The issues of energy provision and management have been at the center of discussions in both private and business environments for several years. Conflicts affecting supply, coupled with growing concerns about our rapidly warming planet, have made us all much more conscious of how we use and procure our energy. So switching to renewable, decentralized energy sources seems like a great idea, right? But have you thought about how this energy supply will be managed? The complex distribution system that ensures the lights come on when we flip the switch has been in place for decades, and we need to turn everything upside down to ensure that energy from renewable sources reaches our homes and businesses with the same efficiency.
Traditional power grids date back to when Thomas Edison was a young man and are designed to provide electrical energy at constant voltages, powered by fossil fuels. We have spent a long time perfecting the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity in this way, but now solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources with their decentralized production are disrupting the model. Wind and sunlight are much harder to predict, which means forecasting and managing supply and demand is more challenging. In addition, people are not only consuming electricity in different ways, such as through the increased use of electric vehicles, but may also be feeding energy back into the grid via solar panels. All of this can affect the stability of power grids and influence how the players in the system are financed. So how can we transition to cleaner energy while ensuring that the grid infrastructure is stable, properly maintained, and financed?
Many elements are required to achieve this, including updates to policy and regulatory frameworks, awareness campaigns, incentives for consumers, and, of course, state-of-the-art technologies. All players in the energy market must embrace innovative solutions to create the dynamic market needed to address these challenges. Decentralized microgrids, in which a group of connected buildings form their own local energy system, will certainly play a role. Efficient microgrids will rely heavily on the latest technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, and cloud and edge computing. In addition, the liberalization of the electricity market will certainly lead to the emergence of new digital services in the energy sector. These services will be based primarily on the forecasting of energy consumption/production. And this is where SWARM comes in...
The members of the SWARM consortium are focusing on the technological challenges of the above-mentioned problem. The project is building a digital platform based on a "Smart Energy Management Appliance" (SEMA) that can be deployed on microgrid infrastructures. The plan is to offer new services that enable users to become active participants and thus direct beneficiaries of a liberalized energy market. The SEMA will not only provide supply and consumption forecasts, but also offer the opportunity to trade energy and flexibility. The project is supported by experts in the fields of energy and digitalization.
HEPIA Haute école du paysage, d'ingénierie et d'architecture is one of the six schools of the HES-SO Geneva Campus. With its four research institutes, HEPIA is a center of excellence in engineering and architecture. Its expertise in the field of edge cloud solutions and self-adaptive IoT applications is crucial to the SWARM project.
CLEMAP pursues the vision of a world in which people, devices, buildings, and industries understand their energy flows and are committed to sustainable energy use. As a technology partner, the company offers solutions for system integrators, electrical installers, and industrial customers in the areas of smart grids and smart buildings.
Groupe E SA is a leading energy company in western Switzerland. As a distribution network operator, it supplies electrical energy to over 400,000 private individuals and numerous professional customers in its supply area. As a network operator, Groupe E offers a business perspective on its industry by providing data and suggesting applications for use.
Recap Power began in 2018 under the name Tvinn with a vision to create solutions that contribute to a more sustainable future. Recap Power offers aggregator services, solves capacity problems, and provides intelligent management of batteries, electric vehicle chargers, and local energy generation as a service!
The Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) is an international technical university covering everything from natural sciences to all fields of engineering.
The Geneva municipalities Meyrin and Chêne-Bougeries act as providers of microgrid infrastructure and work closely with the project.
SWARM is a EurekaEurostarsproject supported by the Swiss innovation agency and and the European Union.
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