Since October 2016, DEXMA’s Research, Development and Innovation Department has been involved in a new R&D+i project called FlexDSM (Flexibility Demand-Side Management), soon to be integrated into DEXMA’s flagship energy management platform, DEXCell Energy Manager.
Through the FlexDSM project, DEXMA aims to use its wealth of experience in advanced energy analytics to boost demand-side management capacity in SMEs. As a tool for DSM enablement, FlexDSM will help small C&I players take their first steps toward demand response: one of the fastest-growing areas of energy innovation.
Demand Response: The Future of Energy Innovation
As market penetration of renewable energy sources and electric vehicles (EVs) continues to boom, the imbalance between production and energy demand is evident and as grid overload becomes increasingly common.
This overall grid inflexibility creates a new need: mechanisms that enable the active participation of new consumers to rebalance the grid, either through price signals or through the direct control of operators. The idea is to make the grid bidirectional, decentralised and more flexible by opening it up to smaller C&I actors beyond systems planners, operators or large customers with existing direct load control programs.
Drawing from successful examples in the US and following the evolution of leading European demand-side management markets (France, Belgium and the UK), the FlexDSM project aims to build the flexibility of small commercial and industrial consumers with hidden but high DSM capabilities.
What’s more, SMEs that want to facilitate the balance between power production and demand will actually get a financial reward for their energy management efforts.
About the FlexDSM Consortium
To recap, the objective of the FlexDSM project is to develop a system that will unlock the high-potential, hidden demand flexibility of small commercial and industrial businesses, through optimisation algorithms that reduce energy costs without sacrificing comfort or productivity.
This ambitious project will be carried out by a multidisciplinary consortium led by MTAIR, a French energy services and facilities management firm that will contribute its deep knowledge of the European demand-side management market.
DEXMA brings its best-in-class energy management software, DEXCell Energy Manager : a SaaS platform used in more than 10,000 buildings in 36 countries. DEXCell will serve as the foundation on which FlexDSM active demand management mechanisms will be built.
The FlexDSM project is funded by the Center for Industrial Technological Development (CDTI) via the INNOGLOBAL Program as well as BPI France, through the publicly-funded, intergovernmental Eureka Newtork.
The INNOGLOBAL Program is part of the CDTI portfolio that promotes the international technological cooperation of Spanish companies.
The main objective of the program is to support the participation of Spanish companies in global projects by exerting a “catalyst” effect that increases the number international projects, mobilises private investment, generates employment and improves Spain’s overall R&D track record.
