Online conference of the EU project Platone exceeds expectations

15th September 2021: At the two-day conference of the Platone research project, around 300 participants took a look at the results and challenges of flexibility in the power supply system. B.A.U.M. Managing Director Ludwig Karg moderated the second day of the event, which focused on the role of energy communities in the energy transition.

The Platone (Platform for Operation of Distribution Networks) project, funded under the European Union's Horizon 2020 framework program for research and innovation, runs for a total of four years, from 2019 to 2023. 

Now halfway through the project, the consortium invited to the midterm conference "Growing the transition" on September 14 and 15, 2021.  

As a consortium member of Platone and significantly involved in the organization of the conference, we are also pleased on behalf of B.A.U.M. about the active participation and the constructive discussions on both days of the virtual conference. 

High-quality presentations and impulses in several thematic forums offered numerous suggestions to promote the exchange of knowledge and know-how for the energy transition and to show how forces can be bundled. Always with the aim of both expanding knowledge professionally and bringing it to a wider audience.

Day 1 – Growing strong

The first day of the conference was moderated by Platone project coordinator Prof. Antonello Monti from RWTH Aachen University. The program started with keynote speeches by inspiring speakers who shared valuable insights on how to advance the energy transition with flexibility and digitalization. The invited experts included Jan Kostevc, Team Leader Energy Infrastructure at ACER, Ercole de Luca, Innovation Manager at Platone and Head of Electrical System Development at areti and Susanne Nies, Managing Director Germany at smartwires. 

The presentations stimulated interactive discussions between the participants and our experts in two breakout sessions "Flexibility and Digitalization in the Energy Transition and the Role of Regulation", moderated by Prof. Antonello Monti, and "Flexibility and Innovation of the Grid", moderated by Kristen Glennung from E.DSO, also a Platone consortium member.

The highlight of the afternoon featured the virtual launch of the Italian demonstration project, which is testing a local market for energy and flexibilities in Rome. A one-hour video with detailed insights into the Italian field trial was followed by a panel discussion with CEOs from Platone partners and Italian institutions, who engaged in an exchange about the future of flexibility in the energy system in Italy.

Day 2 – Growing wide

On the second day, the top-class agenda was continued under the moderation of B.A.U.M. Managing Director Ludwig Karg. On this day, as well, the focus was on the energy turnaround and was enriched by three exciting keynote speeches that provided insights into the cooperation between distribution grid operators, energy communities, and consumers. The contributions came from speakers Laurent Schmitt, Head of Utilities and European Developments at dcbel, Dimitrios I. Doukas, CIO and Country Manager Greece at NET2GRID and Paul de Wit, Senior Advisor Regulatory Affairs at Alliander. 

The participants then discussed the different perspectives in two breakout sessions, "DSOs and energy communities cooperating for the energy transition" with Paul de Wit and Dimitros I. Doukas and "The engagement of consumers in the energy transition" with Laurent Schmitt and Simone Minniti.

Following this, Benjanim Petters from Platone consortium partner Avacon provided insights into the German demonstration project, located in Twistringen, Lower Saxony, and shed light on motivation, objectives, design, and components. The Greek project partners, represented by Stavroula Tzioka from consortium partner HEDNO, also provided exciting insights into the structure of the Greek demonstration project and explained current findings and recent developments.

The second day ended with a stimulating discussion on the two central questions "What are the challenges related to consumer inclusion?" and "How can we improve the lives of consumers?"

The concluding discussion revealed that the creation of incentives for consumers and customers should still be considered as the main task. Whether this can be achieved through new framework structures or through market mechanisms remained an open question. However, it was emphasized as important that the Platone research project offers the space for a flexible design and development of solution approaches that enable flexible distribution of electricity beyond the purely technical.

We would like to thank all participants for their inspiring ideas and contributions.