Novel tools, algorithms, and a flexibility platform by FLEXGRID H2020

Future smart grids require effective interaction between energy markets and electricity grid management systems to introduce new services and mitigate risks presented by high-RES penetration. On behalf of the FLEXGRID project, funded by the EU Horizon 2020 programme, Smart Innovation Norway hosted a final demo day event to showcase the project results in the current electricity market design .

The event started with an opening Introduction to FLEXGRID H2020 by Dr Prodromos Makris (Senior Researcher and Project Coordinator from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA)). The presentation described the challenges that the FLEXGRID project is addressing regarding electricity grid management and stakeholder functions.

11 partners from various European countries constituted the project group together with five other industrial partners which are NODES (a Flexibility market operator from Norway), NORD POOL CONSULTING (Wholesale market operator), ETRA (an ICT company), bnNetze (a DSO from Germany ) and the Croatian TSO HOPS.

The primary goal of the project is to make it easier for energy sector stakeholders to connect with the grid and improve the mechanism for DSOs and TSOs to use flexibility in order to improve overall social welfare.

Different factors

To give an overview of the current Electricity Market situation with high energy prices and the role of flexibility in Europe, Mr Robert Gehrcke (Senior consultant at Nord Pool Consulting) described the role of NORD POOL in the electrical value chain from power generation, transmission, and retailer to end customers.

Mr Gehrcke pointed out to the attendees the different factors that contribute from both the supply and demand side in determining the price of power exchange. This involved the explanation of the merit order curve and how the Gas power plants are setting the high prices in today's energy crisis and what is a proposed infra-marginal price cap. In the end, the role of Demand-side flexibility (load reduction/shift) and new services were discussed including the flexibility market proposed by the FLEXGRID project.

Flexibility enabling items

To get an understanding of what is a Flexibility Market, Gesa Milzer (Project Manager at NODES AS) presented an overview of flexibility and its need in the European energy ecosystem. The topic highlighted the basic understanding of flexibility referring to the capacity to consciously vary from a planned/typical generation or consumption pattern. This could transpire in reaction to a grid frequency, price signal, or grid operator activation signal.

The presentation explained that the Flexibility markets help energy networks to monitor energy flows and create market signals to motivate changes in energy supply and demand. The flexibility enabling items include the integration of smart meters, smart appliances, renewable energy resources, and additional energy efficient resources.

A brief overview was presented of the clean energy package, and the framework for change with some key points highlighted was:

Production flexibility: increase or decrease the production of power plants

Consumption flexibility = Demand Response: temporary reduction or increase of the consumption of an industrial process, electrolyzers, a household, etc.
Storage flexibility: pumped hydropower plants or storage units

A flexibility market introduction was provided. Like any other market, a flexibility market is a place where buyers and sellers can come together to enable the exchange or transaction of products and services. Furthermore, markets decide the prices of goods and services based on supply and demand.

Tools and services

With the context of the European energy market and the combination of the electricity market with the flexibility markets in Europe, the project's core developed tools and services were presented afterwards. The main outcome of the project, the FLEXGRID Automated Trading Platform (ATP) was presented first by Elena Leal (Project Manager for ETRA INVESTIGACION Y DESARROLLO SA).

The presentation described the problem that the FLEXGRID ATP, which contains 3 main services, is solving in today's electricity market:

1) AFAT: Automatic Flexibility Aggregation Toolkit

2) FST: Flexibility Market Clearing Toolkit

3) FMCT: Flexibility Supply Toolkit

Furthermore, FLEXGRID ATP's full demo video was presented with an explanation of different types of users and the function of each user on the platform. The key advantages were highlighted including matching Offers and Requests through Distributed Level Flexibility Market (DLFM) clearing processes:

Improved communication and data exchange between market participants

Easier integration for future flexibility markets by using novel algorithms
A modular design approach

Three key services

In order to understand each key service hosted by the FLEXGRID ATP platform, the specific partners with their developed services were described. Start with the Automated Flexibility Aggregation Toolkit (AFAT) by Dr Prodromos Makris .

The AFAR consists of three sub-services: AFAT service #1 (Manage a FlexRequest), AFAT service #2 (Manage a B2C flex market) and AFAT service #3 (Create an aggregated FlexOffer).

The 2nd service of the ATP was the ^FlexSupplier 's Toolkit (FST) presented by Mr Domagoj Badanjak , Research assistant at the Department of Energy and Power Systems, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, the University of Zagreb motivating demonstration detailing all three FST toolkit services : FST service #1 (Minimize ESP's OPEX), ST service #2 (Minimize ESP's CAPEX) and FST service #3 (Maximize ESP's Stacked Revenues).

Finally, the ^3rd service of the ATP platform the Flexibility Market Clearing Toolkit (FMCT) presented by Dr Lars Herre (Postdoctoral Researcher in the Wind Energy and Energy Systems Department at DTU Technical University Denmark) . All the different services followed the approach of describing the problem these solutions solve in the electricity market, the unique aspect of the solution and the exploitation pathway on how these can be utilized further in research and commercial applications.

Panel discussion

To conclude the discussion surrounding the work of FLEXGRID a panel discussion was hosted by Farhan Farrukh (researcher from Smart Innovation Norway ) on Flexibility related business cases with bnNetze, Nord Pool Consulting (NPC) and NODES .

In the business case analysis of peak shaving services for the DSO, the FLEXGRID results showed that the upstream cost for bnNETZE is around 114,000 €/MW. Considering that the distribution grid is going towards a future where power peaks have a more recurring occurrence, how important is it for the DSO to have better load forecasting services? In the business case where local flexibility is compared to grid investments, the annualized cost of the grid investment (for the FLEXGRID business case showed results around €95,000/year). The discussion surrounded how DSOs anticipate using local flexibility in comparison to investments in the grid. The panel discussed the interesting details about the adoption of the flexibility markets where national member states need to upgrade their regulations at a faster rate. Also, the adoption of Smart meters is a key to ensuring that flexibility is possible for activation in different European countries.

READ MORE:

Energy flexibility on everyone's lips

FLEXGRID key points

Towards the end of the event, a conclusion and lessons learned by FLEXGRID H2020 were presented by Dr Makris (NTUA/ICCS) . The following key points of the FLEXGRID recommendations were presented:

Coordinated decision-making (eg, a combination of game theory with optimization tools) models to take into consideration all stakeholders' business interests towards finding optimal equilibrium points that maximize social welfare.
Combine AI/ML-based decision-making with classic optimization theory to deal with complex problems, many types of uncertainties, inherently ambiguous/unknown models, and big data thus supporting an efficient interaction between the aggregator and a vast number of end users.
Exploit the cloud-edge computing continuum for many Smart Grid (SG) applications that need deep inter-disciplinary research between power engineers and ICT engineers
Combine game theory with AI models towards dealing with the competing interests of multiple agents and many sources of uncertainty.

FLEXGRID recommendations (policy level)

Need for well-designed regulatory sandboxes at EU level to simulate the conflicting business interests of multiple stakeholders in energy markets
Need for minimum interoperability and standardization towards scaling up and replicating already existing solutions (cf. too many types of end devices, communication protocols, data formats, H/W technologies, etc.)

Regulation updates are required in several EU countries for the:

coordination between the energy supplier/retailer and the aggregator

integration of local (DN-level) flexibility markets with existing TN-level markets.
Incentives should be given to aggregators in order to provide novel personalized services to the end users' need for interdisciplinary research between power engineers and social/behavioural scientists.
Communication protocols should be privacy-preserving and incentivize truthful bidding to avoid market manipulation phenomena and support market uptake in both B2B and B2C contexts.

The FLEXGRID H2020 project has concluded at the end of September 2022. The project has produced a lot of open-source materials and publications that can lead to many future research and commercial R&D projects.

FLEXGRID online

Visit our website for all scientific publications and deliverables : https://flexgrid-project.eu/
YouTube channel for all the DEMO videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEpdrFhiItkGTi7dmNL–yg
GitHub area: https://github.com/FlexGrid

The presentations from Demo Day:

FLEXGRID_Project_-Final-E-Demo-Day-Host-Slides download

FLEXGRID_Pitch-Demo-Day_ICCS_intro download

FLEXGRID_Demo-Day_NPC download

FLEXGRID_Pitch-Demo-Day_template_NODES_Final download

FLEXGRID_Pitch-Demo-Day_template_ETRA_v1 download

FLEXGRID_Pitch-Demo-Day_AFAT_ICCS download

FLEXGRID_Pitch-Demo-Day_UNIZG-v4 download

FLEXGRID_Pitch-Demo-Day_ICCS_conclusions download

Energy flexibility on everyone's lips

Morten Hagen (from left to right), Stig Ødegaard Ottesen, Fridtjof Okkenhaug and Robert Flanagan discussed the motivation of businesses looking to provide flexibility from prosumers.

Being a work package leader of the FLEXGRID H2020 project, Smart Innovation Norway organized the workshop "Energy flexibility - from customer to market" where national and international research partners could share, establish new collaborations, and generate new projects.

As a coordinator and partner of multiple research projects on Energy flexibility, Smart Innovation Norway organized this workshop to showcase the different projects it is involved in and their potential synergies within the topic of Energy flexibility.

Flexibility is shifting electricity consumption or generation in response to an external signal (eg, payment) to provide a service to the electrical grid.

Read more: Leading the way regarding energy flexibility

Share and discuss

- The workshop showcased examples of customers who are part of the Energy flexibility projects to enable an electricity system based on Renewable Energy Sources (RES). In such a system, flexibility from different sources can be leveraged to enable a pathway for the green transition. The workshop was of great value to share knowledge on offering flexibility and flexibility markets, says Farhan Farrukh , researcher at Smart Innovation Norway and workshop host.

**Farhan Farrukh** , researcher at Smart Innovation Norway and workshop host. PHOTO: Anja Lillerud

The goal was to share experiences related to flexibility markets, including business models for aggregators and the challenges and opportunities of providing flexibility as a resource. The latest market developments were discussed to share knowledge and approaches for entering the flexibility market. Use cases, challenges, and opportunities related to flexibility as a commercial product were the main topics of the webinar. It highlighted the challenges the participants are facing and how an adequate regulatory framework could help to improve the business cases for flexibility services provision.

The article continues after the video .

Session 1: Offering Flexibility

**Fridtjof Okkenhaug** , Product Manager Energy and Program Manager R&D, Futurehome. PHOTO: Anja Lillerud

The workshop's first section began with Fridtjof Okkenhaug's (Product Manager Energy and Program Manager R&D, Futurehome) presentation of flexible consumption patterns as part of the HouseholdFlex project. He presented some difficulties in getting homeowners to participate in demand-side flexibility and how Futurehome developed its product while considering the spot price adjustments and grid tariffs.

**Dr Stig Ødegaard Ottesen** , Section Head Energy Market Research, Smart Innovation Norway. PHOTO: Anja Lillerud

An interesting follow-up presentation from Stig Ødegaard Ottesen (Section Head Energy Market Research, Smart Innovation Norway) highlighted the unique practical details that need to be considered on large-scale electrification. He focused on how flexibility and business innovation can avoid unnecessary grid enforcements.

The presentation showcased several challenges ASKO (one of Norway's biggest fleet operators) is facing in their energy transition journey. By 2026, ASKO Vestby will electrify all 125 of its electric trucks. The distribution infrastructure may need to be strengthened, and additional grid connections may be necessary due to the significant rise in electricity demand. By the end of this year, ASKO aims to acquire 50 to 60 electric trucks for delivering food, which will double the demand for electricity needed for truck charging.

The presentation showed the project's concept idea developed in collaboration with other partners, where flexibility can be used as a resource compared to traditional grid upgrade solutions. There will be a combination of using the existing infrastructure, non-firm contracts, and flexibility solutions for ASKO's case of electrification.

Buildings' energy performance

Dr Robert Flanagan (Director of Innovation at VIOTAS) — **Dr. Robert Flanagan** . Director of Innovation at VIOTAS. PHOTO: Anja Lillerud

Finally, to close the session, an interesting presentation was made by another EU project, iBECOME. Dr Robert Flanagan (Director of Innovation at VIOTAS) showcased the demand-side flexibility aspects of the tertiary sector. 10 partners from 4 countries are involved in demonstrating a combination of novel technologies for optimizing buildings' energy performance and comfort conditions while reducing operational costs.

From left to right: Morten Hagen (ENFO), Stig Ødegaard Ottesen, Fridtjof Okkenhaug and Robert Flanagan. PHOTO: Anja Lillerud

– The panel discussion at the end focused on the motivation of businesses looking to provide flexibility from prosumers. The panellist shared their opinions on i ) Why flexibility is interesting for households and industries? ii) How to unlock flexibility from different types of prosumers? And iii) which customers/assets have an unfulfilled potential for energy flexibility? says the Smart Innovation Norway researcher and workshop host, Farhan Farrukh.

Session 2: Flexibility markets

To start the session, an introduction about the FLEXGRID H2020 project was done as Farhan Farrukh presented the Automatic Trading Platform (ATP) and its services . As part of trends for the different flexibility solutions, an attractive presentation was shared by Morten Hagen (Head of Sales and Commercialisation, ENFO – part of Agder Energi) on EV charging in the flex market.

He deeply explained five distinct EV charging service models for housing associations and multiple-dwelling units, with pros and cons for each type. Morten also discussed how various suppliers of EV charging technologies might position themselves in the market as flexibility operators based on regulatory and technological factors. The presentation included ENFO's experiences working in the flexibility market for commercial purposes and their role in the HouseholdFlex project with Smart Innovation Norway.

**Hallstein Hagen,** Senior Consultant at NODES. PHOTO: Anja Lillerud

To bring the discussion towards a market side of the flexibility value chain, Hallstein Hagen (Senior Consultant) and Gesa Milzer (Project Manager) at NODES explained where NODES, as a market operator fits in the flexibility value chain.

They shared experiences from NODES demonstration and research projects as well as from the NODES platform and its use in the NorFlex project. The project results were described by NODES which covered issues such as the local, regional and national markets, TSO/DSO cooperation, and process automation. The main message was to increase market participation by several flexibility suppliers and buyers to enhance the learnings of participating in a flexibility market.

Regulations for energy

**Alexander Kellerer,** adviser at the Norwegian Energy Regulatory Authority (NVE-RME). PHOTO: Anja Lillerud

To close the discussion around the flexibility markets, Alexander Kellerer, adviser at the Norwegian Energy Regulatory Authority (NVE-RME), presented the existing and upcoming regulations for energy, the European Framework Guideline on Demand Response. How should DSO and TSO coordinate the interaction between wholesale and local markets? Alexander summarized the proposal by the Agency of Cooperation of the Electricity Regulators (ACER) with respect to the Framework Guideline on Demand Response. He presented the recommendations that have been put forward for enabling smaller assets to participate in commercial markets, along with outlining how the balancing markets are anticipated to change gradually in the coming years within the context of the Nordic Balancing market model. Alexander also reviewed some current obstacles to demand-side flexibility in the Nordic balancing markets.

Ending: Panel discussion

Upper left: Torben Bach Pedersen, Isidoros Kokos, Dr Prodromos Makris and Geza Milzer. On stage from left to right: Morten Hagen, Hallstein Hagen and Alexander Kellerer. PHOTO: Anja Lillerud

Finally, the panel discussion on standardization and policy aspects around flexibility markets was joined by FlexCommunity members, where Isidoros Kokos (R&D professional at Intracom Telecom) and Torben Bach Pedersen (Professor at Aalborg University and Co-founder & CSO of Flexshape) joined the discussion . The panel was facilitated by Dr Prodromos Makris (Senior Researcher at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA)), and the Norwegian participants (ENFO, NODES, and NVE) joined the discussion to share their insights on the need for standardized vs non- standardized products for flexibility markets. The panel also highlighted the auction (pay as clear) vs continuous (pay as bid) markets in the flexibility platforms. According to the panellist, market manipulation is not a big challenge for the flexibility market today; instead, the main challenge is more participation of flexibility suppliers and buyers in the market.

The idea of the event was to share, communicate and disseminate knowledge and try to see what better we can do when it comes to offering flexibility and the role of the flexibility market.

- Connecting national and international projects like this is an essential part of Smart Innovation Norway's role, says Farrukh.

FLEXGRID Demo Day

The FLEXGRID project ends in September 2022, and the goal is to maximize the impact of project results on various actors in society. A final FLEXGRID event is planned for 26 September, which will focus on all the tools developed by the FLEXGRID project.

The final event will be both physically and online and open for everyone to join. To get the most out of the event, please reserve your physical seat in Halden and benefit from the opportunity of Smart

Sign on for the Final FLEXGRID Event

Nearly 70 attendees were on-site and online on the FLEXGRID webinar “Energy flexibility – from customer to market”. PHOTO: Anja Lillerud

Here are the presentations from the webinar:

Host-Slides_Farhan_FLEXGRID_Flexibility event download

Smart-Innovation-Step-Large-scale-electrification download

Futurehome-Flexible-consumption-households download

Enfo-EV-charging-in-the-flex-market-Morten-Hagen-sept-2022 download

20220920-NODES-FlexGrid-WS-low-res download

Alexander-Kellerer-European-Framework-Guidelines download

Smart Narvik is in the process of testing a digital tourism project

- The first step to create new jobs and a better offer for citizens

A large local commitment, an exciting EU project, energetic project management, magnificent nature and significant history are some of the factors that will contribute to success in Narvik through the digitization project AURORAL.

Smart Narvik — Ann-Hege Lund installs a person counter along the path down towards Rombaksbotn, which is one of the destinations in the AURORAL test period. She is temporary project manager for Narvik municipality's business development company Futurum, and is very involved in the EU project which aims to develop and test how digital platforms can make it easier to live and work in rural areas in various places in Europe. ALL PHOTOS: Private

This summer, hikers to Stetind, Beisfjord minnelund, Fagernesfjellet, Rombaksbotn and Tore Hunds rike in the Hålogaland region in Nordland can become part of an important database that is of great interest to Smart Narvik, Narvik municipality and Visit Narvik.

The five mentioned travel destinations have been selected as test sites in the work to digitalise, improve and increase tourism in the Norwegian districts.

- We have hung up counters and made central parts of the local history available via QR codes at the five destinations, says program leader for Smart Narvik, Mikael af Ekenstam from Smart Innovation Norway.

Has digitized local cultural history

Screenshot from the Auroral site about Stetinden

The work has been done as part of the EU project AURORAL, and three months of registrations of the number of people and the number of scans of the QR codes will hopefully provide an answer as to whether there is a basis for adaptations, improvements and new business activities related to tourism in Hålogaland.

Several parts of the local community have been consulted in the process that has led to the concretization of the project, and it has been important for the project management to connect both politicians and business closely to the processes.

- We feel that we have succeeded in this so far, says af Ekenstam.

Ann-Hege Lund from Visit Narvik is happy that a large EU project such as AURORAL can contribute to creating activity at local level. She is concerned that the municipality must take responsibility for preserving the cultural local history, and an important way to do that is to make it available to everyone.

- Spreading knowledge about history and making it available in a simple way is a form of sustainability. Digitization, in this case using QR codes, allows people to get to know the history of the five test sites. Initially, it is in the form of text and images, but we are working on further developing the project and have both video and an augmented reality as our goal, she says.

Through the use of QR codes and a smartphone, you gain access to more information about the various selected attractions in the project.

*A little way along the path towards Stetinden, you get access to read the story of the first ascent in 1910.*

Mikael af Ekenstam sets up a sign that gives access to more information about Rombaksbotn.

Hope to find answers about transport solutions

Smart Narvik has already received inquiries from others in Hålogaland who are interested in both people counters and QR codes. It fits well with the project's aim to expand the number of test sites during the summer. And the more data you collect, the better data base you get for further work with AURORAL.

And when it comes to autumn's planned analyzes of the summer's data collection, af Ekenstam and Lund are excited about what they find. The results can have large and positive ripple effects for Narvik society and the entire Hålogaland region.

- The data gives us information about the number of walkers and the time of the visit. The analyzes will tell us whether there is a basis for, for example, creating more business, changing current solutions or improving public transport in connection with the destinations. We are particularly interested in transport solutions. In the districts there is often a lack of public transport, and although the primary target group is visitors, we are interested in the opinions of the permanent residents as well, says the Smart Narvik program leader.

In addition to the census, the project will carry out a survey to map what people might want from transport services. Today's public transport services almost require visitors to hire a car if they want to move around the region. And even if the majority of the local population has their own car, it is possible that they would have taken a public bus or used another type of transport such as carpooling if the offer had been there.

It is hoped that statistics from AURORAL will say something about this.

CONTACT PERSON:

Mikael of Ekenstam. Photo: Mari K. Buckholm

Mikael of Ekenstam,
Senior Advisor,
Smart Cities & Society

Telephone: +47 906 300 82

Email:

mikael.af.ekenstam@smartinovationnorway.com

From left to right: Mikael af Ekenstam (program manager Smart Narvik), Ann-Hege Lund (Visit Narvik), Lars Norman Andersen (municipal director) and Truls Torblå (municipal project manager in AURORAL).

Many advantages of a good data base

In order to avoid the data in the project being manipulated, it has been chosen, among other things, to install the same type of people counters that the Midt-Hålogaland Outdoor Council uses, which are known to be technically reliable. In addition, the counters are placed in narrow places where you have to pass one by one, and in places where you cannot stand.

Such conditions mean that Lund and af Ekenstam feel confident that the collected data will give a real picture of the summer traffic linked to the five destinations.

- A concrete example of using our data against transport services that already exist today is one of the bus services in Narvik, which has tourists as its target group. The bus company's own statistics in combination with our data can give a clear indication of whether and possibly how they should adapt their offer, explains af Ekenstam.

READ ALSO: Will create new jobs and contribute to a smarter, more sustainable society in Narvik

Another element that access to data brings with it is that you have a good numerical basis in application processes. Destinations, paths, signage and other things require maintenance, and by being able to document how many people travel in the area, you are in a stronger position in application processes against the policy apparatus.

But first, the locally produced content in the QR codes will tempt even more tourists and permanent residents out to the five popular travel destinations. And then Smart Narvik, Narvik municipality and Visit Narvik will present the results in the autumn.

- Hopefully, during the winter months, we can develop a new service or new offer that can be tested next summer. We have always been very conscious of concretizing local needs and engaging local stakeholders to give input on what we do. Hopefully we will be left with something good and sustainable on the eve of 2024, say Mikael af Ekenstam and Ann-Hege Lund.

READ ALSO: Working to realize the world's most sustainable sports event

FACTS ABOUT AURORAL IN NARVIK:

• Narvik municipality is a partner in the international project AURORAL, which is part of the research and development program Horizon 2020.

• In AURORAL, in the period 2021-2024, we will work on developing and testing how digital platforms can make it easier to live and work in rural areas in various places in Europe.

• The use of data and digital platforms has the potential to solve some of the most important issues in such areas, for example by offering solutions that can compensate for long distances and a lack of people.

• Security, privacy and users' control over their own data are key words that are central to the development of the technical solutions in the project.

• AURORAL has a total of 25 European partner organizations from 10 countries that participate in the project in various roles.

• The Hålogaland region is one of the pilot areas in the project and the six other pilot areas are located in Finland, Sweden, Portugal, Austria, Italy and Spain.

• In addition to the large project group, a local reference group has been put together in Narvik to give input to the pilot project and ensure that we do things that are relevant in view of the local needs. An example of a local need is to find out how many people visit the areas, and what needs this triggers for maintenance of paths, waste management and provision for parking.

• The reference group includes representatives from Visit Narvik, Hålogaland Council, Nordland County Council, Midtre Hålogaland Outdoor Recreation Council, Harstad Municipality as well as various tourism and transport companies. In addition, the residents are represented through Skjomen, Beisfjord and Kjøpsvik rural development groups.

On the official website and in the other channels of AURORAL you can find more information about the project:

AURORAL online

AURORAL on Facebook

AURORAL on Narvik municipality's website

Top rating in European research

By Anja Lillerud and Dieter Hirdes, 16 March 2022

The Research Council of Norway recently published the top-50 list of Norwegian actors who have achieved the most EU funding during the seven-year Research and Innovation program Horizon 2020. Smart Innovation Norway is ranked number 25 on this list, and number 9 on research funding per employee. This is a great achievement for the research and innovation corporation and its 60 employees.

Smart Innovation Norway building — Smart Innovation Norway is ranked number 25 on the list of top 50 Norwegian stakeholders who have achieved the most EU funding during the seven-year program Horizon 2020. That makes the corporation a great contributor for Norway to achieve more H2020 funding than expected. PHOTO: Anja Lillerud

Now that the last allocation has been done in Horizon 2020, it shows that Norwegian actors have been assigned the total of NOK 16.2 billion during the program period from 2014 to 2020, according to a news article from the Research Council of Norway .

That means Norwegian stakeholders have landed 2.53 percent of the total funding in H2020. The goal was 2 percent.

However, breaking down the numbers, Smart Innovation Norway is ranked number nine in Norway regarding H2020 funding per employee with €153,000. The company today has 60 employees from 16 countries, and the researcher staff increased from 20 to 40 during 2020 and 2021.

The impact of EU programs is an important gateway to international markets, competence, and financing for growth. Several projects being financed through these EU programs aim to develop solutions, technology and competence which will create sustainable jobs and help Norway and Europe to achieve the UN's climate targets.

In 2021, Smart Innovation Norway elaborated 10 EU applications to the new Horizon Europe programme, of which 6 were granted, which gives an amazing success rate of 60%.

This year, Smart Innovation Norway coordinates or participates in 16 different EU projects. At the same time, 10 new national research project applications have been granted.

Smart Innovation Norway's success with EU funded research would not be possible without support from the Research Council of Norway's support schemes PES2020 and STIM-EU which are designed to increase participation of Norwegian research institutes in the EU framework programs for research, innovation, and technological development .

In 2021, a new seven-year programme, Horizon Europe, started with a total funding of €95.5 billion available. Smart Innovation Norway is aiming for top ranking in this program too, contributing to a high return rate of Norwegian funding to the Horizon Europe program.

The smart water initiative will continue in 2022

- We will look at smart solutions within the entire water and waste water industry

Project manager Anja Wingstedt is planning a new webinar series on Smart water. - We continue to fulfill our role as a knowledge center within the sector, she says.

Smart water management has great potential both in terms of costs and the environment. Smart Innovation Norway's initiative Smart water has provided many examples of this in recent years.

- It is important to have a common meeting place

Project manager Anja Wingstedt is now planning a new round of webinars, and she wants to carry them out in close collaboration with Nordic municipalities, businesses and interest organisations, such as Norsk Vann and the Water Association.

- Smart Innovation Norway continues its role as a knowledge center in this subject area, she emphasizes and points out the importance of having a common meeting place for skills development.

- Our webinars must have such a function. Participants who do not interact at other times of the year can meet under our auspices and share knowledge, make contact and tell success stories, says Wingstedt.

The webinars are also attended by representatives from the supplier and adviser side. They present new solutions, but can also map the needs in the market.

CONTACT

Anja Wingstedt
Project manager Smart water
+47 458 82 878
Send email
Read more on the Smart water website

Trying to tailor the content

In previous years, the annual digital gatherings have mostly been about smart water meters. In 2022, Wingstedt wants to take the investment a level further and focus on other smart solutions within the entire water and waste water industry.

- We therefore want input from previous participants about themes, projects and fields of expertise for smart solutions that they would like to hear more about during the upcoming webinars, says the project manager.

A questionnaire has been drawn up which Wingstedt hopes the actors will take the time to answer so that she can get an overview of what the needs and wishes of the municipalities, business and interest organizations are.

- I hope many take the opportunity to be involved and set the agenda, says Anja Wingstedt.

The webinars in 2022 are planned for June and December.

Feedback can be given directly to anja.wingstedt@smartinnovationnorway.com or by filling in our questionnaire below no later than Sunday 27 March

- We will experiment together in a new way and create something that helps change the world!

Two million Swedish kroner for the Innocities programme

Now Smart Innovation Norway's smart city model will be developed and offered in Sweden.

Under the name Innocities, Smart Innovation Norway together with Sweco, Mälardalen University and SIQ - Institute for Quality Development - will develop and adapt the Norwegian smart city model to a Swedish context and accelerate the transition to a sustainable society in municipalities, ports and other publicly owned organizations.

- In the grant, Vinnova writes that the project has great potential to succeed and together create a solution that is adapted to the needs of the target group, as well as that the project strengthens the innovative capacity of partners through collaboration. That is exactly what we want, and we enter this project with enthusiasm, high expectations and a big smile on our faces, say Ulrika Holmgren and Marcus Lind Nerhoel - senior advisors for Smart Cities and Communities at Smart Innovation.

Holmgren is project manager and operationally responsible for Innocities.

Read also: Smart Innovation Norway starts Swedish subsidiary

It is Smart Innovation in Sweden that will lead the project, which has now received funding from Sweden's innovation authority, Vinnova . In the start-up meeting with Vinnova, Sara Hugosson, supervisor at Vinnova, began by saying that "we will experiment together in a new way and create something that helps to change the world!".

The smart city model

Innocities is based on the smart city model that has been developed by Smart Innovation Norway's Smart Cities and Communities department together with 15 Norwegian municipalities, publicly owned ports and energy companies with which they have collaborated since 2011. Through the 15 collaboration programs they have built up a portfolio with over 120 specific innovation projects that all contribute to meeting local sustainability challenges.

- By further developing the model in Sweden (and the Nordic region), the project will contribute to developing the innovation and collaboration capacity of several municipalities, publicly owned ports and energy companies. Innocities will offer a systematic innovation process and methodology for local operational interaction. The purpose is to accelerate the transformation work to achieve the 17 global sustainability goals in Agenda 2030 and contribute to a smart and sustainable social and business development where players in the public sector, academia, business and citizens must increase the pace of the transition together, says Holmgren.

The project is now looking for public actors who want to speed up their green transition. In 2022, it is planned to be able to offer Innocities' innovation program to all Swedish municipalities.

- No single actor is able to solve the challenges we face. With Innocities, we are creating a new way of working together. We increase the capacity for innovation and interaction in the cities' ecosystem, and in that way we create better conditions for managing the transition to sustainable cities and societies, says Elisabet Spross from Innovation Lead Sweco.

Read also: Innocities - An innovation program to help municipalities with the transition to a sustainable society

FACTS

Smart Innovation in Sweden is part of Smart Innovation Norway, a research and innovation organization located in Halden.

Vinnova - society's innovative solutions: A program that finances InnoCities.

Total budget: SEK 1,998,436.

Project period: 15 October 2021 – 15 March 2023.

Partners: Sweco Sverige AB, Mälardalen University and SIQ – Institute for Quality Development, Smart Innovation in Sweden

Digitization and circular economy in Viken

Mapping of excellence in Viken

We invite you to take part in the EU network and help us in mapping excellent companies and organizations Viken county.

We are searching for startups, SME's, large companies and organizations (public/private) that are:

based in Viken are 'excellent' in some way (knowledge, process, products etc……) and that potentially might be interested in participating in EU projects.

The EU network is jointly funded by the Research Council and Innovation Norge and is dedicated to helping Norwegian companies in Viken to participate in EU funded programs for research and innovation.

How do we define excellence?

Being very good of its kind
In specific expertise, knowledge, ability, etc.
Proven and demonstrable
Endure in time
Recognized by others

For questions or information about the mapping and the EU Network, please contact Inge Michael Bilet, Smart Innovation Norway. Phone: (+47) 474 61 228.

Questions?

Contact Inge Michael Bilet by e-mail or mobile +47 474 61 228, if you want to join the network or want to know more.

Joseph Negreira

Project Manager EU

Inge Michael Bilet

Project Manager Norway

Borg Havn invests in Norway's largest public solar plant

In collaboration with the supplier Solcellespesialisten and the research company Smart Innovation Norway, Borg Havn will further electrify its operations by investing in a new solar cell plant of one megawatt.

- We want to have as good in-house production as possible. Now in the first phase, we have used half of the roof area at "Lager 14 - Borregaard" here in Øra. The plant that the solar specialist supplies has an expected annual production of 860,000 kWh, which makes up 57 percent of today's energy consumption here at the Øra terminal, says Pål Erling Johnsen, technical manager at Borg Havn.

Borg Havn, solar cells — Pål Erling Johnsen from Borg Havn (tv) and Ulrik Rør from the Solar Cell Specialist.

In order to achieve the port's goal of covering the majority of its power needs with solar energy, the next phase of the pilot project therefore consists of investing in an even larger facility - of one megawatt.

- The solar energy will supply the internal power grid at the terminal and deliver shore power to vessels, power to the harbor cranes, warehouse buildings, refrigerated and freezer containers and our new battery system, explains Johnsen.

- It will be Norway's largest public solar plant, points out Anja Wingstedt, senior advisor for Smart Cities & Society at Smart Innovation Norway. She and Johnsen share the role of project manager for the pilot project that is part of the Smart Borg Harbor portfolio.

Read also: Norway's largest public solar plant starts pilot project with battery plant g (tu.no)

Should make the storage of solar energy profitable

Alongside the solar system, Borg Havn has also invested in a battery system of 90 kW/195 kWh, which is mounted in a 10-foot container. The container contains three large data cabinets, in addition to a whiteboard, work table and lighting.

- We made this investment to supplement the power demand on our internal power grid and cut the large power peaks from cranes and other equipment that draw a lot of power for short periods. A major advantage of the design of the battery system is that it is portable, in that the cable to the container can be disconnected and the container can then be moved to another transformer if necessary, says Johnsen.

Battery systems for the storage of solar energy are today considered to be unprofitable, and are primarily used as a backup solution for those who want to protect themselves against power outages. Borg Havn and its partners hope to change that with their pilot project, which is part of the EU-funded research project E-LAND .

- In E-LAND, tools are developed to manage and optimize energy consumption. The aim is to learn what we can do with batteries and accumulated solar energy to limit electricity from the supplier, and to reduce power peaks. It is challenging with such a small battery, but it still gives us very useful information when we are going to use heavy vehicles with electric operation such as tow trucks and reach stackers, says Johnsen.

Through the research project, Borg Havn has opened up external management, and the system is managed by its own algorithms with a "peak shave" function and a team in Spain. All this can be overridden by Borg Havn if necessary, which ensures control in cases where, for example, a ship arrives that will require a lot of electricity.

Battery system with many applications

Solcellespesialisten has supplied the battery system, while the Norwegian supplier Pixii has developed the power electronics, built the battery system and made the control system.

Project manager Ulrik Rør at the Solcellespesialisten says that the system will eventually function as a so-called "black start" off-grid system, should a building lose power.

- In short, it means that if the power to the building is lost, the battery system will form a microgrid or "grid forming", and supply power to the building after the building has been separated from the power grid. That way, you are not dependent on the external power grid to recover from a power cut, says Rør.

Smart Innovation Norway at Arendalsuka 2021: - What we do is important for AS Norge

This week it is again Arendalsuka - Norway's largest democratic meeting place for everyone involved in the society we live in - and where knowledge and experiences are exchanged between citizens, politicians and business.

Around 1,000 events and 200 stands fill the center of Arendal for five days in August each year. Arendal Week is the arena for those who want to listen to, debate and solve today's and tomorrow's societal challenges.

This year, Smart Innovation Norway and the Cluster for Applied AI were present together with partner Institute for Energy Technology (IFE). During Monday and Tuesday, cluster leader Eli Haugerud and managing director Kjell Reidar Mydske participated in several events and activities with the aim of highlighting the strong technology environment in Halden.

Also read: Meet the unique competence environment behind AI+

- I would immediately say that what we are doing is completely spot-on in relation to what Norway needs. What everyone is talking about now is the shift to green industry and renewable power, and it is quite obvious that what we are working on, which is energy systems and artificial intelligence, is very important for everyone to succeed. What we do here is important for AS Norge, and it is important for others to succeed, comments Mydske.

Sharing experiences and opportunities

On Monday morning, his colleague Haugerud participated in a podcast/livestream together with IKT-Norge and Huawei with the theme "Artificial intelligence - real experiences". Here, the actors discussed the government's national strategy for artificial intelligence and how the technology can and should be utilized.

See the recording of the broadcast here

- We want more people to get to know us, our projects and what opportunities exist. In addition, it is important for us to be able to participate in other events, among other things to be updated on topics such as offshore wind, battery technology, digitalisation, internationalization and the green shift, Haugerud points out.

- When we take part in such arenas, it is to catch up with what is happening, so that we can do things that are relevant to our member companies. At the same time, through the dialogue with the companies, we know what they think is important, and we shall take that input to the decision-makers we meet in places like this, adds Mydske.

On stage with IFE

On Tuesday, both Haugerud and Mydske were on stage in No1 Sportsbar during the lecture "Data-driven innovation - how to create both sustainable cities and business?", which Smart Innovation Norway and IFE organized together.

- Among other things, we presented the Halden venture My Digital City and how collaboration can provide new solutions. In addition, we introduced the AI clinic, a new initiative from the Cluster for Applied AI, which will be an important contributor to more people being able to solve their challenges using artificial intelligence through competence environments, says cluster leader Haugerud.

See the recording of the event here

Fruitful cooperation

It was no coincidence that the research company IFE invited Smart Innovation Norway along to spread the word about their joint ventures and collaboration.

- We complement each other very well and we have the same interests. Smart Innovation Norway helps us get the research we do out to industry and municipalities. In addition, the company is good at EU applications, communication and incubator operations. At the same time, IFE is good at "hardcore" research when it comes to digitalisation, says Tomas Nordlander, director of research at IFE.

He points out that the collaboration is transparent and open as an important factor for success, and reveals that the parties talk to each other several times each week.

- Now we are in the process of investigating whether we can deploy researchers temporarily with each other to get to know each other better, and we have talked about having joint management meetings and workshops, says Nordlander.

Mydske agrees with its good partner and points in particular to the value that Smart Innovaton Norway's cluster members and incubator companies get through the collaboration.

- The application of this collaboration is that the companies in our network can be connected to top-notch expertise from researchers in IFE's system, he points out.

ABOUT ARENDAL WEEK

Arendalsuka will be an annual national arena where actors within politics, society and business meet each other and the people, for debate and the formulation of policy for the present and future.
Arendalsuka is independent of party politics, and aims to strengthen faith in politics and political debate. In this way, Arendalsuka will contribute to strengthening the power of our living democracy.

Read more: arendalsuka.no

Almost 500 registered when AI+ was organized for the second time

Almost 500 registered when AI+ was organized for the second time:

- A conference at the top international level

When AI+ 2021 got off the ground digitally on Wednesday and Thursday last week, it was with a varied and highly topical program packed with quality speakers. First up was Norway's Prime Minister.

By Mari Kristine Buckholm , 25 May 2021

- Data and artificial intelligence will be important in solving the challenges of the future. That is why I am happy that this ambitious conference can be organized even though we are in the middle of a pandemic. But AI is also important for fighting the pandemic. Over the next two days, you will discuss topics that will shape society in the years to come. I hope you have an interesting and productive conference!

This is what the Prime Minister of Norway, Erna Solberg, said to participants from both Norway and abroad when she opened AI+ 2021 on Wednesday morning.

Changed view of artificial intelligence

The conference was held for the second time on 19 and 20 May and the aim was to offer both Norwegian and international environments and companies an arena of expertise and interaction within applied artificial intelligence (AI), which will provide good conditions for success with data-driven economics and innovation in the future.

Also read: Top speakers defied time zones to contribute to AI+
Also read: Meet the unique competence environment behind AI+

The digital event was broadcast from the Simulator center at Remmen Kunnskapspark in Halden and led by journalist, meeting leader and writer, Ruth Astrid Sæter.

- I must say that being allowed to lead AI+ 2021 has been incredibly educational. I knew very little about artificial intelligence before, and not least about applied artificial intelligence. Now I have learned a little more, and I also see that there are many areas that need to work more together - both to accelerate development, but also to ensure that all the important considerations are taken into account. There is still a lot to go on, comments Sæter after the end of the conference.

This year's conference host admits that her view of what artificial intelligence is and how the technology can be used has changed after hearing varied presentations from universities, research companies, large technology companies and small startups over two days.

- That perception "God, are we going to let the machines take over?" is not there to the same extent anymore. I am excited when the algorithms become so smart that they have detected everything, what kind of acceleration will we see then?, she asks.

"Clean air for everyone"

Business developer at the start-up AirMont, Ole Gabrielsen, was among the companies that pitched their solution and use of artificial intelligence to the digital audience. In addition, he participated in the panel debate on day 2.

- The conference provides an opportunity to make contacts. Since it's digital, it gets a little more difficult, but you also get inspired to check out new things. When you hear what Oda (formerly Kolonial.no) tells about its experiences and what the Norwegian School of Economics says about new innovation models, it is very useful input for us. As a new startup, we don't get this anywhere else. It is absolutely crucial to be part of such an environment early on, says Gabrielsen.

See the entire program

AirMont's vision is "clean air for all" and the company aims to ensure better air quality with the help of artificial intelligence and sensor technology. The first product on the market is pipe sensors with a built-in digital system which will be rolled out to all households with pipes in Halden municipality during autumn 2021.

- The sensors use artificial intelligence to correlate research results and historical data. When you collect many data sets, for example from the Norwegian Road Administration, the municipality, the EU, weather and traffic data and sensor data from us, this data can be used to predict poor air quality with the help of artificial intelligence. It is almost impossible for a human being to do, explains the business developer.

In the long term, Gabrielsen envisions that such predictions can be used to encourage residents to burn less from their fireplaces in given periods of time, as it is often burning that is the main cause of poor air quality in cities. An incentive could, for example, be that residents who stop lighting the fireplace, something that will be possible to monitor with the help of sensors, can get half price for electricity during the relevant period.

Microsoft offers assistance

On the way there, however, a start-up company needs help, both with financing, good advice and follow-up. This is where the giant Microsoft comes in. The technology company has massive expertise in digital systems and was well represented at the conference, both as a sponsor and partner in the industry cluster Cluster for Applied AI, but also as a speaker and participant in the panel debate.

Izabela Hawrylko is a solutions consultant within Data&AI at Microsoft and co-leader of the Microsoft for Startups Norway Team. She was Microsoft's emissary in the panel debate.

- The most important thing for us to bring with us is different perspectives. Being here and hearing from start-up companies like AirMont allows us to think about how Microsoft can assist with its resources and, not least, funding. With the size we have, I believe there follows a responsibility to support companies and academia. That's why it's important to take part in conferences like this one, talk to people and hear what kind of challenges they have, says Hawrylko.

She is clear that there are far too many people who talk about artificial intelligence and want to test it out in their organisation, but without being willing to make the organizational changes required to succeed with new technological solutions.

- Technology is important, but you must also be able to use the technology and change the organization so that you get the most out of the technology. There is no point in acquiring an innovative solution if you don't know how to use it, or he a plan to use it. We see that artificial intelligence has been very hyped up and used as a buzzword, and I hope that more companies eventually understand that you also have to have a plan to put it into use, she points out.

Even bigger next year

Two of the initiators behind AI+ are Knut Johansen, managing director of eSmart Systems, and Tomas Nordlander, research director at the Institute of Energy Technology (IFE). They were both very satisfied with the implementation of this year's digital conference and are looking forward to next year - which will hopefully be a physical event.

- This has become a conference at the top international level. Those who participate get very good and useful input, says Johansen.

- During the first conference this autumn we learned a great deal and we have now had a second conference which has gone very well, but there is still much to improve. Then maybe the third conference will be an even bigger physical event, and then we've had two training rounds, adds Nordlander with a smile.

AI+ was organized by Smart Innovation Norway, eSmart Systems , Institute of Energy Technology (IFE) and Halden municipality , in collaboration with the industry cluster Cluster for Applied AI .