GOFLEX

We envision a comprehensive and fully functional Market for Flexibility!

The project on Generalized Operational FLEXibility for Integrating Renewables in the Distribution Grid 'GOFLEX' is part of the European Commission's research and innovation framework programme 'Horizon 2020' and implemented by a consortium of 12 partners from the following European countries: Ireland, Slovenia, Denmark, Germany, Cyprus and Switzerland. In the call for competitive low-carbon energy (LCE) (H2020-LCE-2016-2017), GOFLEX addresses the topic "Demonstration of smart grid, storage and system integration technologies with increasing share of renewables: distribution system” (LCE-02-2016) within the "Horizon 2020 Work Programme "Secure, Clean and Efficient Energy”.

GOFLEX innovates, integrates and demonstrates existing smart-grid technologies enabling the cost-effective use of energy flexibility in distribution grids for regional energy market actors by
  • increasing the grid's available adaptation capacity,
  • safely supporting an increasing share of renewable electricity generation,
  • improving observability and manageability of distribution grid for use of demand response and
  • supporting localized concentration of prosumers DR for DSO to prevent congestion and energy imbalance and avoid investments in transmission and distribution networks
Therefore, the GOFLEX platform will provide features to manage and trade flexibility commercially with consumers, generators and prosumers. GOFLEX is tested at three European demonstration sites involving over 400 prosumers from industry, buildings and transport - in Cyprus, Germany and Switzerland. The aim is to cooperate with all companies and projects who want to push the market for energy flexibility by exchanging experience and technology.

Key Exploitable Results
  • FlexOffers
    The open and award-winning FlexOffer concept is used by system components to describe all types of energy flexibility in a common unified way. Essentially, a FlexOffer is a data object which explicitly captures flexibility as a pre-defined set of common constraints (e.g., on load activation time and consumed amount), each of which can be activated or deactivated depending on the specifics of a flexible load and/or user constraints. This makes it practical to exchange and process flexibility using a single common format and set of algorithms and by using a single common software stack.
  • GoFlex Integrated Systems
    An integrated, scalable, replicable system for automatic extraction, aggregation, and trading of energy flexibility comprising
    • Energy management systems for heat pumps, boilers, smart plugs, homes, factories, and electric vehicle charging stations that automatically extract energy flexibility based on sensor data, formulate it as FlexOffers, and offer it for sale on a local flexibility market. 
    • A distribution grid observability system that uses AI to forecast grid problems and issues FlexOffers to buy energy flexibility on the market as a corrective measure
    • A trading system that aggregates and disaggregates FlexOffers and matches offers to buy with offers to sell
    • A conceptual model for the Roles and Processes present in GOFLEX integrated systems with methodologies to define architectures use-cases, and business models.
Project partners
Aalborg University
B.A.U.M. Consult
Electricity Authority of Cyprus
ETREL
FOSS Research Centre for Sustainable Energy
IBM
INEA - Informatics Energy Automation
énergies sion région
robotina
Stadtwerke Wunsiedel
Technische Universität Dresden
University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland
Financing

Funded by: European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme

Overall Budget: 6.826.393

Project duration: 11/2016 - 2/2020

Scope: EU-H2020

Microfocus: Trading flexibilities
Evaluation of trading mechanisms or prizes for flexibilities or ways of remuneration of flexibility providers

Macrofocus: Technical realization
Evaluation of technologies to orchestrate a (high) number of flexibilities by using e.g. software services

Degree of Prosumer & consumer involvement: Medium
Evaluation of their needs and expectations as flexibility providers as main part of the project

Technical Readiness Level (TRL):

7


Read more on the project website