Pool home batteries and electric cars for grid balancing
Sector: Tertiary sector · Industry: Energy utilities · Organisation: TenneT · Maturity level: Production
The transmission system operators TenneT, Terna, Swissgrid and APG jointly run Equigy, a platform that lets aggregators offer the flexibility of electric cars, home batteries and solar installations on balancing markets. Built on Hyperledger Fabric, it anchors IoT readings from the end devices as tamper-evident proof that pledged flexibility was actually delivered. The four operators provide the technology and software without commercial interest, in order to lower market entry barriers for distributed energy resources.
Documentation status
- Project status: Production — Founded in 2020 by TenneT, Terna and Swissgrid; expanded to five countries with the accession of the Austrian APG in 2021.
- Evidence: Evidence medium
- Editorial review: pending
Description
The European transmission system operators TenneT, Terna, Swissgrid and APG operate a joint platform with Equigy that utilises the flexibility of electric cars, home storage systems and solar installations for grid stabilisation. As the share of renewable generation grows, the need for balancing power increases, but the available flexibility lies in millions of small systems that individually fall below the prequalification threshold. Through the joint register, the measurement values of these devices can be anchored so that they are recognised by the grid operator as reliable proof of the delivered performance.
Equigy was founded in 2020 by TenneT for the Netherlands and Germany, Terna for Italy and Swissgrid for Switzerland; in 2021 the Austrian APG joined, expanding the platform to five countries. Technically, the solution is based on Hyperledger Fabric with IBM as technology partner: aggregators report flexibility offers, and the IoT measurement values of the connected end devices are anchored in the register. This allows proof afterwards that a promised service was actually delivered, without a single grid operator acting as the sole data holder deciding on billing. The four grid operators are joint shareholders and provide technology and software explicitly without commercial interest, as they see the platform as an extension of their role as market enablers. The economic core lies in the fact that flexibility which previously had no market access due to its small individual size becomes tradable balancing power in aggregate. For aggregators, this creates for the first time a uniform cross-border access to the balancing energy markets of several transmission system operators.
Perspectives
B2B — organisations perspective
For aggregators, car manufacturers with charging infrastructure, and providers of home storage systems, Equigy creates a standardised way to market the flexibility of their installed base. Companies with large fleets or building stocks can integrate their existing systems as a source of revenue without having to undergo a separate prequalification process for each individual system.
B2C — consumers perspective
Owners of electric cars, home storage systems or solar installations can contribute their existing devices to grid stabilisation via an aggregator and earn money from it. Access is provided through the respective provider, not directly via the platform itself.
Employees perspective
New tasks arise in system management and grid operation around managing an open aggregator market instead of administering a few large contractual partners. Development and IT roles must additionally be responsible for connecting heterogeneous end devices and ensuring the quality of the fed-in measurement values.
Benefits
General
- Flexibility from millions of small systems is used as balancing power for the first time.
- Proofs of delivery are tamper-proof and verifiable equally by all parties involved.
- Aggregators receive a uniform market access across five countries.
- The grid operators provide the platform without commercial interest, thereby lowering the entry barrier.
B2B — organisations
- Marketing of the installed base of charging points, storage systems and solar installations without individual prequalification.
- Plannable source of revenue from systems primarily acquired for another purpose.
B2C — consumers
- Additional income from already existing devices such as electric cars or home storage systems.
- Contribution to grid stability without loss of comfort in everyday life.
Employees
- Reliable data basis for billing of delivered system services.
- New fields of activity in aggregation and IoT connection of decentralised systems.
Challenges
General
- Connecting heterogeneous end devices from different manufacturers requires considerable integration effort.
- The anchored measurement values must be recognised by regulation as proof towards the grid operator.
- The economic benefit only arises with a large number of connected systems.
B2B — organisations
- Aggregators bear the risk of actually being able to deliver the promised flexibility from a distributed system portfolio.
Employees
- System management and IT must ensure the quality and completeness of the fed-in measurement values permanently.
Technology foundation
Equigy relies on Hyperledger Fabric as a permissioned register in which the IoT measurement values of the connected end devices are anchored; IBM is the technical partner. A distributed register is sensible here because several state-affiliated grid operators and a multitude of independent aggregators need the same proof of delivery without a single operator acting as data holder deciding on the billing of the others.
Implementation examples
Equigy Crowd Balancing Platform of the European Transmission System Operators
With the growing share of renewable generation, the need for balancing power increases, while the available flexibility lies in millions of small units, each below the prequalification threshold and for which no tamper-proof proof of delivery existed.
TenneT operates Equigy jointly with Terna, Swissgrid, and APG as a platform through which aggregators offer the flexibility of electric vehicles, home storage, and solar systems on balancing energy markets. IoT measurements of end devices are anchored in the register as proof of delivery.
The platform was founded in 2020 by TenneT for the Netherlands and Germany, Terna for Italy, and Swissgrid for Switzerland; in 2021, the Austrian APG joined. The technical basis is Hyperledger Fabric with IBM as a partner; aggregators report flexibility offers, the associated device measurements are anchored and serve the transmission system operator as proof of actual delivery. The participating grid operators are joint shareholders and provide technology and software without commercial interest to lower market entry barriers for decentralized units.
Lack of market access for very small flexibility, lack of tamper-proof proof of actual delivered performance, and inconsistent requirements of individual transmission system operators.
Tags
Balancing energy, Grid stability, Flexibility, Hyperledger Fabric, Internet of Things, Transmission grid