Five DSOs (CEZ distribuce, ERDF, EON, Enexis, Avacon) associated with power system manufacturers, electricity retailers and power system experts, propose a set of six demonstrations for 12 to 24 months. Within three years, they aim at validating the enabling role of DSOs in calling for flexibility sources according to local, time-varying merit orders. Demonstrations are designed to run 18 separate use cases involving one or several of the levers increasing the local energy system flexibility: energy storage technologies (electricity, heat, cold), demand response schemes with two coupling of networks (electricity and gas, electricity and heat/cold), the integration of grid users owning electric vehicles, and the further automation of grid operations including contributions of micro-grids. The use cases are clustered into three groups. Three use cases in Sweden and the Czech Republic address the enhancement of the distribution network flexibility itself. Five use cases in France, Germany and Sweden demonstrate the role of IT solutions to increase drastically the speed of automation of the distribution networks, which can then make the best use of either local single or aggregated flexibilities. Ten use cases in Czech Republic, France, The Netherlands and Sweden combine an increased network automation and an increased level of aggregation to validate the plausibility of local flexibility markets where both distributed generation and controllable loads can be valued. Replicability of the results is studied by the DSOs and industry with an in-depth analysis of the interchangeability and interoperability of the tested critical technology components. Dissemination targeting the European DSOs and all the stakeholders of the electricity value chain will be addressed by deployment roadmaps for the most promising use cases, thus nourishing the preparation of the practical implementation of the future electricity market design, the draft of which is expected by end of 2016.

While the electrical grid is moving from being a fully centralized to a highly decentralized system, grid operators have to change their operative business to accommodate for faster reactions and adaptive exploitation of flexibility. The topic has been subject of several research projects in the past years and reached a maturity that allows now the consideration of a final level, proposing an integrated view on the grid operations beyond the traditional barriers. OneNet aims at performing this critical step creating the conditions for a new generation of grid services able to fully exploit demand response, storage and distributed generation while creating fair, transparent and open conditions for the consumer. As result, while creating one network of Europe, the project aims to build a customer centric approach to grid operation. This ambitious view is achieved by proposing new markets, products and services and by creating a unique IT architecture. While a single platform for Europe is not thinkable, OneNet proposes innovative mechanisms of platform federation which are the key technical enablers for the proposed vision. The project has also very ambitious exploitation goals aiming at creating consensus on the solution far beyond the limits of the consortium partners thanks to a variety of actions including a large-scale forum for discussion within the international energy community. The complete concept is also proven in 4 cluster demos creating an involvement of an unprecedented number of countries and their grid operators in a single project. The consortium, in addition to a significant list of grid operators, includes also key IT players, leading research institutions and the two most relevant associations for grid operators, jointly providing a unique set of expertise in support to these challenging tasks.