FLEXCHESS, The Energy System of the Future is Flexible and Virtual
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The goal of FlexCHESS is to explore the opportunities offered by the digitalization of energy systems for the flexible integration of various storage systems, to make networks more resilient and ready for increasing integration of intermittent renewables.
The technological core of the project is the concept of the Hybrid Energy Storage System (HESS): a hybrid storage system that integrates both virtual and physical storage systems to provide flexibility to power grids, optimizing available sources in real time to balance energy supply and demand.
Iren and Iren Energia are participating in the project with a pilot installed at a company site in Turin, where advanced storage systems integrated with renewable sources and digital technologies are being tested aiming to study and implement Demand Response strategies with virtual storage, in collaboration with FlexCHESS partners.
FlexCHESS was born with the aim of developing solutions that enable the combined and intelligent use of different energy storage systems (Energy Storage Systems – ESS), both physical (e.g., batteries) and virtual (e.g., active demand control strategies). FlexCHESS is a European project co-funded by the Horizon Europe program of the European Commission. Coordinated by Aix-Marseille University, the project involves 13 partners from 8 countries, including Iren and Iren Energia, who contribute to the development of the Italian pilot.
Launched in December 2022, FlexCHESS intends to overcome the traditional limitations of centralized power grids by studying flexible networks capable of adapting in real time to energy supply and demand, thanks to advanced digital technologies.
Indeed, the large-scale introduction of renewable energy sources needs a new operational paradigm due to their inherent uncertainty and volatility. Additionally, transmission and distribution network overloads may become more frequent, requiring effective countermeasures. This highlights the central role of Energy Storage Systems (ESS), designed to store excess electricity and release it when needed, enabling supply-demand balancing and contributing to greater grid stability. This function can be performed by systems based on electrical storage, such as electrochemical batteries, or by active demand control, where adjustable loads—like electric vehicle charging or building air conditioning—could be used to align energy supply and demand in a mechanism commonly known as Demand Response.
FlexCHESS project aims to develop solutions capable of orchestrating the opportunities offered by these two options. Project activities seek to develop a flexibility approach based on the ability to exploit and aggregate various hybrid (physical and virtual) energy storage systems into a single virtual infrastructure to provide multiple flexibility services to the power grid, helping to meet the demands of electricity market, users, and climate challenges.
The ultimate goal is to ensure the maximum interoperability of the proposed solutions. To validate and assess these solutions, five pilot demonstration sites with different resources in various countries are planned, including the Italian site where Iren and Iren Energia are actively involved. FlexCHESS aims to define various scenarios to evaluate performance and flexibility capacity through field tests or simulations, presenting itself as a practical and operational solution to address the uncertainties linked to increasing integration of intermittent renewable energy into power grids. The goal is to assess the potential of integrated systems to provide flexibility services to the grid, such as load balancing and managing fluctuations in renewable energy production.
THE TURIN PILOT PROJECT
The site chosen for the Italian pilot is located in Turin, within one of Iren and Iren Energia’s company premises. The pilot is testing a hybrid storage system (physical and virtual) that networks various components already present at the site, including: a photovoltaic system, a set of electric vehicle charging stations, chillers used for environmental cooling, and a cutting-edge lithium battery with modulation capacity provided by Toshiba, one of the project’s technology partners. The Italian pilot tests are currently underway, thanks to the collaboration of other project partners and involved Iren and Iren Energia departments. The project also includes a data sharing and transmission infrastructure for the pilot assets with the FlexCHESS project platform, which several partners are developing and testing for project purposes.
A EUROPEAN EXCHANGE FOR LARGE-SCALE GOALS: THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN TURIN
Turin hosted the latest General Assembly of FlexCHESS project, an important meeting opportunity for project partners, organized and hosted by Iren and Iren Energia on May 28th – 29th.
Participants had the chance to observe the Italian pilot assets up close and see firsthand the application of the discussed technologies to test the flexibility offered by electrical technologies and storage systems. The event was a significant moment of gathering and sharing among partners from various European countries, fostering idea exchange and international collaboration, and strengthening ties among partners to promote innovation in the energy sector.
The FlexCHESS project is a concrete step toward a more resilient, sustainable, and democratic energy future, where every element—from solar panels to electric car batteries—can actively contribute to the functioning of the power grid. The experience of the Turin pilot—and more broadly of the FlexCHESS project—aims to demonstrate that it is possible to build a distributed model where energy is managed not only efficiently but also intelligently, flexibly, and collaboratively.