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e-Flex - Digital Platform for Energy Trade and Consumer Flexibility
In the e-Flex innovation project, which ran from 2020 to February 2025, a new way to make the energy company Kraftringen’s energy system more environmentally friendly, resource-efficient and robust was tested in the cities Lund and Eslöv in Sweden.
The core of the project was the development of a digital platform for consumer flexibility that creates increased collaboration between energy companies and property owners.
Through optimized flexibility control, it is possible to reduce the load on the energy system while allowing property owners to reduce their costs – a win-win-win for the property owner, the energy company and the climate.
PROJECT GOALS
The goal of the project was to create a more flexible energy system through increased collaboration between energy companies and property owners.
Many property owners have the opportunity to adapt how they use their heating and cooling systems. For customers with both district heating and heat pumps, the platform ensures that the energy source with the lowest environmental impact or cost is always used. For properties that only use district heating, the platform optimizes heat use by shifting heat output to times with lower district heating production costs.
Benefits for energy companies:
- Short- and long-term economically optimized production plans with flexibility from buildings included
- The energy system is relieved at times when the demand is high
- A more climate-smart and robust energy system
- Automatic scenario calculations using a Work-Flow-Engine
- Simultaneous optimization of production plans and contracts
- Confirmation of production plans and trading volumes
- Visualization and follow-up solutions for the production planner, trader, management and control room.
Benefits for property owners:
- Increased opportunity to co-optimize their heating, cooling and electricity use, and reduce their energy costs
- Being a part of smart city solutions
- Lower energy use in buildings
- Reduce their climate impact and strengthen their green profile.
TEST OBJECTS AND RESULTS
During the project period, the platform was developed and tested on a number of properties in the Lund hospital area and in the city of Eslövs’s property portfolio.
In 2024, the property owner LKF also connected to the platform.
The result of the project is a replicable digital tool that reduces both the property owners’ heating costs and Kraftringen’s production costs.
LESSONS LEARNED
The results of the project show that the digital platform contributes to increased collaboration between property owners and energy companies, which creates a more resource- and cost-efficient energy system with reduced environmental impact that benefits both the property owners and the energy company.
NEXT STEP
Currently, the SmartFlex energy source service is being further developed within the CoAction Lund project with the aim of using the property owners’ heat pumps as a resource on the intraday market to reduce the occurrence of imbalances.
For the property owner, this means that further cost savings can be made while helping to create real benefit in the energy system through reduced imbalances.
During the 2025/2026 heating season, further pilot tests will be carried out with some of our larger customers. After that, we hope to be able to launch the product broadly.
PROJECT PARTNERS
The project had a broad partnership with different types of organizations. Except Energy Opticon and Kraftringen (partly owned by the Municipality of Lund), the region of Skåne, Lund University, RISE research institute and the cluster organization Sustainable Business Hub was involved.
The project was financed by project parties and the Swedish Energy Agency.
Interested in knowing more?
Read more about the project on Kraftringen’s webpage and follow the e-Flex LinkedIn page!
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