A Harmonized, Optimized, and Integrated European Flexibility Market: Powering Europe's Energy and Water Transformation
Sergio Lazzarotto, President and Executive Director of DLMS UA, reveals how interoperability, digitalization, and data governance can drive Europe's next phase of energy and water transformation.
The Challenge: Turning Ambition into Action
Europe's energy sector is accelerating towards a resilient 2030 energy system. However, to turn shared ambition into collaborative action, the EU must move beyond fragmented national strategies and adopt integrated, harmonized frameworks at the European Union level.
The CEEDS Initiative: A Guide to Data Governance
The Common European Energy Data Space (CEEDS) Initiative is a key guide in this regard. Unlike standalone national initiatives, CEEDS collaboratively develops cross-border, scalable, and interoperable data governance systems.
Sector Coupling: Integrating Energy Sources
The future energy system goes beyond electricity. It integrates electricity, heat, and gas, requiring infrastructure planning in unison. This synergy is exemplified by sector coupling.
Public-Private Partnerships: Uniting Stakeholders
The energy transition demands collaboration. Europe can achieve this by bringing together utilities, regulators, hardware builders, and digital innovators to deploy energy systems at scale and safely.
Standardization: The Foundation of Success
Standardization is crucial. DLMS/COSEM, IEC, and Common Information Model (CIM) standards are not just technical facilitators; they are pillars of long-term investment security, interoperability, and cross-border integration. DLMS UA has been at the forefront of this work.
Key Areas for 2030: Competitive and Resilient Energy
To achieve competitive and resilient energy by 2030, Europe must address three key areas:
- Expand renewables rapidly and at scale, ensuring system stability and capacity solutions like storage, demand-side flexibility, and backup generation.
- Invest in grid digitalization: Smart, digital grids and strong cross-border infrastructure are essential for renewables' full potential.
- Design markets that reward flexibility and resilience, encouraging distributed energy resources (DERs), flexibility providers, and resilience services.
Standardization: The Cornerstone
Interoperable data exchange is vital for flexibility markets, digital grids, and scalable DER integration. Without it, Europe risks fragmented silos instead of resilient ecosystems.
2030 Energy Mix: A Renewable Future
By 2030, Europe's energy mix will be predominantly renewable, with solar and wind as key contributors, followed by hydro and bioenergy. Nuclear power will remain important in some member states.
Natural Gas Transition: A Gradual Shift
Natural gas use will decline, partly replaced by biogas and green hydrogen. System flexibility will come from distributed storage, demand response, and digitalized smart appliances.
Learning from Other Industries
The energy sector can learn from telecommunications and information technology.
- Telecommunications: Roaming and interoperability standards enabled cross-border phone usage. Energy markets need a similar approach for flexibility.
- Information Technology: Open ecosystems, quick innovation cycles, and strong cybersecurity are IT sector strengths. The energy transition can benefit from these.
Workforce Challenges: Reskilling and Talent Acquisition
The energy transition requires reskilling the workforce, attracting new talent like engineers and data scientists, and creating flexible workplaces that combine purpose with digital tools.
AI in Energy and Water: Untapped Potential
While AI has promise, large-scale rollouts are rare. The potential for predictive maintenance, smarter load forecasting, and leakage detection in water networks is significant, but trust, transparency, and governance are hurdles.
A Vision for 2030: A Harmonized Flexibility Market
Sergio envisions a fully harmonized European flexibility market, where devices seamlessly participate across borders. Universal interoperability standards for edge devices would provide a 'plug-and-play' experience, benefiting consumers, grid operators, and renewables integration.
Digitalization in the Water Sector: Efficiency and Sustainability
Digitalization transforms water management, especially in water-scarce areas. It enables water-on-demand models with flexible pricing, using smart meters and sensors for real-time data on pressure, quality, and temperature.
Addressing Non-Revenue Water
This data helps reduce non-revenue water, a global issue. Utilities can become more sustainable by billing actual water volume, ensuring responsible resource use.
Enlit Europe 2023: Sharing Expertise
At Enlit Europe in Bilbao, DLMS will share concrete roadmaps for standardization, showcasing Generic Companion Profiles for electricity, water, gas smart metering, and distributed flexibility initiatives.
Lessons from Digitalization
Three key lessons emerge: data standardization, cybersecurity as a foundation, and customer engagement and transparency.
Data for a Resilient Water Future
Data is crucial for a smarter and more resilient water system. Smart meters and sensors provide real-time data on water flow, pressure, and quality, enabling proactive maintenance and dynamic pricing.
DLMS UA's Role: Driving the Transition
DLMS UA plays a fundamental role in the energy and water transition:
- Standardizing energy and water data models for edge-to-cloud exchange.
- Providing state-of-the-art cybersecurity solutions proven at scale.
- Shortening time-to-market for manufacturers.
- Creating global standards with regional flexibility.
- Ensuring backward compatibility for long-term infrastructure investments.
The Water Smart Meter GCP: A Breakthrough
DLMS introduces the Water Smart Generic Companion Profile (WSM GCP), the first standardized data model for water meter data exchange, set for IEC adoption, ensuring secure and interoperable communication across devices and manufacturers.
