On 4th and 5th December 2023, third project meeting and workshop of BungEES project took place on premises of AFB Foundation in Prague, Czech Republic. Meeting was opened by Jaroslav Maroušek from SEVEn, followed by presentation about current state of affairs in development smart energy efficiency services concept and relevant business model for a one-stop-shop by Jiří Karásek (SEVEn). Project identified several technologies that should be in the point of focus of the project (CO2/gas sensors, motion sensors, heat pumps, batteries, PVs, smart thermostat and e-mobility). Focus was put on family houses and apartment buildings. Also, many different flexibility options were identified together with use and management of data. Next step is to aggregate various services into usable one-stop-shop packages and business models by using business model canvas.
This part was followed by presentation by Anne Kesserling (Fraunhofer) about Fraunhofer study of X-as-a-service (XaaS) model and ways of using it for smart energy products. The study was performed among companies of various sizes in the form of semi-structured interviews. Various benefits (transparency, engagement, reduced cost for customer) and motivations (sustainability, circularity, digitalization, scalability) were identified, as well as technical barriers and challenges (legacy systems, dependencies, interoperability, data access) as perceived by questioned companies. Three reasons were identified for why companies are often holding back in implementation of XaaS model: external constrains (regulatory framework), market development (general maturity) and company making strategic choice to retain multiple revenue models.
Next on the programme was presentation on study and development of new service “FlexiSmart Home” by Juan Urresti De Las Alas Pumarino (Eni Plenitude) and Gaspard Cebal (Voltalis). It included description of the idea, information about the market surveys and more about the pilot rollout of the service in Spain.
After that, Jiří Karásek (SEVEn) gave presentation on non-energy benefits, their analysis and assessment of services to be included in the BungEES one-stop shop. Presentation contained introduction into non-energy benefits, their definition and examples and results of a survey about the non-energy benefits carried out in Czech Republic, Portugal, France and Spain. Several technical solutions used to assess non-energy benefits were identified (like data analysis, case studies, simulation and modelling etc.). Challenges in quantifying non-energy benefits were also presented, as well as ways of their monetization. Presentation was concluded by identifying the next steps that need to be taken in implementation of non-energy benefits within the BungEES project (monetization of non-energy benefits, their catalogue and their integration into the business model).
Block of presentations was followed by panel discussion with 6 panelists: Antonio Colino Martínez from EniPlenitude Iberia, Pierre Bivas from Voltalis, František Doktor from ViaEuropa Competence Centre, Marian Klobasa from Fraunhofer, Jiří Karásek from SEVEn and Anibal de Almeida from ISR of University of Coimbra. Main topic of the panel discussion were perspectives, opportunities and barriers for market uptake of Smart Energy Efficiency Services (SEES). The key outcomes from the panel discussion were:
- Recognition of renewable energy integration as both an opportunity and challenge, with energy storage, especially evolving lithium batteries, identified as a solution to the supply-demand mismatch.
- Acknowledgment of distributed energy storage as a crucial component for high-quality energy services at competitive prices, emphasizing the importance of integrating supply and demand using ICT (Information and Communication Technology).
- Emphasis on the necessity for infrastructure, automation, and service investments to make smart energy efficiency services more affordable, with demand response and demand-side flexibility solutions as key contributors.
- Instruments like the Energy Efficiency Directive and Renewable Energy Directive and the Energy Performance of Building Directive are driving forces for the industry’s growth.
- Exploration of the potential of batteries with electronic controls to provide fast binary responses, particularly in balancing supply and demand, with distributed storage, electric vehicles, and PV panels identified as assets contributing to system flexibility.
- Highlighting challenges related to the distribution grid, congestion, and the need for smart charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, emphasizing the importance of preparing infrastructure for future technological advances.
After the panel discussion, the workshop officially ended. Project meeting between partners continued the next day, focusing on internal management of the project.
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