The energy transition is also changing the way energy is generated: So far, this has mainly been generated centrally in large plants. With the generation of renewable energy in decentralized plants, such as wind, solar, or biopower plants, new players are entering the energy market. In the WindNODE project, one of the central questions was therefore: How can the power grids be kept stable even if up to 65 percent of the electricity comes from renewable sources in the medium term?

Flexible information and communication infrastructures are needed so that renewable energy can be fed into the power grid. Fraunhofer FOKUS has therefore taken on the design, implementation, and pilot operation of an energy data and energy services platform as well as the deployment of a private blockchain network in the project. The platform enables energy-relevant data, such as feed-in data, to be made available to players in the energy market for further processing. Emphasis was placed on the fact that it is based on open standards and enables secure, interoperable data exchange at low integration costs.

“The energy transition is an important building block for sustainable development in the sense of an ecologically intact, economically successful, and socially balanced world. We are committed to this responsibility, and through our work, we are contributing to an open connectivity of all stakeholders, which is a compelling foundation for this digital transformation of the energy system,” says Dr. Alexander Willner, Head of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Center at Fraunhofer FOKUS.

A further focus of the scientists' work was on information technology modeling and the use of flexibilities of decentralized plants. Such flexibilities refer to possible temporal adjustments of consumption or generation of electrical power. A bundling of decentralized flexibilities enables them to be marketed, for example, to avoid grid bottlenecks or imbalances between consumption and generation. Furthermore, requirements for an ICT extension of the VHPready standard were derived and documented in a specification sheet. VHPready (Virtual Heat and Power Ready) is an open industry standard for controlling decentralized power generation plants, consumers, and energy storage systems via a central control station.

“An adequate data model for flexibilities in combination with a communication protocol is a prerequisite for standardized, digitally supported use of decentralized flexibilities. To leverage this potential, not only the technical prerequisites are needed, but also appropriate clearances, business models, and economic incentives,” says Dr. Armin Wolf, head of the IT4Energy Center at Fraunhofer FOKUS.

Following the project, the developed technologies will be further used and advanced by Fraunhofer FOKUS in various research and industry projects. For instance, the first application is the open-source data management ecosystem “piveau” for the public sector.