Project flexQgrid

The energy system is changing

Today, large power plants are increasingly being replaced by smaller decentralized plants that use renewable energy sources. Furthermore, the demand for electricity is rising due to the increase in electric vehicles and electric-powered heating systems. The grid of the future will be characterized by many of these decentralised units. This also has an impact on the distribution grid in which these plants are connected.

This is because distribution grids, which were previously only passive and distributed electricity from the large power plants into your home, are now becoming active. There are already areas in which at certain times more electricity is generated than consumed. On sunny days, the distribution grid cannot transport all the electricity produced from renewable sources, so that nowadays larger units are being shut down. Renewable energies are therefore not being used to the maximum. Our goal is to change this.

flexQgrid. The grid of the future becomes real.

What happens in the grid? This is one of the main questions in flexQgrid. In which state is the grid currently? How will the grid components be utilised tomorrow? The grid becomes transparent and we can forecast and avoid situations in which the grid and its resources are overloaded by an intelligent interaction of all components. Therefore, we are jointly developing solutions that operate in the three traffic light phases of the so-called grid traffic light. We gather practical experience in tests in the NETZlabor of Netze BW in Freiamt and in laboratory tests at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.

Project Details

  • Project Duration: November 2019 – October 2022 (3 years)
  • 9 partners from grid operation, industry and science
  • 1-year field test from summer 2021

Our Mission

From grid operation to the individual units: We consider all components of the energy system of the future.
We connect all players within the energy processes and test our solution in real-life in cooperation with citizens.
We enable the energy transitionby integrating a maximum of renewable energies into the grid.
We integrate all decentralised units and continue to guarantee secure grid operation.

Freiamt – the field test area in numbers

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kW
Installed renewable generation capacity
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h
Sunshine hours in 2018
More about the field test

News

Einladung: Webseminar zu unserem NETZlabor Freiamt (flexQgrid) im Rahmen der Energiewendetage BW
10. September 2020

Immer mehr Strom kommt heute aus erneuerbaren Energiequellen und wird oft dezentral erzeugt. Doch welche Auswirkungen hat es, wenn große Strommengen in die unteren Spannungsebenen des Verteilnetzes – also in das Netz, das Ihnen den Strom nach Hause bringt – eingespeist werden? Und wie könnte ein Verteilnetz der Zukunft aussehen, wenn die Stromerzeugung vom Wetter abhängt, E­-Autos und andere Verbraucher aber oft gleichzeitig hohe Leistungen benötigen? Das Projekt flexQgrid entwickelt dafür innovative und intelligente Lösungen. Überzeugen Sie sich selbst und nehmen Sie an unserem Webseminar teil!

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How flexQgrid uses the blockchain technology for the quota-based secondary market
27. July 2020

In flexQgrid a local market concept is developed for the optimal use of local flexibility between households and small industrial plants. BlockInfinity uses a decentralised, self-developed blockchain-based protocol to ensure that all bids arrive safely and unchanged in the market and that the market is "fair matched".

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Further news

Integrating as much electricity from renewable energy systems as possible into the grid - that is the goal of the nationwide unique flexQgrid project. According to the motto 'switch on flexible consumers when wind and sun are available'“.

Martin Konermann, Technical Director Netze BW GmbH

With flexQgrid, we want to show that flexible units in the distribution grid can also eliminate congestions using market instruments.

Alois Wichtlhuber, member of the board of Entelios AG

It will be interesting to use the results obtained in simulations in the field test and validate and specify models and statements for the grid of the future using real data.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Leibfried, Head of the Institute for Electrical Energy Systems and High-Voltage Technology at KIT

Partners

Developing the grid of the future together.We are working on our solutions in a strong consortium of nine partners for the next three years to make the grid of the future a reality. The partners from the fields of grid operation, industry and science yield years of expertise in their respective fields to the project. The individual elements - components and players in the energy world - are thus optimally combined to create a joint solution for the future grid.