Six TSOs, eleven research partners, together with sixteen industry (manufacturers, solution providers) and market (producers, ESCo) players address, through a holistic approach, the identification and development of flexibilities required to enable the Energy Transition to high share of renewables. This approach captures synergies across needs and sources of flexibilities, such as multiple services from one source, or hybridizing sources, thus resulting in a cost-efficient power system. OSMOSE proposes four TSO-led demonstrations (RTE, REE, TERNA and ELES) aiming at increasing the techno-economic potential of a wide range of flexibility solutions and covering several applications, i.e.: synchronisation of large power systems by multiservice hybrid storage; multiple services provided by the coordinated control of different storage and FACTS devices; multiple services provided by grid devices, large demand-response and RES generation coordinated in a smart management system; cross-border sharing of flexibility sources through a near real-time cross-border energy market. The demonstrations are coordinated with and supported by simulation-based studies which aim (i) to forecast the economically optimal mix of flexibility solutions in long-term energy scenarios (2030 and 2050) and (ii) to build recommendations for improvements of the existing market mechanisms and regulatory frameworks, thus enabling the reliable and sustainable development of flexibility assets by market players in coordination with regulated players. Interoperability and improved TSO/DSO interactions are addressed so as to ease the scaling up and replication of the flexibility solutions. A database is built for the sharing of real-life techno-economic performances of electrochemical storage devices. Activities are planned to prepare a strategy for the exploitation and dissemination of the project’s results, with specific messages for each category of stakeholders of the electricity system.

The current international situation makes the process of energy transition more critical for Europe than ever before. It is a key requirement to increase the penetration of renewables while aiming at making the infrastructure more resilient and cost-effective. In this context, digital twins (DT) build a key asset to facilitate all aspects of business and operational coordination for system operators and market parties. It is of fundamental importance to now start a process of agreement at European level so not to develop isolated instances but a federated ecosystem of DT solutions. Each operator should be able to make its own implementation decisions while preserving and supporting interoperability and exchange with the remaining ecosystem. Exactly this is the vision of the TwinEU consortium: enabling new technologies to foster an advanced concept of DT while determining the conditions for interoperability, data and model exchanges through standard interfaces and open APIs to external actors. The envisioned DT will build the kernel of European data exchange supported by interfaces to the Energy Data Space under development. Advanced modeling supported by AI tools and able to exploit High Performance Computing infrastructure will deliver an unprecedented capability to observe, test and activate a pan-European digital replica of the European energy infrastructure. In this process, reaching consensus is crucial: the consortium therefore gathers an unprecedented number of actors committed to achieving this common goal. The concepts developed by TwinEU span over 15 different European countries with a continuous coverage of the continental map. Demos will encompass key players at every level from transmission to distribution and market operators, while also testing the coordinated cross-area data exchange. The consortium also includes relevant industry players, research institutions and associations with a clear record in developing innovative solutions for Europe.

With the growth of renewables, the increased interconnection of European grids, the development of local energy initiatives, and the specific requirements on TSO – DSO cooperation as set forth in the different Network Codes and Guidelines, TSOs and DSOs face new challenges that will require greater coordination. The European Commission adopted legislative proposals on the energy market that promote cooperation among network operators as they procure balancing, congestion management and ancillary services. The measures encourage procurement of services at both the transmission and distribution level, recognizing that this will enable more efficient and effective network management, will increase the level of demand response and the capacity of renewable generation. TSOs and DSOs must now define the services they want to procure in collaboration with market participants, and must set up ways to procure them in a coordinated manner. Digitalisation is a key driver for coordination and active system management in the electricity grid, enabling TSOs and DSOs to optimise the use of distributed resources and ensure a cost-effective and secure supply of electricity but also empowers end-users to become active market participants, supporting self-generation and providing demand flexibility. To support the transformation, the INTERRFACE project will design, develop and exploit an Interoperable pan-European Grid Services Architecture to act as the interface between the power system (TSO and DSO) and the customers and allow the seamless and coordinated operation of all stakeholders to use and procure common services. State-of-the-art digital tools based on blockchains and big data management will provide new opportunities for electricity market participation and thus engage consumers into the INTERRFACE proposed market structures that will be designed to exploit Distributed Energy Resources.

The current high-speed deployment rate of non-programmable Renewable Energy Sources (RES) is making transmission network planning activities more and more complex and affected by a high level of uncertainty. Because network investments are capital intensive and the lifetime of the infrastructure spans several decades, it may happen that when a new line is commissioned it is no longer the best option and it might be partially regarded as a stranded cost. There is an on-going debate on the selection of the more effective technologies that could contribute to system flexibility. This category doesn’t only include grid technologies, but also storage elements and flexible demand, both located in transmission or provided by opportunely aggregated distributed energy sources located in distribution networks. FlexPlanning aims at creating a new tool for optimizing transmission and distribution grid planning, considering the placement of flexibility elements as an alternative to traditional grid planning. This approach aims at helping to reduce overall power system costs i.e. infrastructure deployment and operation costs, the latter in terms of procurement of energy and system services. FlexPlan is going to take into account environmental impact and footprint (impact on air quality for thermal generation, carbon footprint, impact on landscape of new T&D lines). A pre-processing tool is also created to determine location, size and associated costs for storage and flexible demand candidates. The new planning tool is first validated and then used for analysing six detailed regional scenarios at 2030-2040-2050 in order to assess the potential role of storage and flexible resources. Pan-European scenarios are preliminarily elaborated in order to provide border conditions for the regional cases. Regulatory conclusions are drawn to analyse whether opportune incentivisation procedures could be put in place by the regulators wherever some consistent advantages are demonstrated.