As the deployment of volatile renewable energy sources continues, making electricity consumption more flexible is central to the energy transition. The digitally controlled intelligent consumption management can make an essential contribution. It helps stabilize the power system and allows flexible end users to save money. In addition to numerous established players, innovative young companies will also be presenting their applications and solutions for an increasingly digitalized energy world at EM-Power Europe, the international exhibition for energy management and integrated energy solutions. EM-Power Europe is part of The smarter E Europe, Europe’s largest alliance of exhibitions for the energy industry, and will take place in Munich from June 19–21, 2024, alongside Intersolar Europe, ees Europe and Power2Drive Europe.
The flexibilization of consumption is based on sophisticated measurement and control concepts, which are becoming increasingly attractive, because electricity suppliers are starting to offer a growing range of flexible electricity tariffs. Some companies have started offering tariffs where the price is adjusted on an hourly basis according to the spot market. This makes it possible to drastically reduce electricity bills, especially for large electricity consumers, such as EV-chargers or heat pumps.
The first step to flexibility is getting a smart meter. If you only have a standard digital meter installed in your home, eniqo offers a device that “smartifies” the existing meter, as the company calls it. According to Managing Director Raitschin Raitschew, end users can “operate the additional device without the help of professionals and without any specialist knowledge.” The company, which develops both hardware and software and stores the data in a cloud, calls this a plug-and-play solution. Grid operators and electricity suppliers could use the collected data to stabilize the grids while residential customers would be able to opt for dynamic electricity tariffs. As flexible consumers, they could reduce their electricity costs by having the control technology to charge the e-vehicle when spot market prices are low due to high feed-in from renewables. The next step could be to optimize the system with “micro storage systems”, meaning batteries that are connected via power socket.
The company Zerofy demonstrates how you can intelligently control your electrified home without the need for additional hardware. Co-founder Till Quack explains that many consumers are already using domestic appliances with a digital interface. In addition to all the smart domestic appliances, PV systems, storage systems, EV-chargers and heat pumps could also be integrated. All it takes is one app to control all devices and manage the data stored in a cloud. According to Quack, this would bring “order to the chaos of device apps”. The app even displays the weather and helps you optimize your consumption by, for example, factoring in expected peaks in your own PV system’s generation into your energy planning. Zerofy’s target group is consumers, but the company also offers its app as a white label for utilities who want to offer the product to their customers under their own brand.
The company Apollo Green Solutions has developed an energy management system for photovoltaic systems on commercial buildings, especially for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), such as office buildings, warehouses and production halls or hotels. “We offer the complete package, from hardware and software to service,” explains Managing Director Rafail Kasapis. The system optimizes your consumption based on your self-generation, integrates storage systems and takes into account the energy exchange prices and weather forecasts. The hardware can be connected to other components, regardless of the manufacturer, via different communication protocols. „We use a data-centric architecture,” says Kasapis. This means that the system is built around the data, relying on a high data inter-operability.
The start-up Levl Energy focuses on the management of battery storage systems. The company explains that it allows batteries with unused storage capacity to “continuously make an arbitrage profit at the ‘spot markets’.” The company buys electricity when the price is low and uses it to charge the customer’s battery. When the price is high, it sells the electricity again. “The customer’s business model lies in the difference,” explains Levl Energy. The service is designed for companies: “Our main focus is commercial storage systems, starting at 50 kilowatt hours of capacity,” says Managing Director Hauke Lapschies. In the future, they aim to lower the minimum to 30 kilowatt hours. As this amount of electricity is still too small for the energy exchange, Levl Energy combines many batteries “to one large, virtual flex option that can achieve optimal trading profits.” This creates scalability effects from which everyone benefits according to their share. This model is implemented in cooperation with the respective energy supplier and integrated into the existing energy management system.
Due to the large number of parties involved and therefore the large number of metering points, tenant power projects are particularly challenging when it comes to billing. The company neugemacht has developed a digital platform for this. It is primarily aimed at real estate companies, but also businesses with complex metering requirements. neugemacht describes it as a “complete service from which e-mobility charging providers, renewable energy producers, air conditioner manufacturers, submetering companies and utility companies can all benefit from.” However, the focus is on tenant power concepts that require a sophisticated metering concept to optimize PV self-consumption and to bill the remaining electricity drawn from the grid. “We provide Metering-as-a-Service from a single source,” says Managing Director Aurelius Wosylus. In addition to housing companies, the target group also includes infrastructure operators that want to offer their customers an all-inclusive service such as this one. neugemacht is a joint venture between the companies Gridspertise (Enel Group), a global player driving the digital transformation of distribution grids, and Cuculus, a leading German software company specialized in critical infrastructure.
EM-Power Europe, and the parallel events Intersolar Europe, ees Europe, and Power2Drive Europe, will take place from June 19–21, 2024 as part of the innovation hub The smarter E Europe, Europe’s largest alliance of exhibitions for the energy industry, at Messe München.
