Smart decentralised energy management

The German–Finnish research project FUture Smart Energy shows, how flexible devices, consuming or producing electricity in electric grids, can be self-organised in a fully decentralised way, using autonomous algorithms integrated with the devices' controllers. By shifting operation time, existing flexible devices are hereby utilised as ‘virtual batteries’, providing high storage capacity and power. To gain sufficient flexibility, a large number of devices like combined heat and power generators, heat pumps (HP), heaters, coolers, charging stations, pumps, household appliances and industrial plants, has to be coordinated. This results in a high system complexity for which the evaluated method provides an easy, resilient, cyber-secure and cost-effective solution. This novel technology uses a new market approach for electric energy systems. A real-time price signal is generated directly out of grid state variables, like frequency, voltage, power or current, and broadcast to the flexible devices. Without a need for central control, the flexible devices react like a natural swarm to the price signal. The system is easily and highly scalable, as adding and removing flexibilities does not imply adapting a central control system. The system can be operated parallel or in addition to existing energy markets.