The European electricity system undergoes significant changes driven by the European Union (EU) common rules for the internal market for electricity, as well as by the climate action agenda. The European Green Deal is also an opportunity for modernizing the energy system in order to make it competitive and sustainable with regard to the environment. Unlike previous decades when electricity was mainly supplied from conventional energy sources such as fossil fuels (coal, gas) and nuclear energy, renewable energy sources (wind plants, photo-voltaic and solar plants in combination with battery storage systems will be predominant in future smart grids.

This paper analyses the challenges that result from penetration of variable renewable energy sources) in the electricity value chain and the need for future innovative solutions. Because the generation relies on variable and unpredictable natural resources, the volatile production of renewable energy sources creates particular challenges for the daily balancing process, i.e. for balancing any deviations between the planned or forecast production and demand, on the one side, and the actual outturn in real-time, on the other side. Hence, integration of different innovative applications is needed for balancing the supply against the demand, powerful scheduling of energy supply and trading, transparency in operations, etc.

This paper is also motivated by the recent strategic priorities of the European Union regarding the implementation of data ecosystems or data spaces for different industries. The EU foresees transformation of existing industry value chain processes, the introduction of intermediaries and marketplaces, the introduction of SOA platforms that address both dimensions of change

• integrated business processes supported by cross-functional teams; and
• integrated tools along the entire value chain that enable the processes.

Download PPT