Lighting up the energy sector

Of all the changes taking place within the energy sector this year - and there have been plenty - the fact that live events made a comeback is without a doubt one of the most welcome. E-world returned in June, and last month, Enlit Europe 2022 in Frankfurt was the center of attention. Once more, it was great to see so many familiar faces and to find out how our friends and partners in the industry were coping with the challenges posed by the most serious energy crisis the world has faced in a long time.

Fortunately, all those individuals and companies have the same mindset as us at Navitasoft: crises are there to be overcome and they provide opportunities for everyone involved to come up with solutions that facilitate the sustainable development of the industry. Whether it was traders, utilities or innovators we talked to in Frankfurt, both informally and during panel discussions, we realized that we’re not alone in thinking that, despite the hardships, these are exciting times since there really is no end to what we can accomplish. Ultimately, the current crisis is only opening new doors.

We had several takeaways from the Hub Sessions:

1. Probably one of the most debated topics was how to get mid- and low-voltage distribution networks ready to successfully incorporate the decarbonization of the heating sector (using heat pumps), the decarbonization of the transport sector (aka e-vehicles) and a stable integration of prosumers (with rooftop solar) or prosumagers (solar + battery and/or e-vehicle).
   
   We gathered useful insights from a market design perspective, with ideas for how to further digitalize energy systems to strengthen flexibility (market) capabilities and provide more resources for balancing needs. 
    
2. Batteries, aggregators and VPPs are on the rise, however, smaller scale assets are still missing out on the opportunity. Mid- and smaller size end-users lack access to the rewards of high market prices, due to physical connection congestion and/or market design issues.
    
3. Despite the increasing number of Energy Community pilots and demonstrations across Europe, we still lack a unified and widely accepted definition of their activity scope and licensing obligations. It seems that many do not believe that an Energy Community should handle the internal settlement of power production within the asset-owning community.

Of course, as much as we enjoy acquiring knowledge, we also wanted to make sure that we shared ours with the visitors who came by our stand. After all, as the main software providers for energy companies in Central and Eastern Europe for trading and system operation, we have gained considerable expertise over the years - and what would be the use of keeping it all to ourselves instead of passing it on? By sharing, we can help our fellow industry players to make their own valuable contribution to a growing and increasingly modern industry and, ultimately, to a greener, brighter future.

At E-world we had already had the chance to present our new platform, the Energy Market of Things (EMoT), which centers around decentralization, and it was our showpiece once again. The interest it generated at Enlit proved that there is enormous demand for a solution that connects assets to power markets. To unlock the full potential of decentralized energy resources (DERs), we need to find a way for grid operators to actually realize that potential and have an incentive to connect DERs to the grid. EMoT can make them “visible” and help them become part of both wholesale energy markets and flexibility markets.

Today, when we talk about energy, we talk about data. Up-to-date, well-structured, reliable data helps you make better decisions and achieve your strategic goals. But with the emergence of sophisticated technologies such as smart meters, there are massive amounts of data that you need to store: hundreds of millions of messages are exchanged within the sector every year. Only data hubs can manage such volumes in a fast, secure and effective way.

Providing answers to questions about these two topics above was our main contribution to Enlit this year - that and our Hungarian Wine Tasting Party, which, as always, was a big hit with everyone who tried some of the delicious wines we served at our stand.

We hope your Enlit was as memorable and successful as ours, and we’re already looking forward to seeing you again at the next industry event.