After three years of intensive collaboration, the energy data-X innovation project—which focused on establishing a secure, sovereign, and decentralized data ecosystem for the energy sector—has come to an end.
As the number of decentralized generation facilities, prosumers, and flexible consumers increases, coordinating the various stakeholders and processes within the energy system is becoming more complex. Up-to-date and reliable data, as well as efficient data exchange, are therefore becoming increasingly important. This is where energy data-X comes in: The innovation project is creating a shared, Gaia-X-compliant data ecosystem for the German energy sector. Within this ecosystem, data remains decentralized with the data owners but can be made available and exchanged according to fixed rules and at the owners’ discretion. At the same time, it enables standardized data exchange within the energy sector as well as with adjacent sectors. This lays the foundation for efficient energy industry processes and innovative, data-driven business models that support the transformation of the energy system and contribute to achieving German and European energy and climate goals.
A key contribution by PPC was to integrate the intelligent metering system (iMSys) infrastructure—which is currently being rolled out—into the architecture of this data ecosystem as a digital and highly secure communication platform. Data from the smart meter gateway (SMGW) serves as a key source in this context. This data can be used, for example, to optimize existing processes such as balancing group management or as the basis for new business models. The goal is to make this information accessible to authorized parties while ensuring data protection.
Simplifications for balancing groups, greater flexibility in the event of deviations
In a prototype data ecosystem, the use cases “Balancing Group Management Quality” and “FleX” demonstrated how energy industry data can be utilized. For example, the “Balancing Group Management Quality” use case enables balancing group managers to determine the status of their balancing group in near real time and, through more precise forecasts, to better coordinate feed-ins and withdrawals within the balancing group. In combination with “FleX,” short-term flexibility is additionally activated, thereby reducing deviations within the balancing group. This can lower the demand for control energy, which reduces both costs and CO₂ emissions.
What’s New for the TAF-7
Various use cases were successfully tested as part of the multi-stage laboratory and field tests conducted at Fraunhofer IEE. One success of the project was the ad hoc transmission of 15-minute TAF-7 data from the SMGW to the metering point operator (MSB) and its subsequent forwarding to authorized parties via the data ecosystem. In addition, an EEBUS-compatible heat pump was successfully controlled via the PPC CLS adapter as part of the developed “flexibility call test.” This enables balancing group managers to track the requested flexibility based on the provided measurement and control data and to verify actual performance as part of a proof of performance. Most recently, data from the power measurement system of a wind turbine was also captured via the SMGW. This demonstrates how data from larger generation facilities can also be integrated into the ecosystem via the iMSys infrastructure and made available for further applications.
energy data-X demonstrates how energy industry data can be provided securely and in a standardized manner and utilized for existing processes as well as new business models. The integration of the iMSys infrastructure provides an important technical foundation for this. Building on this foundation, the data ecosystem created as part of the innovation project is to be further developed and gradually scaled even after the project ends.
We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all project partners for their trusting and successful collaboration.
The innovation project “energy data-x” was funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.
