Future smart grids require the effective interaction between energy markets and electricity grid management systems in order to introduce new services and mitigate risks introduced by high RES penetration. FLEXGRID envisages the orchestration and integration of: i) advanced electricity grid models and tools, ii) flexibility assets’ management tools, and iii) data analytics and accurate forecasts of the various markets and RES production, in order to guarantee cost-effective and stable electricity grids. Towards this end, FLEXGRID project proposes a holistic future smart grid architecture able to accommodate high RES penetration through the advancement, interaction and integration of: i) innovative models that are based on recent advances in game theory in order to quantify and highly improve the trade-off between the various future energy markets’ requirements (Real Time, Efficient, Strategy Proof, Competitive, Scalable, Fair and Privacy Protecting) and guarantee, theoretically and in practice, the “fairness” of the equilibrium points that energy markets reach, ii) grid system models that use optimization theory to achieve more efficient market clearing and Optimal Power Flow (OPF) algorithms to achieve scalability, in a way that must also be Low Overhead, Multi-period, Robust and Network Upgrade Planning Aware, and iii) innovative Business Models through the use of artificial intelligence, which can be exploited by modern Energy Service Providers (ESPs) and RES Producers (RESPs) to achieve economic and operational benefits through their efficient interaction with FLEXGRID’s advanced markets and electricity grid models. FLEXGRID will help: i) DSOs/TSOs manage safely and at low cost their electricity grid by interacting with ESPs and RESPs through novel flexibility market procedures, ii) modern ESPs become more competitive and sustainable,and iii) RESPs optimally compose and exploit their production in a risk-averse manner by making their RES generation dispatchable.

CyberSEAS (Cyber Securing Energy dAta Services) ambition is to improve the resilience of energy supply chains, protecting them from disruptions that exploit the enhanced interactions and extended involvement models of stakeholders and consumers in complex attack scenarios, characterised by the presence of legacy systems and the increasing connectivity of data feeds. It has 3 strategic objectives: 1) countering the cyber risks related to highest impact attacks against EPES; 2) protecting consumers against personal data breaches and attacks; and 3) increasing the security of the Energy Common Data Space. All three objectives are equally important, since cyber-criminals are shifting tactics to favour multi-stage attacks in which stealing sensitive data is a precondition for the real attack, and enables them to maximise damage and profits (while traditionally infrastructure cyber-attacks used to be direct attacks to the machinery and typically targeted control systems, not data). Threat actors, especially large ones such as nation states, also carry out complex attacks that leverage supply chain dependencies, and this trend continues to grow, as highlighted in the July 2020 analysis by the Atlantic Council. Likewise, with the transition to scenarios where users are proactively involved, prosumer data is becoming more and more sensitive. To achieve these objectives, CyberSEAS delivers an open and extendable ecosystem of 30 customisable security solutions providing effective support for key activities, and in particular: risk assessment; interaction with end devices; secure development and deployment; real-time security monitoring; skills improvement and awareness; certification, governance and cooperation. CyberSEAS solutions are validated through experimental campaigns consisting of 100+ attack scenarios, tested in 3 labs before moving out to one of 6 piloting infrastructures across 6 European countries. Out of the 30 solutions, 20 will reach TRL8+ and 10 TRL7.

The objective of the ATTEST project is to develop and operationalize a modular open source toolbox comprising a suite of innovative tools to support TSOs / DSOs operating, maintaining and planning the energy systems of 2030 and beyond in an optimised and coordinated manner, considering technical, economic and environmental aspects. The consortium, from six EU countries, that has been assembled to deliver ATTEST consists of five highly experienced research organisations in the energy systems area, two utilities that manage and operate the transmission system and the distribution system in Croatia, and two industry partners that specialise in the development of advanced ICT solutions and SCADA systems. The development of this broad spectrum of energy-related ICT tools and the utilization of next generation algorithms, demonstrated in a real world environment has not been attempted before. The outputs from the ATTEST project will enable accelerated dissemination, by a wide range of research institutions, within and outside of the project consortium, of the tools that will help TSOs and DSOs to better manage their networks. The demonstration of the results of the project will be valuable for the scientific community and EU energy industry and attest to the relevance of the solutions developed. The ATTEST’s ambition is to enable a wide range of users to utilize and test the tools developed in the project, thereby contributing to spread knowledge and experience in the energy systems community in the EU and on a global scale. This will contribute significantly to addressing not only the specific challenges of the call and the Horizon 2020 Energy Work Program, but also those of the EU’s Energy Union strategy and the 2020 Climate & Energy package.

HEDGE-IoT proposes a novel Digital Framework which aims to deploy IoT assets at different levels of the energy system (from behind-the-meter, up to the TSO level), to add intelligence to the edge and cloud layers through advanced AI/ML tools and to bridge the cloud/edge continuum introducing federated applications governed by advanced computational orchestration solutions. The HEDGE-IoT Framework will upgrade the RES-hosting capacity of the energy systems and will unleash a previously untapped flexibility potential. It will increase the resilience of the grid, create new market opportunities and promote advances in IoT standardization, by introducing and managing a plethora of diversified, interoperable energy services over scalable and highly distributed data platforms and infrastructure. The multi-dimensional framework of HEDGE-IoT comprises the following pillars: (a) the Technology Facilitator Pillar will exploit the computational sharing by offloading applications on the grid edge, towards providing a set AI/ML federated learning and swarm computing applications; (b) the Interoperability Pillar, which leverages on leading-edge interoperable architectures, such as the Data Space architectures; (c) the Standardisation Pillar will enable all involved platforms, systems, tools and actors to seamlessly communicate and exchange data in standardized formats using widely used standards, such as SAREF, etc.; (d) the Digital Energy Ecosystem Enabling Pillar will ensure the creation of an ecosystem facilitating the increased integration of RES and characterised by resilience. Liaisons with EU initiatives for IoT and digitalisation will be established (e.g., the AIOTI) and the engagement of stakeholders will be ensured by addressing IoT ethics and cultivating trust among end-users, thus promoting inclusivity. Scalability and replicability studies will be performed and connections with innovators and SMEs will be established through the Open Call mechanism of the project.

CROSSBOW will propose the shared use of resources to foster cross-border management of variable renewable energies and storage units, enabling a higher penetration of clean energies whilst reducing network operational costs and improving economic benefits of RES and storage units . The objective is to demonstrate a number of different, though complementary, technologies, offering Transmission System Operators higher flexibility and robustness through: 1) A better control of exchange power at interconnection points; 2) new storage solutions – distributed and centralized-, offering ancillary services to operate Virtual Storage Plants (VSP); 3) better ICT and Communications -e.g. better network observability, enabling flexible generation and Demand Response schemas; 4) the definition of a transnational wholesale market, proposing fair and sustainable remuneration for clean energies though the definition of new business models supporting the participation of new players –i.e. aggregators - and the reduction of costs. The CROSSBOW results will be evaluated by 8 TSOs in Easter Europe, grouped to form clusters that will validate each of the projects outcomes in at least three different countries, demonstrating in all cases how CROSSBOW tackles the transnational challenges faced by these TSOs.