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Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - eDREAM (eDREAM - enabling new Demand REsponse Advanced, Market oriented and Secure technologies, solutions and business models)

Teaser

eDREAM addresses the topic LCE-01 Aggregating DSOs, aggregators, energy service companies, academia, research centres, and some of the most advanced ICT providers in Europe, eDream aims at revolutionising the Demand Response services, providing a cost-effective way to...

Summary

eDREAM addresses the topic LCE-01
Aggregating DSOs, aggregators, energy service companies, academia, research centres, and some of the most advanced ICT providers in Europe, eDream aims at revolutionising the Demand Response services, providing a cost-effective way to integrate large shares of intermittent renewable energy sources while not compromising security of supply and network reliability.
eDream tools and services will offer an environment to support decision makers helping them in optimal DSO-driven Demand Response management, market flexibility exploitation as well as cooperative aggregation of prosumers coalitions. Moreover eDream will support them in early detection of flexibility potential exploiting drones and combing multimodal fusion of aerial, LIDAR and thermal imaging.
The eDREAM platform has been designed to research and develop novel technologies and tools tailored to fit aggregators needs for optimal Demand Response, develop and combine anticipated fine-grained load forecasting and energy demand prediction, and a scalable aggregation platform for optimizing flexibility provisioning against the DSO service requests.
The platform investigates the blockchain technology to deliver a blockchain based marketplace, near real time DR verification and secure data handling, designing and developing innovative DR optimization services. Services were designed in a user friendly way and are planned to validate the developed technology on 3 high-level use cases in 2 field pilots and a lab-based validation site. Validation will be performed also on innovative market design an business models, and managing interoperability with automation standards.

Work performed

In the reporting period, WP1 activities led to the release of D1.1 and D1.2 reporting the detailed task timing, the quality plan for internal communication, documentation, and software, together with the list and evaluation of the identified risks, and D1.4 and D1.5, including the dataset reference.
In WP2, D2.1 defines the first version of the business and user requirements; D2.2 defines the first version of the application scenarios and use cases; D2.3 defines the eDREAM multi-purpose vocabulary, corresponding data models to provide solution interoperability, and the regulatory requirements to introduce the aerial survey techniques as well as the blockchain technologies; D2.4 and its update D2.5 define the eDREAM platform architecture;
WP3 defined prediction models for forecasting the consumption, production and flexibility of distributed energy prosumers considering various time frames and granularities( D3.1). A first version of the forecasting tool has been implemented too; The applicability of different techniques for baseline energy calculation has been assessed (D3.2); we have defined models and techniques for enacting the dynamic construction of coalitions of prosumers in VPP to provide different type of services in an optimal manner by the VPP and proposed a hybrid optimization technique which combines the gradient-based solutions with nature-inspired heuristics for achieving fully distributed platform for creation of prosumers coalition and targeting to implement it over blockchain based distributed computing platforms (D3.3). A first prototype of the dynamic VPP coalition SW component has been implemented. We have investigated the drone based aerial survey in regards to the assessment of DR potential using fusion image processing techniques (D3.4), technical specifications and requirements regarding the hardware and software were also addressed.
In WP4, the identified DR optimization mechanisms to be developed were described ( D4.1); the big data layer architecture has been defined, together with the definition of the Load Profiling, Big Data Clustering at Multiple Scale, and Customer Segmentation SW components(D4.2); the first mockups and prototypes for enhanced user interactions have been implemented (D4.4) and the multi-objective DR optimization technique has been defined(D4.3).
In WP5, we defined blockchain based storage solutions for energy data, two different approaches were investigated exploiting BigChainDB and off-chain data storage respectively. The first prototypes of both the approaches were implemented following the requirements gathered in WP2 activities( D5.1), one of these will be demonstrated during the review. The applicability of self-enforcing smart contracts to the flexibility services was analyzed , implementing the first prototype for both flexibility and the energy markets (D5.2). Moreover, Initial studies about Proof-of-Stake and Proof-of-Authority algorithms and dynamic incentive models have been performed.
WP6 focus was on the definition of the integration plan and the analysis of tools and technologies to put it in place in order to provide a comprehensive and integrated functional framework. The guidelines for the integration were released(D6.1). In WP7, we have defined the methodology for eDREAM evaluation and validation (D7.1).
Finally, the work done in WP8 was focused on establish a communication and dissemination plan and create awareness and interest from the targeted stakeholders( D8.1). We created and managed the project website(D8.2), LinkedIn and Twitter profiles. Partners participated to Conferences and workshops, in order to disseminate the project outcomes (D8.3); The first version of the project Exploitation and IPR Protection Plan was realized (D8.4).

Final results

Many of the products being developed by the eDREAM project, such as the blockchain-enabled marketplace and storage solution; the LIDAR, optical and thermal scan fusion for DR potential estimation; the prediction methods and the dynamic VPP modelling, represent the cutting-edge and embed the state of art advancement for its specific segment. All are innovative components, it is difficult, at this time, to identify competitors on the market.
Many of the project activities started with the state-of-the-art investigation, this work led to the publication of 7 research papers, so far, related to the usage of blockchain in the energy domain and DR programs, flexibility profiling and forecasting techniques evaluation. By the end of the project, we aim to consolidate the different software components into a comprehensive platform, contributing as stimulus to the ongoing policy developments in the field of the design of the internal electricity market, of the retail market, ongoing discussions on self-consumption, enhanced interconnections between Member States and/or between energy networks, integrating large share of renewables exceeding 50% by 2030. In particular the aim is to affect variable energy sources, in a stable and secure way, deliver adequate competitive product and services on the market in 5-10 years after the end of the project, enable and/or enhance demand response schemes bringing proven and quantified benefits for the grid and the consumers/prosumers.

Website & more info

More info: https://edream-h2020.eu/.