Monitoring and control services

We have knowledge in the field of:

• distributed (open source) data processing and storage platforms
• information architectures
• data-driven analysis of sensor and other data

We have also developed tools and products. Example include AnySense, which focuses on the collection, storage and distribution of large amounts of sensor data.

We know how to make centralised and distributed control of hybrid energy systems possible while taking into account the local situation.

Our areas of expertise are:

• stability of the electricity network
• matching electricity and heat supply with demand
• electric transport
• systems integration from a hybrid energy system perspective

We have also developed tools and products. The Powermatcher Suite helps to balance the supply and demand of electricity based on a price mechanism. The tool uses a generic device interface (EF-PI) which we developed. Another of our tools, Heatmatcher, is aimed at balancing heat.

We know how to bring multiple organisations together to jointly create value from data sharing. We have a great deal of experience with open innovation in value chains. And in aligning IT with business objectives and processes.

We support cooperation within the chain and interactive decision support by developing information platforms.

In this respect, we have knowledge in the field of:

• data visualisation and interaction
• scalable information platforms for streaming data
• flexible computing infrastructures.

Here, too, we have developed tools and products such as CommonSense. This is a visualisation framework for unlocking information for various stakeholders. It runs on multi-touch tables, laptops and mobile devices, among others. But also in Transient Apps, a software platform for automatically pushed apps on smartphones that are completely context dependent.

The calculation models used for the energy transition differ on several axes:

• Geographic: from international scale to building level.
• Process: from the vision creation in the area development phase, to the use and management of the infrastructure.
• Sources: many models look at the secondary energy carriers, such as heat, electricity or both; others also consider the primary energy carriers, such as coal, gas, wood pellets or uranium.
• Substantively: energy-related, financially, spatially or policy-related.

There is a great need for synergy between different models. For example, heat and electricity are closely linked, and the spatial scale levels and phases of area development must all be closely aligned. Local energy transition also deserves an integrated approach. Furthermore, models use different cost and benefit components, so the results for municipalities cannot be expressed in terms of provincial and national energy tasks.

The ESDL language ensures that different models use the same language regarding the energy system and have a uniform approach to the different data and key numbers. The builders of the computational models must implement ESDL for this purpose. With EDSL, we provide the dictionary and the grammar; the modellers must learn to speak the language. Parties that publish data, such as network operators, can use ESDL as their format.

ESDL can be used from residential to national level, and everything in between. By using this language, a city's energy system, for example, can be unambiguously described. Different models can then introduce modifications based on this configuration. For example, the installation of electric thermal pumps in one model can serve as a starting point for other models, which are then able to calculate the grid load. By agreeing on the data to be used, key numbers and input/output formats, the results of different models can be easily compared and totalled.

In the further development and application of ESDL, we are looking to collaborate with other parties, such as model builders and users, but also other stakeholders in the harmonisation of energy transition calculation models, such as public authorities. We’d like to meet you.