Abstract
This workshop is an opening event for the NTRANS Use Case 7, exploring integrated markets for
energy and flexibility. The explicit goal of the workshop was to provide research guidelines, in the
form of literature gaps, to be further explored in subsequent work. This event is intended as a
collective work of synthesis, with participation from different sectors of the power market providing
first-hand accounts of the challenges related to flexibility in the current power system.
The program of the workshop consisted of presentations targeting an academic overview of the
status quo, industry experiences across sectors, panel discussions, and direct conversation uniting
different views into a common direction. Topics of discussion ranged from the European power
market design to future technologies that might affect it. This workshop served to gather practical
information and direct experiences from market participants in the supply, demand, grid
management and market sides. The workshop format facilitated the collection of relevant
information through collaborative work, and the identified knowledge gaps are listed in Table 1
below. Some of the relevant research gaps will be summarized in the following paragraphs.
On the demand side of the power market, the increased participation of distributed and renewable
energy sources increased the complexity of forecasting the cost of flexibility, as well as its availability.
Improved methods for forecast was identified as a research need and might incentivise the
development of in-house demand response solutions, e.g., battery or thermal storage. Those assets
might allow for a more inexpensive direct participation, especially due to the emergence of new
technologies, yet it remains to be defined to what extent the consumers can be directly involved.
The participation of active consumers ties directly with the supply side of the market, for which the
forecast of flexibility pricing is also relevant. Large and established players want to make investment
decisions on flexibility assets, while small participants are more concerned with how, due to low
expected profit margins, the distributed flexibility resources will be integrated into the market, and if
they might have to be coordinated by aggregators.
Distributed flexibility resources can be valuable for grid management and the coordination of power
flows at different levels. A related research question is defining the role of the electricity grid as a
flexible resource and how to best integrate it with other networks, due to potential substitution and
complementary aspects between flexibility products and grid investments.
A common thread uniting all sectors is the power market design. Local energy markets can offer
incentives to relieve congestion and postpone investment, yet how to organize those markets
remains to be researched.
Flexibility is a term with a broad meaning, and the definition of it varies across different sources in
academic literature, even within the partner research centres. Different angles of flexibility are more
relevant for each participant in the power market, and this suggests that further exploration should
be done with a specific focus on each sector. However, there are aspects of flexibility that affects the
power market as a whole, as the sectors are tightly interconnected.
Research on flexibility should, therefore, be organized around particular aspects that are relevant for
specific sectors, and at the same time in a manner that all participants will be invited to contribute,
because of the interconnected nature of flexibility. Future workshops will be organized by sector but
without losing sight of the complete picture.
energy and flexibility. The explicit goal of the workshop was to provide research guidelines, in the
form of literature gaps, to be further explored in subsequent work. This event is intended as a
collective work of synthesis, with participation from different sectors of the power market providing
first-hand accounts of the challenges related to flexibility in the current power system.
The program of the workshop consisted of presentations targeting an academic overview of the
status quo, industry experiences across sectors, panel discussions, and direct conversation uniting
different views into a common direction. Topics of discussion ranged from the European power
market design to future technologies that might affect it. This workshop served to gather practical
information and direct experiences from market participants in the supply, demand, grid
management and market sides. The workshop format facilitated the collection of relevant
information through collaborative work, and the identified knowledge gaps are listed in Table 1
below. Some of the relevant research gaps will be summarized in the following paragraphs.
On the demand side of the power market, the increased participation of distributed and renewable
energy sources increased the complexity of forecasting the cost of flexibility, as well as its availability.
Improved methods for forecast was identified as a research need and might incentivise the
development of in-house demand response solutions, e.g., battery or thermal storage. Those assets
might allow for a more inexpensive direct participation, especially due to the emergence of new
technologies, yet it remains to be defined to what extent the consumers can be directly involved.
The participation of active consumers ties directly with the supply side of the market, for which the
forecast of flexibility pricing is also relevant. Large and established players want to make investment
decisions on flexibility assets, while small participants are more concerned with how, due to low
expected profit margins, the distributed flexibility resources will be integrated into the market, and if
they might have to be coordinated by aggregators.
Distributed flexibility resources can be valuable for grid management and the coordination of power
flows at different levels. A related research question is defining the role of the electricity grid as a
flexible resource and how to best integrate it with other networks, due to potential substitution and
complementary aspects between flexibility products and grid investments.
A common thread uniting all sectors is the power market design. Local energy markets can offer
incentives to relieve congestion and postpone investment, yet how to organize those markets
remains to be researched.
Flexibility is a term with a broad meaning, and the definition of it varies across different sources in
academic literature, even within the partner research centres. Different angles of flexibility are more
relevant for each participant in the power market, and this suggests that further exploration should
be done with a specific focus on each sector. However, there are aspects of flexibility that affects the
power market as a whole, as the sectors are tightly interconnected.
Research on flexibility should, therefore, be organized around particular aspects that are relevant for
specific sectors, and at the same time in a manner that all participants will be invited to contribute,
because of the interconnected nature of flexibility. Future workshops will be organized by sector but
without losing sight of the complete picture.