Smart Energy

Smart enegry tackles problems and opportunities regarding energy management in residences, industry and other area’s.

Some example projects:

• DITUR - Digital twins for upscaled retrofits (Flux50.ICON project - 2020-2023)

This project will explore the potential of advanced data and data analytics to support the renovation challenge of the existing building stock by focussing on the digital twin concept. The digital twin concept is investigated as an enabler to support informed decision making, stakeholder participation and upscaled retrofits through process efficiency, opportunity profiling and more interesting business cases. The digital twin is a virtual representation of the building stock, established based on innovative top-down and bottom-up data analysis and for the purpose of analysing, optimising and communicating upon city and portfolio climate actions plans in the built environment. The Techno-Economic team is responsible for performing a detailed cost breakdown and allocation, as well as a quantitative business model evalaution.

• RENergetic (Energy Islands) - Community-empowered Sustainable Multi-Vector Energy Islands (H2020 project, 2020-2024)

The goal of the RENergetic project is to demonstrate the improvement of efficiency and energy autarky, the community involvement in and the socio-economic viability of three urban energy islands: The New Docks in Ghent (BE), the Warta Campus in Poznan (PL) and the Hospital and Research campus in Segrate-Milan (Italy). RENergetic will consider technical, socio-economic and legal viability, ensuring easy integration with existing energy management systems and cooperation with external utilities networks without burdening the higher level grid, safe-guarding economic viability with respect to both the local and commercial stakeholders, and by proposing mitigation measures for identified legal hurdles. The Techno-Economics team is responsiible for the identification and quantification of the economic valuation of the benefits for stakeholders, and the development of a methodological framework for assessing community-empowered energy islands, as well as its application.

• Smart Multi-Energy district ‘De Nieuwe Dokken’ (2017)

As Flux50 member, imec-IDLab took part in the feasibility study of the smart multi-energy district ‘Nieuwe Dokken’, together with industrial partners ABB, DuCoop, Enervalis and SF1. De Nieuwe Dokken is a new residential district that is being built in Ghent. The general goal of the study is to achieve a design for next generation smart multi-energy districts. We looked into the economic viability of possible business models for the establishment of such a residential district, based on technological, legislative, social and economic challenges and opportunities assessed in the specific case of the Nieuwe Dokken. Load shifting on residential level has currently not proven to be profitable, but net supporting activities with the district battery, on the contrary, is lucrative. However, because of the high uncertainty on a number of legislative topics and decreasing battery prices, a delay of such battery investment is recommended. Future research should address the appropriate energy capacity and power, based on flexibility market, investment cost and production and load curves of the common electrical installations. More information can be found on here and here.

• SWIFT - Smart Wind Farm conTrol (iMinds ICON project, 2014-2015)

The SWIFT project looks into different techniques to transform an existing distribution network into a smarter, more flexible system, in which wind turbines can optimally be integrated. Within this project, we have looked into the business cases of both the windmill park owner and the distribution net owner and the long-term financial effects of the different smart-grid techniques.

• Linear+ - Naar wereldleiderschap in hernieuwbare energietechnologie en elektrische infrastructuur (iMinds ICON project, 2009-2014)

The Linear project studies ways in which households can tailor their electricity consumption to the amount of solar and wind energy available, both in terms of technology and user interaction. The techno-economic workload in this project primarily consists of analyzing possible market models for the introduction of smart meters on the Belgian market.

• SmartE - Smart Energy ICT (iMinds ICON project, 2010-2012)

This project focused on the definition and proof-of-concept demonstration of underlying ICT architectures and technologies for smart energy applications. Socio-technical studies evaluated the user interactions and behavioural response to the developed systems (esp. in terms of energy consumption), and business modelling studies investigatde the market models enabled/driven by smart energy ICT.

• SPARC - Smart Energy – ICT for Energy Efficiency (iMinds ICON project, 2010-2012)

Within SPARC, a project focusing on bringing smart battery charging services for electric vehicles to the market, techno-economic researchers conducted an investment analysis on deploying the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.