Deadline: 5-Jan-22
The European Commission (EC) is pleased to announce the Increase energy system flexibility based on sector-integration services to consumers (that benefits system management by DSOs and TSOs).
The projects will test and develop further already demonstrated solutions for data-driven energy services for consumers, in cooperation with various actors in the energy system (such as prosumers, aggregators, TSOs, DSOs, owners of assets that can provide flexibility like batteries, heating/cooling systems, charging point operators, gas systems):
- Replicate them in as many different geographies as possible having different system needs, consumer needs, economic conditions or different climates.
- They will be adapted to the local energy requirements and they will aim at increasing consumer acceptance and participation.
- Focus is expected to be in the facilitation of different services.
- Integrate energy services with other services for citizens and/or consumers (e.g. health, safety, mobility):
- focus on business models that combine energy services with other services, such as health, security, home automation or mobility services taking into account experiences and practice from social science and humanities;
- focus on business models for households that combine energy services focused on flexibility with investments in assets at consumer level that contribute to long-term changes in electricity production or consumption, such as RES generation, energy storage, deep renovations, new, more efficient and intelligent appliances that form a major part of household energy consumption (e.g. heating).
Funding Information
The check will normally be done for the coordinator if the requested grant amount is equal to or greater than EUR 500 000, except for:
- public bodies (entities established as a public body under national law, including local, regional or national authorities) or international organisations; and
- cases where the individual requested grant amount is not more than EUR 60 000 (lowvalue grant).
Expected Outcomes
Projects are expected to contribute to most of the following outcomes:
- New business models for market parties based on energy services and revenue streams for consumers (across energy sectors and beyond, based on valorisation of the flexibility in their energy consumption).
- Enable market parties to provide flexibility services to network operators and the wholesale market based on competitive markets that are easily accessible and at low transaction costs.
- Increased application of digital technologies to support consumers and market parties to market their flexibility.
- Increased consumer engagement and acceptance.
- Increased availability of flexibility sources for TSOs and DSOs and enable them to develop markets for flexibility and interact with many distributed resources at the same time (via intermediaries such as energy suppliers or aggregators) based on seamless data exchange and interoperability.
- Facilitate scaling up the platforms and markets to spread its use by making it as easy as possible for suppliers, aggregators or consumers directly to offer grid services based on other or new small-scale and large-scale assets/devices on these markets, if necessary through as easy and automated pre-qualification processes as possible.
- Better understanding of market models and regulatory measures that can promote new business models.
- Contribution to better informed investment decisions by network operators and tariff setting models by NRAs, as flexibility markets and new business models can postpone or avoid new investments making better use of existing assets.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
- the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions;
- the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States;
- eligible non-EU countries:
- countries associated to Horizon Europe;
- low- and middle-income countries.
For more information, visit https://bit.ly/2U3ruLh