DATA CELLAR Participation in EUSEW 2024

eusew2024

Last week, Brussels was one more year host to the European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) from June 11 to 13, an annual event dedicated to promoting renewables and efficient energy use across Europe. Organised by the European Climate, Infrastructure, and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) in collaboration with the Directorate-General for Energy, EUSEW brings together a diverse group of stakeholders, including public authorities, private companies, NGOs, EU project partners, researchers, and consumers. 

On June 13, a highlight of the event was the panel discussion titled “Interoperability and Sovereignty: Sharing a European Energy Data Space”. This session featured projects funded under the same call, forming the Energy Data Space Cluster. The participating projects included int:net project, Omega-X, ENERSHARE, Synergies Energy Data Spaces, Project EDDIE, and DATA CELLAR, each represented by a speaker. The discussion also included representatives from the European Commission and it was moderated by Antonello Monti, professor at Fraunhofer FIT and RWTH Aachen University. 

Insights from the panel discussion 

Mark Van Stiphout, Deputy Head of Unit DG ENER, started the conversation emphasising the need for flexible energy use, advocating for the maximisation of energy consumption when it is affordable and minimising it when it is costly. He highlighted the critical role of data exchange in achieving a connected grid that operates efficiently. According to to Van Stiphout, ensuring effective connectivity and making optimal use of data are essential for energy flexibility. 

This was followed by a speech from Rolf Riemenschneider, Head of Sector Internet of Things, DG Connect, discussing the need for activating flexibility within the energy sector, highlighting the opportunities to link various sectors through actionable data. He pointed out that AI can significantly enhance decision-making, simulation, and the development of new applications, provided there is a robust data and connectivity infrastructure. 

Ibon Salbidegoitia, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Meteo for Energy, introduced Omega-X project, a platform connecting data across the energy value chain, including generation, transmission, distribution and consumption. He illustrated this with a use case on renewable PV energy generation forecasts. Salbidegoitia also distinguished between data spaces and open data, underscoring the importance of secure and managed data sharing. 

Tasos Tsitsanis, Business Development Director at Suite5 Data Intelligence Solutions, representing Synergies Energy Data Spaces project, spoke about creating consumer-inclusive data pathways to facilitate energy transition through a reference energy data space. He discussed the need for TSO-DSO coordination for flexibility and safeguarding system resilience through trusted data sharing. Tsitsanis noted that the evolving energy system, with its new assets and routines, necessitates and effective energy data space to integrate various stakeholders. 

Mo Hoogeveen, Data Specialist at Metropolitan Region Amsterdam Electric (MRA-E), represented our project DATA CELLAR. She presented a tangible use case for data spaces by explaining the challenges and opportunities in developing smart charging strategies. By addressing the issue of a growing number of charging stations while facing grid congestion,  she highlighted the importance of cross-sector data sharing, data availability, and quality. Her insights demonstrated how data spaces can enhance the implementation and improvement of strategies to support a stable and efficient energy system, such as smart charging. 

Laurent Schmitt, President of Digital4Grids, as representative of Project EDDIE, discussed the residential energy use case, stressing the need for data spaces to interconnect the market and enable real-time data exchange. He emphasised the importance of having a data infrastructure that supports this interconnectivity to optimise energy usage. 

Lastly, Massimo Bertoncini, Senior Research and Development Opportunities Manager at Engineering Ingegneria Informatica, and coordinator of ENERSHARE, highlighted the role of energy communities in the EU’s energy agenda and the importance of data spaces in facilitating data sharing among various stakeholders. He detailed how data spaces support interoperability, replication potential, and the validation of network codes, creating a suitable environment for deploying and implementing data cooperatives or communities. 

 

The panel discussion underscored several critical aspects for the implementation of a common European Energy Data Space: 

  • Interoperability. Ensuring different systems and stakeholders can effectively communicate and exchange data. 
  • Open source and standards. Developing standardised APIs and open-source solutions to facilitate cross-stakeholders data exchange. 
  • Governance. Establishing clear governance structures to oversee data sharing and ensure trust among participants. 
  • Business cases. Demonstrating viable business models that leverage shared energy data. 
  • Piloting and collaboration. Conducting pilot projects to test and refine the data space concepts and fostering collaboration among various stakeholders. 

 

For those interested in learning more about the discussions and insights shared during the panel, the recorded session is available for watching at EUSEW 2024 website.