

For example, for renewables the development of materials is a recurring theme to enable improvements in performance and scaling.

For solar energy high priorities are advancements in both solar electrical and solar thermal, while for wind energy storage and grid capacity as well as alternative wind turbine designs are named as short term priorities.

Similarly improvements in energy storage are needed with optimised lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries short-term priorities, while hydrogen as a national-scale storage solution is in the mid-term.

For nuclear the priority is seen as its ability to deliver flexibility to the system.

Building the business base

The report also points to the need to build on the business base – currently numbering 1,653 and 119 unique green economy companies across the UK and Ireland respectively – to drive sector growth and international competition.

However, there are challenges. Skills shortages was highlighted as the top one for growing the green economy, with others the lack of infrastructure and public attitudes.

In conclusion – and while focussed on the UK situation but undoubtedly applicable in numerous other countries – the report calls for public and private investment in physics R&D to remain a high priority and for policies to support business innovation.

“Physicists, trained to tackle complex systems through data analysis, have a vital role to play in developing solutions. A healthy physics ecosystem is therefore essential to the continued development of the green economy (in the UK and Ireland).”

Physics-trained professionals working in the electricity sector? – we would welcome your insights.

Jonathan Spencer Jones

Specialist writer
Smart Energy International

Follow me on Linkedin

When world leaders agreed at the Conference of the Parties 28 (COP28) in Dubai, held in December 2023, to transition away from fossil fuels, anyone operating a power grid surely took notice. While expanding renewable energy capacity is good news for the planet, it’s bittersweet for utilities who – according to a special report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) – are already at risk of becoming a bottleneck in the global shift toward renewables.

All this ratchets up the importance of transforming the power grid into a dynamic entity that can sense, think, and act. Not an easy feat – but a necessary one for a power grid that has been mostly static since its birth in the 1880s.

Why do renewables such as distributed energy resources (DERs) present such a challenge? The hard truth is that the majority of electric grids were not originally designed to accommodate DERs.

DER for Reliability is an educational track at DISTRIBUTECH International,
set for Orlando, Florida February 26-29, 2024.

Obstacles will emerge when balancing energy supply and demand, coupled with managing fluctuations in voltage and frequency. Moreover, many renewable sources rely on unpredictable weather patterns, presenting a challenge for a grid that requires continuous, intensive oversight of DER infeed conditions at the interconnection point to maintain electricity balancing and help ensure stability and safety. Additionally, the proliferation in micro/nano grids and bi-directional electricity flows from “prosumers” that must be integrated into the grid.

Thus, to adapt to the clean energy future, the power grid must be able to sense, think, and act. And what does it mean for the power grid to sense, think and act?

For starters, it must sense, as in measure and monitor, which of the many DER inputs it is dealing with. Then it must think about how to adapt to the ever-changing landscape of energy supply and demand.

Indeed, think at a level that – given the extensive scale and high-density presence of DERs on the grid – demands help from grid applications that embrace new technologies like artificial intelligence to evaluate how best to generate and dispatch power to meet the load demands. Then it must act through intelligent electronic devices (IEDs), which again – as the power grid scales in size and complexity – will require technological assistance to act in a synchronized and coordinated manner.

Let’s take a look at the role of a converged field area network (FAN) and how it helps transform the power grid into an entity that can sense, think, and act as more and more megawatts of renewables enter the system.

Introducing field area networks

Converged FANs help utilities extend communications deep into the distribution grid to enable integration of DERs as well as storage, distribution automation, substation automation, and advanced metering infrastructure.

Converged FANs connect IEDs in substations and on feeder circuits that sense line conditions. Grid management systems and automated controllers across the grid apply application logic to think and send commands to IEDs to act, essentially to protect and control the grid.

A converged FAN integrates an IP/MPLS field router with a private LTE network, bringing resilient and secure broadband network services to the distribution system. This enables system operators to wirelessly deliver a broad range of distribution automation applications to utility poles, low-voltage substations, and DER sites, connecting IEDs (such as reclosers and line switches), CCTV, drones, and other devices.

Addressing islanding

Islanding prevention is a good example of why FANs are becoming more crucial to power grid operations. For example, as line sensors across feeder circuits send current measurements from a feeder circuit to a recloser controller, the controller logic will analyze the data in real-time to detect fault currents. Once detected, it will command reclosers adjacent to the fault location to open.

When the circuit connects with a community solar project rather than a traditional one-way grid, further remedial action is required.

Should the solar array inverter fail to detect island formation, it would still continue to supply power through the point of common coupling (PCC) into the section of the feeder circuit downstream from the recloser. This situation results in an islanding condition, posing a hazard to the dispatched crews addressing the fault as well as to the local electrical equipment on that particular section of the feeder.

With a converged FAN, control logic gains the capability to issue a trip command to the downstream switch at the PCC, preventing the DER from energizing the feeder.

Restoring service

Another key to improving grid reliability is through fault location, isolation, and service restoration (FLISR), which brings self-healing capabilities to power grids.

According to a U.S. Department of Energy study, FLISR can have the potential to decrease customer minutes of interruption (CMI) by 53% and the number of customers interrupted (CI) by 55%. That’s because a line sensor can send a message to the FLISR controller to indicate a service interruption which kicks off a process whereby power is re-routed, and users are reconnected to a different substation.

This is not a bandwidth-intensive process. Add DERs to the power grid, though, and things get complicated.

When a DER contributes to a fault, there are many locations to isolate, surpassing the capacity that older FLISR systems can manage. The key is to make the advanced distribution management systems (ADMS) aware of the exact configuration of circuit topology and model the more complex system in the ADMS software so that it can correctly carry out the restorative actions through dynamic circuit reconfiguration.

Centralized ADMS FLISR applications demand substantial flexibility to manage multi-way communications with IEDs in the substation and on feeder circuits. This is necessary to collect data and send instructions once the fault(s) are located and appropriate actions are determined.

In some FLISR implementations, the application logic is run in the substation with IEDs that also communicate with each other for heightened awareness. A converged FAN has the ability to support, flexible any-to-any communications in order to meet this complex need.

Mitigating fire risk

FAN is crucial in supporting applications that monitor for and s iftly detect falling power lines, a factor implicated in some of the most severe forest fires of this century.

Identifying and de-energizing falling conductors before they reach the ground is essential for mitigating wildfires. A converged FAN, leveraging IP/MPLS and private LTE/5G, can also carry real-time synchrophasor data for the distribution automation controller to detect and de-energize falling power lines. In fewer than two seconds, a falling line can be detected and isolated while in mid-air – before it sparks on the ground – significantly mitigating the threat of widespread destruction and injury or death.

Dynamic energy grids

Certain attributes are required for a converged FAN to support grid communications and empower the grid to sense, think, and act. Look for a solution with end-to-end multi-fault network resiliency, deterministic quality of service for assured data delivery, any-to-any multi-point connectivity for more efficient machine-to-machine communications, and robust cyber security defenses.

As power grids integrate more DERs, the converged FAN will play a significant role in guaranteeing effective energy provision and administration – thereby removing the risk of power utilities becoming the bottleneck in the world’s sustainability efforts. A dynamic energy grid that can sense, think, and act is the foundation for the power grid of the future.

About the author

Dominique Verhulst currently heads the Energy Segment at Nokia’s Network Infrastructure Group.

Leveraging Nokia’s portfolio of Fixed, IP&Optical, and professional services products, Dominique drives the business and solutions development for Energy customers globally. He is the author of the “Teleprotection over Packet Networks” e-book available on the iTunes bookstore, and co-author of several publications from the University of Strathclyde on the matter of Differential Protection over IP/MPLS. He has over 30 years of experience in the telecommunications networking industry, holding senior sales and marketing positions at Nokia, Alcatel-Lucent, Newbridge Networks, Ungermann-Bass and Motorola.

The global push for cleaner, greener sources of energy is accelerating. According to the International Energy Agency, renewable energy was expected to account for nearly 30% of global electricity generation by this year.

In fact, we are approaching “the beginning of the end of the fossil age”, according to the fourth annual Global Electricity Review written by Malgorzata Wiatros-Motyka and others for the energy think-tank, Ember.

As fossil fuels go out of style and fossil-burning power plants are taken offline, renewable energy sources are now surpassing coal as the largest source of power worldwide, says the IEA. By 2027, the IEA report states, renewable energy sources will grow by 2,400GW. That’s equivalent to the entire power capacity of China today, and an acceleration of 85% over the previous five years. In fact, renewable energy is expected to account for 90% of global electricity expansion in the next four years.

That expansion is attributable to renewable energy policies and market reforms in the US, European Union and China, according to the IEA report.

Renewable energy need

The acceleration of renewable energy sources – solar, hydroelectric, wind, biomass – tracks along with the spike in energy prices brought on by war in eastern Europe, which has disrupted the fossil fuel supply chain. That disruption, which the IEA called “the first truly global energy crisis”, underscored the need for the energy security provided by domestically produced renewable energy sources.

In 2022, 63% of the new utility-scale generating capacity added to the US power grid came from solar (46%) and wind (17%). In fact, renewables are the only sector expected to continue to grow, with declines predicted in coal, natural gas, nuclear and oil.

Offshore wind generation is a newer player in the renewables market and is expected to continue to grow globally. However, the expansion in that area is being stalled by lengthy permitting processes and a lack of improvements to power grid infrastructure.

While the expansion of renewable energy might be slowed by policy disagreements and political considerations, the need to update utility infrastructure to handle renewable energy could be the most critical holdup.

Grid enhancements

Utilities are realising that smaller, less predictable energy sources like wind and solar aren’t just plug-and-play. Their grids must be upgraded and digitised to handle not only new offsite power sources, but disruptive technologies such as electric vehicles that are shifting traditional energy demands.

Plus, with the introduction of new renewable energy sources, just how much load they will deliver isn’t certain. Utilities need to move to a real-time, digital approach to load management in order to keep supply and demand balanced. A digital representation of the network, or digital twin, is essential to understand, predict and plan for production and consumption.

A digitised network will also be more efficient since each component and asset can be tracked and maintained through its entire lifecycle, making it more reliable. Having a digitised grid in place is necessary before utilities can adopt a distributed energy resource management systems (DERMS) approach to dealing with alternative energy sources.

DERMS are the combination of hardware and software that allows management of a power grid that includes renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. DERMS provide real-time communication and control across batteries, solar panels and other devices that may lie behind the meter and outside the grid operator’s direct control. They primarily optimise energy consumption to minimise peak demands, which requires careful planning.

Sustainable future

Renewable energy is not only a transformative opportunity for the utility industry, but also a key driver of global transformation.

By adopting renewable energy sources and the advanced grid management technologies needed to sustain them, utilities can help themselves by enhancing their efficiency, reliability and resilience, while helping the world by reducing the causes of pollution, climate change and dependence on fossil fuels.

About the author:

Maximilian Weber is the senior vice president of EMEA for Hexagon’s Safety & Infrastructure division. He has more than 25 years of experience within Hexagon, serving in various executive roles throughout the years, such as general manager, business unit manager and sales manager.

About Hexagon:

Hexagon helps utilities and communications companies achieve greater service reliability, increase operational efficiency and enhance customer satisfaction. We support hundreds of utilities and communications customers around the world with solutions for network engineering and design, operations and maintenance.

The update finds that world demand for electricity grew by 2.2% in 2023, less than the 2.4% growth of 2022, attributing this to declines in advanced countries due to the lacklustre macroeconomic environment and high inflation.

However, the demand is expected to rise, growing by an average of 3.4% annually through 2026 through an improving economic outlook and particularly in advanced economies the ongoing electrification of the residential and transport sectors.

Significant extra demand also is expected from outside these economies, in particular in China, India and countries in Southeast Asia.

Have you read?
Managing power grid complexity: The 5 biggest priorities for utilities in 2024
Energy Transitions Podcast: Accelerating decarbonised power generation at scale

Notable expansion of the data centre sector also is likely, with consumption from data centres, AI and the cryptocurrency sector potentially doubling by 2026.

In 2023 the share of electricity in final energy consumption is estimated to have reached 20%, up from 18% in 2015.

To meet the IEA’s net zero by 2050 pathway, the share must near 30% in 2030 and thus electrification needs to accelerate rapidly, the Electricity 2024 publication states.

Renewables and nuclear

The report projects that low-emission generation sources, including nuclear and renewables such as solar, wind and hydro, are set to rise at twice the annual growth rate over the past five years.

By 2026 these sources are set to account for almost half the world’s generation, up from 39% in 2023.

In particular, the share of renewables is forecast to rise from 30% in 2023 to 37% in 2026 and more than offset demand growth in advanced economies such as the US and European Union and potentially also in China.

Nuclear power generation also is expected to reach an all-time high, with growth averaging close to 3% per year.

With this global coal-fired generation is expected to fall by an average of 1.7% annually through 2026.

Global CO2 emissions also are expected to decline, averaging 4% between 2023 and 2026, which is more than double the 2% in the period from 2015 to 2019.

“The power sector currently produces more CO2 emissions than any other in the world economy, so it’s encouraging that the rapid growth of renewables and a steady expansion of nuclear power are together on course to match all the increase in global electricity demand over the next three years,” commented IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.

“This is largely thanks to the huge momentum behind renewables, with ever cheaper solar leading the way, and support from the important comeback of nuclear power, whose generation is set to reach a historic high by 2025. While more progress is needed, and fast, these are very promising trends.”

Electricity demand highlights

Some other top points from the report are as follows:

● Africa remains an outlier in electricity demand trends, with per capita demand having been effectively stagnant for more than three decades. A more than doubling in investments is required to deliver the region’s energy development and climate targets.

● Electricity prices were generally lower in 2023 than the record highs in 2022, in tandem with declines in prices for commodities such as natural gas and coal, but price trends varied widely among regions, affecting their economic competitiveness.

● Growing weather impacts on power systems highlight the importance of investing in electricity security. For example, global hydropower generation declined in 2023 due to impacts such as droughts, below average rainfall and early snowmelts in numerous regions. Diversifying energy sources, building regional power interconnections and implementing strategies for resilient generation in the face of changing weather patterns will be increasingly important.

● Rising self-consumption in distributed systems and data collection is giving rise to demand forecasting and planning and data sharing challenges. Complete data sets on distributed generation and consumption can give valuable insights into the potential for local flexibility solutions and improved data exchange between DSOs and TSOs can contribute to a more comprehensive accounting of self-consumption.

● Global smart meter investments doubled in 2022 compared to 2015, with the number of smart meters exceeding 1 billion worldwide. However, smart meter penetration varies significantly among countries and regions, from around 80% of US households to 10% in Latin America. Smart meters not only enable better and more detailed data collection but can also enable considerable cost savings.

Three case studies illustrate how the ‘grids of the future’ emerge in different contexts and locations. Widespread clean and renewable energies and the electricity systems built on digital and other technologies to carry them are the basis for the ‘grids of the future’.

The smart plant – smart energy operations for business success

A recent report from CB Insights found that 80% of industry manufacturers believe smart factories are crucial to their future success. However, while industries face specific challenges in smartening plants due to their complexity and scale, the process may be simpler than it appears.

With smart automation technology and energy technologies such as onsite renewable generation and green hydrogen production, plant operators have the tools to readily modernise, automate and optimise their energy use and other plant operations.

As an example, a global manufacturer of pumps and pump systems, Wilo wished to decarbonise its activities by becoming energy-independent and centralising the management of the different processes and energy flows involved.

The solution included a 3MW rooftop solar installation powering a 300kW electrolyser to produce green hydrogen with a 500kg tank for its storage. A 150kW battery energy storage system was integrated for peak shaving and emergency power supply via a 75kW fuel cell. An exchanger also was implemented to enable the use of waste heat for cooling applications.

With the integration of all the processes in a single digital platform the automation of the launching of green hydrogen production and the use of the available energy resources for peak shaving, the solution responded fully to Wilo’s needs.

Green hydrogen – how AI can accelerate the energy transition

While all the potential uses of green hydrogen in the future energy mix are open to debate there is agreement that it will have an important role, in decarbonising sectors that are hard to electrify, such as heavy transport and in an industry where hydrogen has been used as a feedstock for decades.

A major challenge, however, is scaling up the production, with decisions on where to site electrolysers and infrastructure such as storage taking into consideration the need for renewable energy to create green hydrogen and the demand requirements.

A new analysis from the ETIP SNET initiative argues that electrolysers should not be treated merely as a new load on the grid but should be addressed as a part of the system architecture so that the growth of the hydrogen ecosystem is matched with that of the associated renewables.

The analysis suggests that most electrolysers are likely to be grid-connected. While smaller MW-scale electrolysers should be able to rely on grid power when renewables are not available, larger GW-scale electrolysers will have a significant impact, requiring transmission system operator positioning and solutions such as microgrids for their operation.

Electrolysers and the wider hydrogen ecosystem also are expected to play an important role in delivering demand flexibility to the grid, both short term of seconds to minutes and long term up to months with storage of excess renewable generation.

With this, they offer the potential to support resilience on the grid and to control electricity prices for consumers by avoiding the need for other more costly grid management options.

Data centres – the renewable energy opportunity

Data centres are a growing and key component of the IT infrastructure, enabling the cloud and software as a service. They are energy intensive, due both to the number of servers they need to run and to the associated cooling requirements. Often, they have the added challenge of delivering 24/7 availability, necessitating a backup power requirement.

A key consideration in evaluating solutions for data centres is the level of emissions that are assessed as Scope 3 (i.e. indirect, across the value chain) as these become increasingly important for reporting.

Depending on the carbon intensity of purchased electricity, Scope 3 emissions can be the largest contributor to the total carbon footprint. The main action proposed to reduce Scope 3 emissions is to use more renewable and clean energies, such as solar, wind or hydro.

The use of clean energies also is a key step for more sustainable power backup. Traditionally diesel generation has served as the backup and a first step is to introduce a mix of biodiesel or a green renewable diesel.

Another key technology is battery energy storage, with the dual function of enabling participation in day-to-day demand response opportunities to alleviate congestion on the grid and serve as a backup in the case of an outage.

For example, if the grid is subject to very high power demand, such as during a heat wave, data centres can use their microgrid systems to reduce load on the grid, improving overall grid flexibility. When this battery system is charged with renewable energy, it emits zero carbon during operation. When there is a surplus in renewable supply, instead of curtailing the production, this surplus can be used to charge the battery storage.

Energy efficiency is another area of opportunity for data centres. As an example, waste heat is being used increasingly to help heat nearby buildings or to supply industrial heat users, reducing the energy use from other sources. For efficient data centre operation, all energy flows should be managed from a central automated platform.

These are three of the many examples of how the latest digital innovations and other technologies are delivering the grids of the future to accelerate the integration of clean and renewable energies and large-scale electrification across sectors.

Read Part 1 of this 3-part series: Renewable energies for the grid of the future
Read Part 2 of this 3-part series: Renewable energies – the transmission and distribution enablers

The concept of capturing solar energy in space and beaming it down to the Earth had its origins with the well-known science fiction writer Isaac Asimov in an early short story from his student days during the Second World War.

While it attracted limited attention in the following years, since the turn of the century with the increasing move to renewables, interest has grown and subsequently accelerated, with several initiatives emerging, including in the US, UK, Europe, Japan and China.

The fast-falling costs of satellite launches with their proliferation has given impetus to the proposal. However, while conceptually it is straightforward, technologically it is still very complex – to place solar panels several square kilometres in extent in space and then to deliver the energy via conversion to microwaves and reconversion on the ground with sufficient efficiency.

Have you read?
DEWA and ESA partner on space-based applications for utilities
GE’s Claudia Blanco talks reshaping the industry through tech and leadership

Nevertheless, several studies, most recently one from NASA, have indicated that cost parity with ground-based renewables should be possible by 2050, if not before.

With this space-based solar can become a viable addition to the renewables mix, with one of its prime benefits its ability to deliver solar energy on a virtually 24/7 basis – something that earth-based photovoltaics are unable to match, currently at least although not to be ruled out in the future.

For example, the CASSIOPeiA design proposed in the UK with two 1.7km diameter solar collectors is calculated to be able to deliver 2GW to the grid via a 5km diameter rectenna ground station.

Caltech’s space solar power demonstrator

Key to the development of space-based solar is the ability to test the technologies in space where they can be subject to the effects of space weather such as the solar wind.

Last October researchers from the Universities of Surrey and Swansea reported demonstrating the potential of a new solar cell technology based on thin-film cadmium telluride deposited directly onto ultra-thin space qualified cover glass material.

After six years in space, the cells were observed to show no signs of delamination and no deterioration in short circuit current or series resistance but the power output had decreased, which is attributed to an aspect of the cell design and is to be altered for the next generation.

Arguably the most advanced initiative is that at Caltech in the US, which was launched over a decade ago and is seeing investment of over $100 million on a largely philanthropic basis.

Read more Tech Talk

One year ago the first space solar power demonstrator was launched into space and while it ceased communication in November, one year on all three of the technologies carried, all fundamental for the delivery of space-based solar, have now been confirmed to have been successful.

These have shown that a flexible mesh material can be carried into space and deployed, that low-cost manufactured solar cells show potential for space use – particularly those with high-performance compound semiconductor materials such as gallium arsenide – and that energy beamed from space can be detected on the Earth.

Reflectors in space

Another option being considered is one that was proposed back in the early 1980s for nighttime illumination of cities – having giant reflectors in space that reflect the sunlight down to Earth, in particular at dawn and dusk when demand is peaking and the output from solar farms is weakening.

In a 5-year project that was started in late 2020 at the University of Glasgow, a reference architecture has been published recently for ‘Solspace’ as a constellation of five hexagonal-shaped reflectors with a combined area of about 1,000m2 – their size dictated by the available other technologies required for example, for attitude control.

With constant solar facing, these are estimated to deliver approximately 280MWh of solar energy daily to large solar farms, around 10km in extent to match the size of the solar beam at the proposed altitude of almost 1,000km, across the Earth.

With an operational lifetime of 20 years, the cost of the electricity is estimated at $70/MWh.

Further results are yet to come from the project, which also was proposed to look at issues such as the use of 3D printing methods for the reflectors, which are proposed to be made from aluminised Kapton and gossamer thin.

These findings and those from the other initiatives are early stage and much work still needs to be done to evolve the technologies and to implement a commercial-scale operation.

But in one form or another, it will happen, and perhaps as early as 2035 if the UK’s Space Solar venture meets its timeline.

Oh to be a fly on the wall as European retail leaders regroup after the holidays…

“Ok team, 2024 – what have we got?!” exclaims the CEO, with new year energy on the C-Suite zoom.

“Well, we have a number of new propositions in the pipeline which we are pushing to launch in September – there’s one for electric vehicle owners and another based on heat pumps. That will bring our product count up to an impressive 476,” coolly remarks the Chief Product Officer.

“What about AI? We’re using that, right?”

“Of course,” flatly replies the CTO, rolling her eyes off camera.

Many of us are familiar with this kind of conversation within our organisations, especially as digitisation and market competition has ramped up in recent years. But the reality is that although the industry has more data, more advanced technologies, more customer expectations and more smart devices connecting to the system every minute, what retailers should in fact be asking themselves is ‘what can we be doing less of?’

Having worked with a number of major national energy companies in Europe and around the world, I’ve seen first hand how retailers with hundreds of products and solutions feel pressured to churn out even more, and fast – or else risk feeling like they are falling behind.

While the changing demands of a competitive market are relentless and the clock is ticking away on our net zero promises, the start of a new year brings an opportunity to reflect, consolidate and simplify. According to EY, 94% of energy service providers say their ability to move quickly is a challenge.

If agility is the goal, then the mission needs to be streamlining the ship, not adding more cargo.

Of course there is no silver bullet, and these processes require resources, time and a fair number of difficult decisions – however, the main stages to stepping back and simplifying can be straight forward:

Phase 1: Take stock

One of the biggest challenges comes first – fully mapping your internal systems and identifying how different components of your architecture connect.

After years of plugging in and patching up, a typical retailers’ digital infrastructure becomes a jungle of components. You end up with a system for meter data, another for billing calculations and more for market messaging, all connected with custom integrations to support legacy products that serve a tiny subset of customers for a high cost – both in financial terms and complexity for your business.

To accompany this architectural view, you also need to understand what your expectations are of each component – how do you measure the value that it’s giving you? Whilst the process can be a gruelling one, to produce a comprehensive, single view of your systems and their value is a useful way of highlighting where it makes sense to strip back, or at least, to start.

Phase 2: Think customer lifetime value (CLTV)

Before you begin consolidating or reshaping though, it is imperative that everyone is clear on what you’re optimising for. An increase in gross margin per sale can have a bigger impact on the total enterprise value of your business than merely reducing the cost to serve your existing customer book. Employing a CLTV lens can help identify the high-value opportunities beyond the tempting, low-hanging fruit of cost-to-serve reduction.

Taking an example from a completely different industry, Uniqlo’s product mix is designed to promote cross-selling and you often have to purchase two pieces of a matching set separately, perhaps getting a discount when you do.

Getting clear on your wider business strategy is critical to then developing your teams and technology around it.

Phase 3: Simplify

While much of the technology simplification is about removing redundant components or underperforming services, it’s about identifying the opportunities for automation and yes, you guessed it, perhaps AI.

With areas such as billing and customer care, so many operations consist of data-driven, repeatable processes which are ripe for AI. For example, Large Language Models (LLMs) are becoming highly proficient in describing intent from inbound customer enquiries from chatbots and emails, helping to automate triaging for agents.

Taking this further, you can train these models with other retailer-specific datasets such as disaggregated usage data and solutions to common exceptions to reduce costs by millions.

Implementing this AI effectively, however, requires simplifying your data architecture and ensuring data accessibility for the models to use, otherwise attempts could take years. There’s no escaping it – simplification and innovation go hand in hand.

Of course these three phases make big, complex transformation projects sound easy but we all know they’re not. However, as we embark on 2024, with invigorated aspirations to delight customers and empower them to decarbonise, let’s not jump straight back into more of the same, but take this opportunity to regroup, simplify and move forward with agility.

Discover how Kaluza helped OVO, one of the leading UK energy retailers, achieve operational and technological transformation in this case study.

About the author:

Neel Gulhar is Kaluza’s Chief Product Officer and is responsible for leading the productization of the business’ pioneering SaaS solutions. Neel has over twenty years’ experience in product development, B2B marketing and utility platforms. Previous to Kaluza, Neel was Vice President of Product at Oracle and Senior Director of Product Marketing at Opower where he helped lead the high-growth SaaS company to IPO and acquisition. Neel has extensive knowledge of the utility sector having spent over a decade working for US majors Exelon and Baltimore Gas & Electric.

About the company:  

Kaluza is an energy software company powering the future of energy. From revolutionising billing to smart electric vehicle charging, Kaluza’s technology is empowering some of the biggest energy suppliers to better serve millions of customers. Kaluza is a B Corp-certified business with over 450 employees across seven global hubs. www.kaluza.com

In order to have enough hands to enable the green transition, companies in the electricity industry need to attract talent with the right skills – and retain it.

Danish climate tech firm Oktogrid, with its transformative solution providing data access to transformer health, stands at the forefront of this movement.

At Enlit Europe 2023, Golam Sadeghnia, CEO at Oktogrid, together with other industry leaders like Marianne Karu, Catherina Bobo, Marco Nunes, and Frank Gielen, took part in a panel discussion that touched upon how the energy industry can attract and retain the needed skill sets.

The panel shared key insights and practical advice on how the industry can address its workforce challenge. Some of these learnings contain the following:

Attracting mobile talent

The challenge lies in enticing highly mobile talent to join and commit to roles demanding innovative thinking for the evolving energy landscape.

To address this, the industry can benefit from establishing long-term collaborations between young knowledge-intensive companies and experienced corporations. Such strategic partnerships facilitate the introduction of new skill sets into the workforce, ensuring a dynamic blend of expertise and fresh perspectives.

Building industry awareness

Working in the field of electricity infrastructure is often ‘invisible’ as a professional choice. To combat this, industry players must motivate young professionals through early engagement initiatives like internships, mentorships, digital platforms and games.

By making the field more visible, engaging and attractive, the industry can inspire the next generation to embrace sustainable energy careers.

Lifelong learning initiatives

The dynamic nature of the electricity industry requires constant adaptation. To bridge the skills gap, leaders must establish a structured framework for reskilling, upskilling and transitioning the workforce.

Providing incentives, dedicated time and support for training programmes ensures that employees can integrate new methods and skills seamlessly into their daily activities.

Work-life balance as a differentiator

There is a new generation that is highly skilled in IT and motivated to pursue a career with purpose rather than making people click ads online.

To stand out as an attractive workplace, companies must offer flexibility and a good work-life balance. Prioritising a supportive work environment is essential to appeal to a workforce motivated to make a difference in the green transition.

Golam Sadeghnia, CEO at Oktogrid, emphasises: “The energy transition is not just about technology. At Oktogrid, we believe in fostering an environment that values both innovation and the well-being of our colleagues.

“Our solution is not just transforming the industry by technology; by introducing new digital toolsets, it is also contributing to inviting a new, attractive workforce that is inspired and committed to a sustainable future.”

As the electricity industry embarks on a journey towards sustainability, talent becomes the driving force behind transformative change. Collaborative efforts, early engagement, life-long learning, and flexibility will be key differentiators in attracting the right talent.

By following these principles, the industry will not only attract the talent and skill sets needed but also cultivate a workforce prepared to navigate the challenges and opportunities of a digitised and sustainable energy future.

But grid operators are often handling these changes with an ageing infrastructure that wasn’t built with a distributed energy system in mind.

We need a new approach that can manage power grid complexity and ensure the grid will accelerate the energy transition, not hold it back.

Software underpinned with a strong data foundation is key. When energy utilities make this a priority, grid complexity can be effectively managed, providing a resilient power supply even as we shift to cleaner energy.

What is grid orchestration and why is it critical in 2024?

The energy transition is reshaping utilities’ business model. As renewables and DERs grow exponentially, utilities must manage external assets as well as their own.

Existing grid management tools help operators manage specific areas of the grid. But they don’t offer much coordination across the entire energy system. And it’s this coordination that’s critical in a distributed grid.

In other words, we need to move from grid management to grid orchestration.

How? Through digital orchestration infrastructure.

This brings technology alignment, utilities can achieve end-to-end orchestration across the entire grid ecosystem. And it’s what GridOS has been designed to deliver, moving us closer to fully integrated and flexible grid operations.

With Grid Orchestration, utilities can manage escalating grid complexity in a distributed energy environment.

Read more news from Greenbird

Here are the 5 biggest priorities for energy utilities in 2024.

1. Grid modernization: Invest for the future in 2024

The shift to renewable power is accelerating, but it needs to go further, faster to meet net zero targets according to IEA Director, Fatih Birol.

An IEA study found that the world must add or replace 80 million km in the grid by 2040 or risk hampering the energy transition, impacting energy security.

Fatih Birol, Executive Director of IEA warned the grid is at risk of becoming a bottleneck (View image).

Preparing the grid for the future means:

• Integrating and managing more intermittent renewable energy and DERs
• Accommodating electrification and growing demand for power
• Planning for an omnidirectional flow of energy in a distributed energy system
• Viewing energy consumers as partners

Grid modernization is a daunting task, but it’s now a priority. And there are steps utilities can take in 2024 that will help them manage power grid complexity and prepare the power grid for the future.

Grid modernization solutions: Steps to take in 2024

By implementing Grid Orchestration Software, utilities can tackle the complex task of balancing a sustainable energy system. Grid operators can leverage real-time data and apply advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML).

With grid orchestration software, utilities can manage supply and demand dynamically and tackle the toughest grid modernization challenges, including:

• Regulating the flow of power across the network, ensuring a resilient and reliable supply, even with a greater share of intermittent renewables
• Incorporating new renewable resources into the grid
• Connecting DERs into the grid and managing the omnidirectional flow to and from prosumers
• Integrating existing systems and solutions into the sustainable energy grid
• Achieving a unified view of the entire network

2. Build a resilient grid. Protect your energy supply against extreme weather

Managing uncertainty is never easy. But in recent years the world has faced an endless catalog of severe weather events. Storms, floods, wildfires, droughts, extreme temperatures – weather events are becoming more intense and more frequent.

The increase in weather events is coinciding with the push to renewables and electrification. This puts enormous pressure on power generation,transmission and the distribution network. Power supply and demand is more unpredictable and harder to manage, impacting power grid resilience.

Steps to take in 2024: Implementing Grid Orchestration Software

Software has become essential in managing the grid. In the past, many solutions have focused on specific areas. In a distributed system with so many variables, Grid Operators need a more coordinated approach.

Grid Orchestration Software offers an intelligent, flexible and integrated software platform.

Grid Orchestration Software harnesses data, putting AI and Machine Learning to work. At its core is a data fabric with modern technologies and methods that allow you to unleash the value of data to transform data into intelligent automation and actionable insights.

By leveraging GridOS applications, both innovative new apps as well as modernized proven apps become composable solutions that are modular, interoperable and flexible. It enables you to optimize grid operations, ensure resilience and a reliable electricity supply, whilst deploying more renewables, DERs and volatile energy services the help accelerate the energy transition.

3. Break down silos. Make data accessible

Siloed data makes the complex task of operating a sustainable grid even more challenging. Utilities need a unified view of data across the entire system, from generation to transmission and distribution, including DERs. And they need this data in as close to real time as possible to respond dynamically to changing conditions whilst balancing supply and demand.

This relies on the free flow of data throughout the utility and across the many (and growing) organizations in the energy ecosystem.

When information about energy infrastructure and grid performance, ends up siloed, employees resort to manual workarounds that result in inefficiencies and human error that has an impact on grid resiliency.

Steps to Take in 2024: Make Data Accessible Across the Network

A federated grid data fabric that utilizes effective integration principles offers a modern and future proof solution. It simplifies the complexities of data integration and ensures data quality across the energy ecosystem.

When energy utilities can access data throughout the network, they can achieve real-time, end to end visibility. They can leverage real-time data, advanced analytics, and machine learning, helping them to make better decisions, accelerate innovation, and improve efficiencies.

With a grid data fabric, managing power grid complexity becomes easier. Data and system silos are broken down, operators can use simulations, predictive operations, and automated grid control, ultimately leading to a more reliable energy supply.

4. Automate grid processes

Automation is vital in managing the increased complexity of a sustainable power grid and helps to fast-track utilities’ grid modernization process.

Today’s digitalized energy grid is fed by distributed data collected from millions of data points. With effective integration, more data sources deliver more enriched data and an improved view of the grid. Grid Operators can make better decisions, even at the near real-time speeds now needed.

But traditional manual processes struggle to keep pace with today’s data volumes and grid complexity.

Steps to take in 2024: Coordinate multiple automation processes

Advanced software solutions enable utilities to react to change in real-time, automatically responding when conditions change. But when solutions are delivered via a comprehensive Grid Orchestration platform, utilities can coordinate multiple automation processes across the network. This helps build efficiencies and delivers a more reliable and resilient service.

• When it comes to developing a sustainable gird, automation can take over key processes, including:
• Automating DER scheduling and DER optimization
• Voltage management
• Automating Fault Isolation and Service Restoration

Automation leads to fewer outages and faster restoration times. Utilities can quickly spot issues and deal with them before they cause major disruption for customers. The result? less disruption to customers and a more reliable energy supply.

5. Protect your utility’s mission critical infrastructure

The energy sector is a prime target for threat actors with cyberattacks on utilities increasing by 118% between 2020 and 2022.

Day-to-day management relies on data exchange between all nodes of the energy ecosystem, including with consumers and DERs. But this creates a huge array of vulnerabilities ready for cybercriminals to exploit.

Software applications, sensors, IoT devices, hybrid cloud, APIs – every source bringing data into the utility is a potential risk.

With a distributed energy model, the traditional approach of guarding the company’s network perimeter no longer works.

Enter Zero Trust.

Steps to take in 2024: Build a Zero Trust environment

Never trust. Always verify.

In a Zero Trust model, all users, even those within the utility, are continuously authenticated, authorized, and validated. Access to data and resources is only given when it’s needed by employees to complete a particular task.

A Zero Trust model assumes everyone and everything is a potential threat. Utility assets and networks are constantly monitored so potential threats or unauthorized activity are quickly identified. The information is used to continuously improve defences.

With next-generation grid orchestration software like GridOS, a Zero Trust security model is in-built to utility IT architecture.

Today’s consumers take notice of how businesses look after their data. In 2024 utilities need to become less trusting to become more trustworthy to users and to safeguard critical infrastructure.

The energy industry is rapidly adjusting to a more sustainable grid. This new model is underpinned by proliferating data points leading to escalating power grid complexity. Key to managing this is effective Grid Orchestration software, supported by a strong data foundation.

Greenbird’s data integration platform, Utilihive, is now accelerating GE Vernova’s GridOS®. Utilihive is a leading-edge integration platform that’s been developed specifically for utilities. It streamlines data integration cutting deployment times. The Utilihive integration platform works to unlock data silos, enables advanced analytics, and delivers enhanced scalability and flexibility.

Utilihive synergizes seamlessly with GridOS, boosting its capabilities. GridOS is the world’s first software portfolio designed specifically for grid orchestration, adding new capabilities for connecting systems and integrating data across the grid more easily and at scale.

Escalating power grid complexity is a challenge for utilities. But managing this complexity also results in a more efficient, modern and resilient grid. There’s a lot to be excited about in 2024.

About Greenbird by GE Vernova

Greenbird is an international solution and technology company with roots in Norway. We simplify the complexity of Big Data Integration to help organizations unlock the value of their data and mission critical applications. Our flagship innovation, Utilihive, is a cloud-native platform combining enterprise integration capabilities with a data lake optimized for energy use cases.

Greenbird was founded in 2010 with a mission to revolutionize how the energy industry thinks about enterprise system integration. Today, Utilihive is used by utilities across Europe, Middle East and Asia serving more than 50 million consumers.

GE Vernova acquired Greenbird in August 2023 to accelerate GridOS innovation and help utilities reduce the complexity of energy data integration. Visit GE Vernova’s website for more about GridOS Orchestration Software.

This increasingly changing power grid paradigm poses great challenges for the growth of power grid infrastructure and brings forward the need for innovative solutions.

Traditional grid expansion approaches, such as infrastructure reinforcement, are no longer optimal due to the disparity between forecasts and reality.

This article explores the limitations of current strategies and proposes a solution based on grid digitalisation — Federated Distributed Energy Resources Management System (Federated-DERMS), which offers a decentralised approach to grid management, optimising operations and overcoming the hurdles posed by the evolving energy landscape.

Power grid infrastructure growth challenges

Traditional approaches, mainly focused on infrastructure reinforcement or equipment replacement, struggle to keep pace with the dynamic changes in the energy landscape.

The integration of distributed energy resources (DER), which doubled between 2004 and 2021 and will continue to grow in the upcoming years due to governmental policies and objectives, such as the European Union’s (EU) active net zero carbon emissions by 2050, coupled with the rapid adoption of electric vehicles and the shift from consumer to prosumer, has led to a significant disparity between the current estimation methods and the evolving reality.

To bridge this gap, a paradigm shift toward grid digitalisation may be a suitable path to follow.

Traditional grid reinforcement-based approach, driven by decisions based on load simultaneity factors and worst-case future scenarios, may no longer be efficient for grid reinforcement planning, as new uncertain variables such as knowing where and when DERs are going to be installed.

In addition, the evolution from consumers to prosumers, elastic to electricity prices and capable of injecting power into the grid, further complicates the equation.

Instead of trying to invest in grid reinforcements under this high uncertain scenario, the solution lies in non-wire alternatives (NWA) such as grid digitalisation, entailing investments in edge computing (IoT) and innovative software architectures.

This dual investment is the fittest for optimal exploitation of information generated by edge devices, providing a pathway to a more adaptive and efficient grid.

Operational challenges for DSOs

Following the current trends in the network paradigm shift, DSOs will need to be able to operate a greater number of devices.

On the one hand, this is positive, as they will have more tools to optimise network exploitation. On the other hand, it will mean there is a greater number of variables to optimise.

This implies that to solve optimisation problems in the same way as it is currently done (centralised control), the operator will require greater computational power.

Moreover, with the increase in uncertainties associated with both generation and demand, primarily due to renewable generation, electric vehicle charging schedule, and consumers’ behaviour with their variable loads, network operation has become more complex.

Following a grid digitalisation approach, the deployment of smart meters and IoT edge devices will cause a considerable increase in the volume of data for DSOs to manage.

This implies that centralised management architectures, where all data flows from devices to the central hub, will require greater robustness and computational power capable of handling both the data volume and the variables to be optimised in acceptable timeframes for operation while ensuring system’s quality of service.

Maintaining this type of network control architecture over time can become inefficient, as the investment in computational power may reach considerable figures. To address this challenge, one of the possible courses of action is proposed in the next section.

Federated-DERMS as a solution

In response to the pressing challenges faced by power grids, a transformative solution emerges — the Federated Distributed Energy Resources Management System.

This innovative software architecture is defined by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) as FAST-DERMS and offers a decentralised approach to grid management.

As Figure 1 portrays, a Federated-DERMS strategically divides the grid into areas controlled by individual DERMS systems (the Flexibility Resource Scheduler in Figure 1), each equipped with personalised microservices tailored for optimal grid operation of their control region.

Federated-DERMS operates with a central coordinator communicating seamlessly with all DERMS systems across the grid.

Each local DERMS, armed with personalised microservices, undertakes specific tasks to optimise its control area. These tasks may include precise load forecasting, economic dispatch of DERs in the local market and hosting capacity calculations in order to accomplish forecasting, planning and operation tasks efficiently and effectively.

Importantly, all local DERMS systems collaborate, sharing data and insights with each other and the central coordinator to achieve close-to-optimal grid operation.

Therefore, applying this architecture brings improvements both at a general and local level.

On a general scale, it achieves a reduction in the number of signals directly exchanged with the central coordinator, as the managers of each zone will send condensed information received. This implies that the computational power required to manage the entire volume of data will be reduced due to the distribution of data handling among zone operators.

On the other hand, at the local level, the deployed microservices can be specifically configured to address operation, control, or planning issues in the controlled area with greater precision, thereby enhancing overall network management.

Conclusion: Embracing innovation for a resilient future.

About the authors

Daniel Palomo, Business Development Manager Grid Control, Minsait, is responsible for grid control products as well as the launch to the market of new control and real time products. In addition, he has worked for strategic projects deploying IoT edge technologies, SCADA in the cloud, DER flexibility and FLISR implementation.

Juan Menendez-Pidal, Real Time Control System Expert, Minsait, is an expert in implementation of management, operation and optimisation solutions for electrical distribution networks for DSOs and research centres. He also is actively working on R&D projects for the development of new products that promote the energy transition.

About Minsait

Minsait, an Indra company (www.minsait.com), is a leading firm in digital transformation and information technologies in Spain and Latin America. Minsait possesses a high degree of specialisation and knowledge of the sector to focus its offering on high-impact value propositions, based on end-to-end solutions. Its capabilities and leadership are demonstrated in its product range, under the brand Onesait, and its across-the-board range of services.

About Indra

Indra (www.indracompany.com) is one of the leading global technology and consulting companies and the technological partner for core business operations of its customers worldwide. Its business model is based on a comprehensive range of proprietary products, with a high-value, end-to-end focus and with a high innovation component. In the 2022 financial year, Indra achieved revenue totaling €3,851 billion with almost 57,000 employees with a local presence in 46 countries and business operations in over 140 countries.

A data space for energy in Europe is a key element of the EU’s digitalisation action plan and indeed the concept of open data and the platform or ‘space’ to deliver it is gathering momentum in other sectors and countries.

The energy sector presents specific considerations. The sector is largely regulated but non-discriminatory access to the grid and to markets is a key principle that needs to be maintained in a data space setting.

Moreover, European and national regulatory bodies are imposing rules and guidelines that impact data management and exchange, which also must feed into the design and governance.

Have you read?
Plan for Europe’s common energy data space set out
Creating data space with smart meter hubs

In practice, there will be a multiplicity of data spaces and there will be need for alignment with other data spaces such as mobility – another requirement set out in the digitalisation action plan – and thus interoperability will be key.

Interoperability approaches in data spaces

The EC states that “a common European data space brings together relevant data infrastructures and governance frameworks, in order to facilitate data pooling and sharing. It will include the deployment of data sharing means and services, data governance structures, and will improve the availability, quality and interoperability of data.“

Several initiatives are approaching interoperability from different angles, which form the focus of a new position paper from the International Data Spaces Association (IDSA).

The IDSA itself has defined and developed mechanisms focussed strongly on technical and semantic interoperability and, with the IDS Rulebook, offers guidance on how to achieve organisational interoperability.

Technical interoperability deals with the applications and infrastructures linking systems and services in the data space, while semantic interoperability guarantees the preservation and understanding of the precise format and meaning of the data and information exchanged.

Organisational interoperability, in practice, involves documenting, integrating or aligning business processes and the pertinent information exchanged.

The approach of FIWARE is to foster interoperability with the use of defined open APIs and a growing set of open standard-based so-called ‘smart data models’.

The Gaia-X initiative has defined the Gaia-X Trust Framework to provide a worldwide set of rules and specifications to support data space authorities and federations seeking interoperability.

Reference architectures

Alongside these, a number of reference architectures are being developed with EU project funding support.

The OMEGA-X architecture, for example, is comprised of four main components – a marketplace, federated infrastructure, connectors enabling the flow of data and services and compliance services.

The ENERSHARE architecture draws a distinction between ‘local’ and ‘horizontal’, with the local building blocks facilitating the functionalities local to a use case and the horizontal building blocks allowing participation in the data space.

Others are the Data Cellar architecture, with similarities conceptually to OMEGA-X and the SYNERGIES architecture with two main conceptual layers comprised of an energy data space ecosystem and energy services marketplace.

The EDDIE architecture is prioritising an overlying data sharing interface with the first use case focussed on in-house smart meter data.

Policy issues

In a separate policy paper, ETIP SNET addresses energy data space policy, reviewing specific use cases including the optimisation of transmission and distribution systems operations, the instantiation and operation of energy communities and inter-border EV services.

These are considered as depicting precise situations in which data sharing allows, on one hand, to generate value without necessarily exchanging the data itself and, on the other hand, to foster optimisation via data-enabled analytics solutions.

Several key challenges are identified, with technical challenges including the accessibility of data from smart meters and DER devices, the role of the identity management component and the harmonisation of data models and components.

As these challenges are strictly related to the need of create the conditions for a wider customer involvement, data spaces are in this respect a great opportunity to make clear the central role of the customers in terms of data provisions, the paper points out.

Challenges

The ETIP SNET paper states that in general, regulatory and technical challenges have to be addressed together to avoid further late issues.

From the organisational viewpoint, the measures to federate different initiatives in the ecosystem and its long-term maintenance have the foremost importance to avoid the possibility of data silos.

Another challenge corresponds to the entire re-thinking of business processes in the energy sector, with generation and grid control having both decentralised and centralised aspects and to ensure interoperability, regulation must be effective.

The IDSA paper points to the “fundamental” role of standards for interoperability to avoid vendor lock-in, enhance scalability and ensure data protection and cybersecurity.

Regarding technical interoperability, for successful federation of different data spaces, compatibility among different data connectors, services and trust frameworks must have the highest priority.

For semantic interoperability, the main challenge for the energy domain is the enormous variety of devices, assets and applications. It is therefore necessary to place additional effort on the harmonisation of ontologies and data models.

Next steps

The various architectures being demonstrated open the way for sharing of experiences and both papers call for collaboration with the potential to identify common ground for use cases for a European data space and to guide regulation.

The development and rollout of a common European energy data space is in the hands of the European Commission, with the digitalisation action plan stating that deployment starts no later than 2024.

However, it is likely to be potentially delayed. Key industry development input, including a portfolio of high-level use cases and their implementing details and deliverables needed for data exchanges to deliver on the objectives of the Green Deal and the Digital Decade, are expected from a ‘Data for Energy’ sub-group of the new still to be formed Smart Energy Expert Group.

In the plan, the Smart Energy Expert Group was scheduled for set up by March 2023, but was delayed until the second half of the year with nominations closing in November 2023.

In the meantime, the Commission has awarded a contract to a consortium led by digital solution company Eviden Belgium to develop ‘Simpl’ – a middleware platform to enable cloud-to-edge federations and support data access and interoperability among the European data spaces.

Simpl is planned to be an open source stack with modular structure and a secure approach to give data providers full control over who accesses their data in such data spaces.

While the contract runs over three years, to end of 2026, a proof-of-concept is expected to be released by summer 2024 and a minimum viable platform released by the end of 2024.

Global electricity demand is expected to grow by 50% by 2040. The International Energy Agency (IEA) recently noted that one in five cars sold is now electric, up from one in 25 just three years ago.

The US and Europe have made enormous investments in clean energy as both a bulwark against climate change and a measure to ensure energy security in a volatile geopolitical environment. Wind turbines are rising in the North Sea and off the Atlantic coast.

Solar PV’s installed power capacity is expected to surpass that of coal by 2027, the IEA reports.

If we truly want to decarbonise, we can’t simply generate more renewable energy. All that new energy needs a place to go. Around the world, ageing grids are ill-equipped to handle this growing electricity demand, and most of the world’s electrical grids were not built to handle distributed energy resources (DERs), such as renewables.

To meet this challenge, the grids will need to modernise quickly, adopting new technologies to enable a digitised, bidirectional energy that can adapt in microseconds to the new variables that come with the introduction of renewables.

Governments and businesses must invest in grid modernisation on par with the investment in energy generation. The UN estimates that the world will need to invest $4 trillion a year until 2030 to reach net zero by 2050.

Money, however, won’t be enough. In the past five years, the pandemic, extreme weather and wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have challenged energy security and supply chain stability. To avoid disruption to the energy transition, it is essential to have a secure and resilient energy technology and resource supply chain. That will require governments and industry to rethink the regulatory and resource environment.

For example, the European Commission’s Critical Raw Materials Act, proposed in March, seeks to ensure a critical domestic supply of 34 crucial raw materials, including 16 strategic raw materials, such as lithium, nickel, graphite and aluminum. Notably, it simplified the permit procedure of strategic extracting projects, cutting some of the red tape that can delay projects and inflate costs.

The technologies exist that allow us to integrate renewable energy from multiple sources – solar, wind, water and hydrogen, – without sacrificing reliability. GE has already deployed these technologies in more than 150 countries. We – and our industry partners – can build the grid of the future and electrify the world with the right global investment and commitment.

Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “The world is beautiful, but has a disease called man”. Activities such as burning fossil fuels, deforestation or poor industrial, livestock and agricultural practices contribute to carbon dioxide emissions, which reached a new global record of over 40 billion metric tons in 2022.

Consequently, global warming continues to intensify. The surface of the oceans is warming 24% faster than a few decades ago, resulting in coastal erosion and more severe storms. The last seven years have been the hottest since 1940, reducing the amount of land available for agriculture, making access to water more difficult, and increasing the risk of wildfires, which are becoming increasingly devastating.

All of this has a social and global economic impact, such as food shortages and the resulting increase in prices, mass population movements caused by natural disasters and increasing poverty in countries that are less able to adapt to the effects of climate change.

The role of AI in energy transition

Achieving carbon neutrality in Europe by 2050 to combat climate change requires societies, governments and businesses to commit, with energy companies playing a key role in meeting this challenge. Energy transition, as a vector of decarbonisation, implies a profound transformation of the energy model and technology. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a great ally along the entire energy value chain to help tackle this challenge.

In power generation, AI optimizes renewable energy production, avoids outages thanks to predictive monitoring and can even paralyze a wind farm to avoid harming protected species passing through it.

In industrial facilities, it identifies areas for energy efficiency improvement and helps to plan more effective production strategies and prevent environmental risks by detecting abnormal behaviour patterns in real time.

It opens up the electricity markets to an increasing number of players, providing flexibility to the electricity system and helping it to become more sustainable.

And it helps to optimize grid management by streamlining its extension demands, predicting demand, contributing to the early detection of faults, optimising the management of distributed energy resources and storage, and even protecting the grid environment by highlighting risks such as fire outbreaks and raising alarms that trigger actions to mitigate them.

Read more news about AI

Challenges of implementing AI

However, there are also challenges associated with implementing AI globally, because if AI systems are trained on biased or insufficient data, they could make unethical or unsustainable decisions.

Furthermore, the automation of tasks could lead to a reduced demand for certain jobs. An over-reliance on AI could result in system vulnerability in the event of technological failures or cyber-attacks, and the implementation of this technology can be costly, potentially creating inequalities when it comes to its adoption.

Environmentally, its implementation requires large servers that may call for the intensive extraction of natural resources. Operating AI models is energy demanding and the rapid evolution of technology can lead to rapid obsolescence of equipment, thereby increasing e-waste.

Strategic measures for implementing AI

Maximising the benefits of AI while mitigating potential risks involves collecting relevant and quality data, ethical training of algorithms, implementing cybersecurity measures, and maintaining active and constant human oversight to make ethical and responsible decisions.

Additionally, a collaborative and regulatory framework must be established that enables R&D to ensure more comprehensive approaches, the recruitment and training of expert professionals, as well as the responsible adoption of AI.

And finally, powering infrastructure with renewable energy, encouraging the R&D of more energy efficient models, implementing recycling programs and conducting life cycle assessments of AI solutions to lessen their environmental impact.

Companies must be committed to exploiting all the possibilities offered by AI, being accountable for how they use it and establishing the mechanisms that allow them to scale and evaluate its true impact. Therefore, it is essential to have a comprehensive governance framework that helps align the AI strategy with the corporate strategy and that covers the entire AI lifecycle. Companies must also build trust among their customers based on explainability while adapting to new regulations that will ensure safe, secure, impartial, ethical and transparent AI.

About the author:

Sandra Cuadrado Ares is the Head of Utilities Spain. She is an agricultural engineer from the UPM with more than 20 years of experience in Information Technologies for sectors such as Telecommunications, Industry and Energy, especially in the commercial field and the promotion of high-value Offering. She currently leads the Spain Utilities Unit, promoting solutions that respond to the transformation challenges of the sector.

About Minsait

Minsait, an Indra company, is a leading firm in digital transformation and Information Technologies in Spain and Latin America. Minsait possesses a high degree of specialisation and knowledge of the sector, which it backs up with its high capability to integrate the core world with the digital world, its leadership in innovation and digital transformation, and its flexibility. Thus, it focuses its offering on high-impact value propositions, based on end-to-end solutions, with a remarkable degree of segmentation, which enables it to achieve tangible impacts for its customers in each industry with a transformational focus. Its capabilities and leadership are demonstrated in its product range, under the brand Onesait, and its across-the-board range of services.

About Indra

Indra is one of the leading global technology and consulting companies and the technological partner for core business operations of its customers worldwide. It is a world leader in providing proprietary solutions in specific segments in Transport and Defence markets, and a leading firm in Digital Transformation and Information Technologies in Spain and Latin America through its affiliate Minsait. Its business model is based on a comprehensive range of proprietary products, with a high-value, end-to-end focus and with a high innovation component. In the 2022 financial year, Indra achieved revenue totaling €3,851 billion, almost 57,000 employees, a local presence in 46 countries and business operations in over 140 countries.

In a recent report, Berg Insight estimates that the number of water AMI endpoints in North America will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 11.3% over the next five years, while that in Europe is expected to grow at a rate of 16.3%.

Over the past two decades water AMI solutions have evolved, opening up new possibilities for water utilities to make substantial enhancements of operational efficiency, reduce non-revenue water and greatly improve water conservation schemes, Berg Insight points out.

“Today, the term smart metering has become a buzz word within the water sector that is to be considered synonymous with the concept of AMI.”

Have you read?
What the water AMI market can learn from electric utilities
Energy Transitions Podcast: Smart water at the heart of sustainable cities

North America is the leading market for both water AMR and AMI solutions globally, with an installed base of about 86.5 million active water utility AMR and AMI endpoints, representing a penetration of around 75%, at the end of 2022.

Of these, AMI accounted for 38 million and a penetration of more than 33%.

The number of water AMI endpoints in North America is forecast to reach 72.3 million units in 2028, driven primarily by utilities seeking to replace existing AMR solutions.

Europe is the second-largest market for water AMR and AMI solutions.

At the end of 2022, the installed base of active water utility AMR and AMI endpoints was about 68.6 million, translating into a penetration rate of approximately 45%, with just 17.8 million AMI endpoints for a penetration of around 12%.

The number is forecast to reach 44.1 million units in 2028 as markets such as Italy, the UK, Scandinavia and the DACH and Benelux regions grow alongside the historically primary markets of France and Spain.

Standards and vendors

Berg Insight reports that a variety of proprietary and standards-based communications technologies are being used for water AMI deployments.

In North America, proprietary RF networking platforms have completely dominated the market and accounted for as much as 92% of the installed base of AMI endpoints in 2022.

Meanwhile, various proprietary and open-standard RF technologies based on the EN 13757 standard accounted for roughly 47% of the AMI endpoints installed in Europe, with Wize as the single most deployed technology.

LoRaWAN and 3GPP-based LPWA technologies were also noted as emerging as real contenders within the water AMI markets – particularly LTE-M in the US and LoRaWAN and NB-IoT in Europe.

Berg Insight also reports that the water AMI and AMR markets in the two regions are largely served by local or regional players, with only a few companies such as Itron, Sensus (Xylem), Honeywell, Kamstrup, the Arad Group and the Minol-ZENNER Group, having managed to establish a major presence in both regions.

At the end of 2022, the top five water AMI endpoint vendors in North America in terms of installed base were Sensus, Badger Meter, Itron, Aclara and the Neptune Technology Group.

The top five water AMI endpoint vendors in Europe comprised Diehl Metering, Itron, Birdz (Veolia), Sensus and Kamstrup. SUEZ subsidiary SUEZ Smart Solutions also constitutes a key player in the European water AMI market by having been instrumental to the development and deployment of Wize technology.

Transmission system operators (TSOs) and distribution system operators (DSOs) are racing against time to adapt to the most complex mix of challenges to face the energy industry in 100 years.

Capgemini is pioneering the next generation of smart grid companies around the world, deploying vast, global energy experience and best practice, engineering excellence, collaborative innovation, cloud expertise and world class data management capabilities.

Through our extensive network of technology partners, we design bespoke solutions with the best combination of components to meet the needs of each project.

This recognises that each organisation’s journey to the smart grid is unique, with different start points, challenges and opportunities, success criteria and resources.

Capgemini has 75 smart energy clients worldwide and in the field of advanced metering infrastructure alone, is responsible for seven out of ten of the world’s largest implementations, is delivering smart energy projects involving 170 million smart meters and operates 1.5 million smart meters daily.

About Capgemini

Capgemini is a global leader in partnering with companies to transform and manage their business by harnessing the power of technology. The Group is guided everyday by its purpose of unleashing human energy through technology for an inclusive and sustainable future. It is a responsible and diverse organization of over 360,000 team members in more than 50 countries. With its strong 55-year heritage and deep industry expertise, Capgemini is trusted by its clients to address the entire breadth of their business needs, from strategy and design to operations, fueled by the fast evolving and innovative world of cloud, data, AI, connectivity, software, digital engineering and platforms. The Group reported in 2022 global revenues of €22 billion.
Get the Future You Want | www.capgemini.com

A major challenge for water utilities is how to migrate away from walk-by, drive-by, and AMI 1.0 solutions to AMI 2.0 without a complete replacement of all meters. Additionally, they need solutions that help them identify leaks in their distribution system to best manage water usage cost-effectively.

The water utility sector is mirroring the migration that the electric utility industry has gone through with AMI 1.0, for many of the same reasons. They have had the benefit of seeing electric utilities go through this process and understanding the key benefits they can achieve. They have also learned from the challenges electric utilities have had in selecting the right next-generation technology solutions for their business.

One of the major lessons learned from the electric market experience is how important it is to not be locked into a single-meter supplier

Trilliant has the most universal AMI head-end system in the industry integrated with well over 300-meter types in the electric and gas AMI market. Trilliant is bringing this same “Power of Choice” opportunity to the water AMI market.

We can work with you to digitally transform your water meter strategy with a universal gateway that provides multiple interface options, and a head-end system that supports both complete and tactical deployments.

Trilliant’s head-end system, UnitySuite®, also provides a network and data collection management system that is being used for managing our own and third-party cellular (including NBIoT), third-party LPWAN, and mesh solutions – all from the same AMI head-end system implementation. This also enables a consolidation and normalization of integration points, simplifying the integration process.

UnitySuite supports tactical deployments which enable a utility to migrate from one system to another at their own pace, without disruption to the utility’s existing business processes. or deploy at specific premises to implement a new application like prepayment, or remote water shut-off”.

Trilliant’s expertise in a variety of wireless AMI systems has provided extensive experience in how to best manage disparate systems. With the variety of existing communications types in the market today, it is a challenge for a single vendor to integrate wireless communications into a system working in concert and providing a common WAN communication path.

Have you read?
India’s IntelliSmart partners on head-end system for smart meter rollout
Demand response programmes and power loss detection benefits

Trilliant offers a universal gateway that provides multiple interface options that can communicate with LoRA®, WMBus®, and NBIoT® in a single deployed unit. This provides the utility with maximum flexibility to continue optimizing their current assets in the field, and easily migrating to the next generation.

Trilliant’s AMI for smart water solution includes:

Software

• Trilliant’s proven device-independent UnitySuite HES platform with our “water application” module;
• API support for third-party water-related applications;
• Water analytics and customer portal;
• Software driver support for commercially available integrated cellular water meters.

Hardware

• Trilliant LPWAN next-gen network technology for these “hard to reach” battery-operated endpoints;
• Development of a Trilliant LPWAN-based Meter Interface Unit (MIU) for interfacing with water meters using 3-wire UI-1203 protocol (commonly used in North America);
• Development of a Trilliant LPWAN–wireless MBUS gateway for interfacing with wMBUS meters installed for walk-by/drive-by meter reading (commonly used in EMEA region).

Trilliant LPWAN remote monitoring unit that can interface with water SCADA RTUs for command and control of water distribution assets.

A few examples of Trilliant’s AMI for smart water in progress include:

• Deployments in North America using Trilliant’s LPWAN for Water MIU;
• Suite metering support for water in Canada using Trilliant’s LPWAN MIU Hub;
• Pilots progressing in the Isle of Mann, using Trilliant’s LPWAN to wireless MBUS gateway.

Ready to transform your smart water strategy? Let’s talk. We’re happy to discuss the next steps that make sense for your utility’s unique needs. Contact Trilliant today!

About the company

Trilliant is proud of a 30+ year history serving the world’s energy companies, utilities, and smart cities – securely, sustainably, reliably. We are passionate about delivering mission-critical solutions to our customers. Designed to offer The Power of Choice, our flexible, multi-tiered platform is device-agnostic, and drives optimal endpoints and outcomes. Visit us at www.trilliant.com

In this report, we review how advances in enabling technologies, new investments, industry transformation and legislative action can help mitigate the effects of climate change, while also improving security of supply and ensuring energy sovereignty.

“Because of recent significant global events, energy priorities have been redefined. In this year’s World Energy Markets Observatory, we explore our urgent need to accelerate the energy transition while managing the security of supply, sovereignty of energy production, equipment and resources and ensuring energy affordability.”

James Forrest
Group Industry Leader for Energy Transition and Utilities at Capgemini

About Capgemini

Capgemini is a global leader in partnering with companies to transform and manage their business by harnessing the power of technology. The Group is guided everyday by its purpose of unleashing human energy through technology for an inclusive and sustainable future. It is a responsible and diverse organisation of over 360,000 team members in more than 50 countries. With its strong 55-year heritage and deep industry expertise, Capgemini is trusted by its clients to address the entire breadth of their business needs, from strategy and design to operations, fueled by the fast evolving and innovative world of cloud, data, AI, connectivity, software, digital engineering and platforms. The Group reported in 2022 global revenues of €22 billion.
Get the Future You Want | www.capgemini.com

Electricity demand is growing fast, while new charging loads, as well as distributed energy resources, are making the grid more complex. The resulting bidirectional power flows and fluctuating demand patterns require more real-time visibility for LV networks.

New generation smart meters are essential for improving the visibility of the LV network, as they act as distributed intelligent sensors providing real-time data on energy consumption, enabling remote monitoring of network performance and integration of renewable energy sources.

The newest additions to Gridspertise’s portfolio, the Globy smart meter and the LV Grid Monitoring and Control suite, are the perfect allies to meet these challenges.

What differentiates the Globy from other Gridspertise smart meters?

Globy is a flexible device that not only helps DSOs to tackle the challenges of LV grids with bi-directional energy measurement, advanced management of technical parameters, power quality measurement and load shedding functionalities but is also adaptable to different contexts and communication protocols – hence its name.

It allows DSOs to switch or adapt the communication technology directly in the field, choosing the most appropriate from a range of protocols (including G3 Hybrid PLC and RF Mesh, Cellular LTE-M and NB-IoT). In this way, Globy can improve coverage and connectivity also in rural areas with weak signals.

This smart meter is interoperable according to DLMS international standards, so it can work with third party vendor solutions and integrate backwards with existing installations, breaking down technology constraints related to proprietary frameworks and vendor-specific ecosystems.

Our offer is completed by a Head-End System (HES) and Meter Data Management System (MDMS), as well as a range of services and activities with a Metering as a Service approach.

Globy is just the latest addition to our portfolio, but it testifies to our decades of expertise in grid digitalization, recently demonstrated by the milestone of delivering 100 million smart meters.

What are the main features of the new solution for LV Grid Monitoring and Control?

The new solution consists of a suite of hardware and software solutions for LV grid monitoring and control.

It includes a new smaller version of Gridspertise’s iconic Quantum Edge® device, which integrates in one single solution several use cases related to the MV/LV distribution substation. Its virtualisation technology allows it to act as an interoperable meter data concentrator, an RTU and a virtual router.

The solution integrates several merging units to monitor the status of the transformer and LV feeders, as well as other environmental parameters.

It can be integrated with our Low-Voltage Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (LV SCADA) platform that improves visibility on the real-time status of the LV grid and enables remote control functions without field intervention.

It also offers real-time data and measurements from the different components of the LV grid, and its connection to GIS helps DSOs to design a geographic map of the MV and LV networks.

Running operations in the field helps reduce paper-based management, while increasing efficiency.

What are the energy scenarios in which Globy and Low Voltage Grid Monitoring and Control can be applied and how do they fit into Gridspertise’s strategy?

Historically, the topology for distribution grids has not often been completely known – in particular, the segment from the secondary substation to its downstream LV network. Now, DSOs’ interest has shifted from high and medium voltage monitoring towards real-time visibility for LV networks, to improve grid reliability and quality of service while reducing overall costs. 

These solutions are suited for areas with a higher presence of renewables, a trend happening worldwide and in Europe especially in Germany, the south of Europe and the Nordics. Our presence in this area will grow, also thanks to the recent acquisition of Aidon.

About Ilaria Sabatello

Ilaria Sabatello is Head of Marketing at Gridspertise, responsible for market and competitive analysis, solutions portfolio strategy, as well as marketing and go-to-market strategy at global level. She has a proven track record in strategic marketing, communications, B2B / B2C product management and innovation, developed during a 15-year long journey at Enel Group, one of the leading Utilities worldwide.

About Gridspertise
Set up in 2021 and jointly controlled by Enel and CVC, Gridspertise offers grid intelligent devices, end-to-end cloud-edge platform solutions and services to accelerate the digital transformation of electricity distribution grids. Its portfolio easily integrates with DSOs’ existing infrastructure, combining intelligent and automated grid devices with ready-to-use modular applications, running at central level and on the edge.

The study, which was conducted by data specialist Opendatasoft in conjunction with sector associations E.DSO and GEODE, finds that education is no longer necessary at a senior level as organisations understand how data can solve their pressing strategic and operational challenges.

Moreover, the majority of companies now have a data-sharing strategy in place, backed up by governance mechanisms and budgets.

However, data is primarily being used to meet regulatory requirements, improve efficiency and deliver affordable services, rather than to underpin decision making, collaboration or innovation.

Have you read?
Data exchange in Europe – towards a reference architecture
We don’t know what the future of the grid looks like… yet

“The European energy sector is transforming to meet key objectives around decarbonisation, digitisation, security of supply and greater efficiency,” said Jean-Marc Lazard, CEO and co-founder of Opendatasoft.

“Data sharing across the wider ecosystem is critical to enabling them to meet their pressing challenges. On the positive side, our study shows that energy players understand the benefits of putting data at the heart of their operations. However, they still have a way to go to achieve data democratisation and make data access and reuse simple and seamless for everyone, inside and outside the organisation.”

The study was based on a survey of 51 executives from across the European energy sector, including DSOs, TSOs, energy producers and other players, in Q3 2023.

Critical role of data affirmed

Specifically, the survey found that a unanimous 100% affirmed the critical role of data in enhancing efficiency, with almost all also recognising its importance in facilitating digital transformation and attributing it to an increase in transparency.

However, despite the recognition of these benefits, that a full embrace of a data-centric approach is yet to be achieved is indicated with only one-third basing their decisions on data analysis and just 31% have an open data portal.

Moreover, almost three-quarters are struggling with the challenges, with 84% reporting poor data quality as the primary obstacle while 73% indicated a lack of emphasis on fostering a data-centric culture and 64% the complexities associated with technical tools.

Despite these challenges, the survey found that companies recognise what they need to do to accelerate data usage and the shift to data democratisation, with most having a comprehensive range of far-reaching plans for internal and external data usage to be implemented over the next two to three years.

Christian Buchel, Chair of E.DSO, commenting on the findings said: “European DSOs are remodelling their businesses through data gathered by serving customers, from smart meters, grid capacity analysis and planning, infrastructure operations, system operations and market facilitation.

“These efforts show the need for a smart digital infrastructure based on data exchange that ensures observability and control of energy flows in the future energy system.”

For the data laggards, the report recommends a four-step data maturity model based on understanding the company’s current level and using it to benchmark maturity progress moving forward.

From the progress global organisations are making on their digitalisation journeys to guidance on how to adopt circularity to reduce the total cost of ownership and improve sustainability by extending the lifetime of power distribution assets, ABB’s reports explore the key challenges facing the sector and outline potential solutions.

Stuart Thompson, President of ABB Electrification Service said: “The global geopolitical landscape has failed to stabilise in 2023, with continuing volatility impacting financial markets, supply chains and energy security. At the same time, the UN is calling for urgent action to accelerate the climate transition before it’s too late.

“In response, businesses need to focus on reducing capex, improving operational productivity and maximising the assets they already have. In 2024, we expect this to result in an increased adoption of connected digital technologies, retrofitting and circularity. When done right, this can lead not only to cost and energy efficiencies, but also set business on an accelerated path to decarbonisation.”

Where are global industrial businesses on their digitalisation journeys?

The first report, ABB’s digitalisation white paper, See the potential of digital faster, provides an overview of where industrial organisations are in their digitalisation journey and how they can scale the adoption of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technology.

Based on research of more than 300 industrial decision makers across seven markets and nine industries, including utilities, data centres, renewable energy and transport infrastructure, 93% of organisations have started implementing IIoT technologies such as sensors and monitoring software to cut costs and improve operational and energy efficiency.

However, while many organisations have embarked on their digitalisation journey, the report revealed that the majority are still in the early stages. While 78% say IIoT is delivering business value, 7% have not started their IIoT journey, 31% are just getting started, 41% are starting to scale and only 21% are mature. This means most businesses still stand to gain the long-term benefits of digitalisation, such as full visibility into operations and reduced energy consumption.

The report goes on to explain how organisations, including utilities and other industrial players, can overcome barriers to deployment and develop a comprehensive digitalisation roadmap to determine where technology should be deployed and in what functions to demonstrate the true value of IIoT.

Antonio Martinez-Reina, Utilities & Renewables Global Leader from ABB explained: “Rather than seeing digitalisation as adding complexity to a system which is already working, digitalisation must be embraced as a means to reducing complexity, minimizing disruption and costs and ensuring greater visibility, interoperability and sustainable operations.

“Achieving digitalisation at scale requires sound planning and investment; and potentially targeting under-exploited areas for competitive advantage, such as being among the first in digitalising electrical systems.”

How circularity can improve sustainability and drive new levels of operational efficiency

The digitalisation of electrical infrastructure is explored further in ABB’s second report Tackling Throwaway Culture – a guide to embracing circular economics. This approach is particularly useful in extending the life of power distribution assets, which, when maintained, upgraded, and eventually decommissioned effectively, can deliver significant cost savings and help minimise environmental impact by avoiding emissions.

The guide offers a range of practical ideas for implementing circularity in asset management, from optimising predictive maintenance and condition monitoring to adopting a ‘component-only’ approach to retrofitting and upgrades, as well as covering decommissioning of systems, responsible end-of-life disposal and future market developments in the circular asset management space.

Thompson concluded: “Using circular economics to avoid operational emissions is an increasingly popular way of doing business sustainably for those managing power distribution assets. Thanks to advancements in technology and a more granular understanding of the role industries must play in circular economics, there is now a wealth of tools and techniques to make circularity easier to achieve.

“Our guide covers these and gives customer examples that demonstrate them in action.”

To find out more about the digitalisation and sustainability trends shaping the energy transition and how to overcome barriers to deploying IIoT and implementing circularity, the reports are: Tackling Throwaway Culture and See the potential of digital faster.

About ABB Electrification

ABB is a technology leader in electrification and automation, enabling a more sustainable and resource-efficient future. The company’s solutions connect engineering know-how and software to optimise how things are manufactured, moved, powered and operated. Building on more than 130 years of excellence, ABB’s ~105,000 employees are committed to driving innovations that accelerate industrial transformation. www.abb.com

Electrifying the world in a safe, smart and sustainable way, ABB Electrification is a global technology leader in electrical distribution and management from source to socket. As the world’s demand for electricity grows, our 50,000+ employees across 100 countries collaborate with customers and partners to transform how people connect, live and work. We develop innovative products, solutions and digital technologies that enable energy efficiency and a low carbon society across all sectors. By applying global scale with local expertise, we shape and support global trends, deliver excellence for customers and power a sustainable future for society.

go.abb/electrification.

For more information please contact:
Media Relations
Eva Ford-Murphy
Phone: +61 439 341 812
Email: eva.ford-murphy@au.abb.com