Integrid - Bridging the Gap

71 Vehicle Smart Charger” and the “Hybrid Power Electronic Converter” which was developed and demonstrated in Portugal, were applied in HLUC09, HLUC11 and HLUC02. Data-Driven Energy Optimization for wastewater pumping systems was also developed and demonstrated in Portugal. IV. For the last domain of Energy Services , a “Building Energy Management System” was developed and demonstrated in Portugal, under HLUC10. “Social Networks for Behavioural Demand Response” were demonstrated in Sweden and Portugal through HLUC11. Finally, the “Virtual Power Plant Platform” was developed and demonstrated in Slovenia and Portugal, for both grid operation and market participation. The gm-hub should be further highlighted, as InteGrid’s most disruptive concept, implementing already existing requests from the Portuguese regulator, enabling data access to customers, energy services providers, retailers, and other stakeholders (such as municipalities as owners of public lighting as demonstrated in Portugal) while also respecting at GDPR legal obligations. The gm-hub was demonstrated in Portugal and Slovenia, serving both market applications and innovative energy services and serving advanced smart grid operation tools at the same time such as Low Voltage Control and Multi- Period Optimal Power Flow. The abovementioned demonstrations were performed at three different and complementary sites, covering different regulatory frameworks, cultures and needs. These demonstrations were carried out across large sites, capturing different integrated technologies and customers clusters. Hundreds of active customers (and thousands of passive customers), dozens of RES facilities, dozens of industrial facilities, grid storage facilities and public lighting infrastructures were successfully integrated, through the gm-hub. Even in a large R&D project such as InteGrid, these numbers are significant, and evidence of large-scale demonstration was obtained. An example of the success of the demonstration sites and their complementarity is directly reflected in result quantification and evaluation through the Key Performance Indicators. In all of the three main demonstrators, KPIs over the demonstration period improved operation while also fulfilling the goal of enabling the DSO as a market facilitator. Results in Portugal flexibility-based grid operations showed success in voltage violation management of over 90% in the LV grid. Moreoever there was a reduction of 6%, in average technical losses while meeting voltage limits in MV, under real operating scenarios. This proved that flexibility is a key tool for grid operation on the path to energy transition where RES penetration and higher electrification need to be improved by the distribution grid. In Slovenia, the number of distribution grid problems detected and avoided by TLS was up to four times greater, proving the effective results of InteGrid. Moreover, the number of services running on the top of the gm-hub (up to 10), developed and demonstrated during the project, either provided by the DSO or by third parties, were used for grid operation or market purposes. This successfully demonstrates the DSO’s market enabler role. Last, but not least in Sweden, innovative asset management methodologies and advanced demand management schemes were demonstrated. Unplanned outages could be reduced by 39% under certain circumstances. This was seen in both peak load reduction ranging from 5% to 9.1%, and energy use reduction ranging from 10.9% to 16.2%. Such results evidence the complete success of this challenging project. The InteGrid project has been widely praised by stakeholders from across the energy value chain for its innovative approach. Stakeholders from the grid side appreciated the progress made in improving grid reliability and overcoming barriers between grid operators and customers in real-life conditions. With regards to customers, InteGrid stakeholders have demonstrated a genuine interest in being able to actively participate and contribute towards a cleaner and more stable power grid, while minimizing energy use. InteGrid has been recognised on a governmental and political level, where the collaborative effort was lauded across Europe as the right way towards a sustainable energy future. Lastly, the insights gained from the project were of high value to academia and added to current knowledge in understanding how to engage citizens in the smart-grid. During the InteGrid project, scalability and replicability were extensively analysed. The integrated tools developed were shown to perform as intended when exposed to scaling parameters. Voltage violations based on foreseeable scenarios, which include high penetration of DER, were successfully mitigated through the use of InteGrid tools, in addition to using the DSO network, without affecting operation.