To select the best of these proposals we assembled a jury of highly qualified representatives from Nordic Energy Research and the Nordic energy community, who assessed the submitted proposals and chose the most relevant, complete, comprehensive and innovative contributions.

Jury Members

• Klaus Skytte, Chair of the jury and CEO at Nordic Energy Research.
• Rune Volla, Director for the department of energy research at the Research Council of Norway and board member of Nordic Energy Research.
• Marielle Lahti, Senior advisor at the Swedish Energy Markets Inspectorate and previously Director Smart Grids and Electricity at Swedish Smart Grid Forum.
• Peter Lund, Professor in Advanced Energy Systems at Aalto University in Finland and Advisor at the Initiative for Sustainable Energy Policy (ISEP).
• Birte Holst Jørgensen, Senior researcher at DTU Wind Energy and previously CEO at Nordic Energy Research.

The jury has selected the three finalists of Nordic Energy Challenge 2020

In non-priority order – the finalists are:

1. Simon Vilms Pedersen from University of Southern Denmark (SDU) with the proposal:
   On the Road to Nordic Decarbonization 2050
2. Claire Bergaentzlé, Philipp Andreas Gunkel and Daniel Møller Sneum from Denmark’s Technical University (DTU) with the proposal:
   A sustainable and integrated Nordic region
3. Marianne Zeyringer from University of Oslo (UiO) with the proposal:
   Unlocking the renewable energy potential in the Nordics

The jury’s selection of the finalists is based on the guiding principles set out in the call for submissions and the listed objectives and requirements.

Within Flex4RES the following papers are available:

33 published journal articles and book chapters,
22 peer reviewed, published conference papers,
11 reports,
15 forthcoming journal articles under review

on subjects related to the transition to flexible, decarbonised energy systems based increasingly on variable renewables. If you do not have direct access to the articles, please do not hesitate to contact the authors that would be pleased to send you a copy.

Reports

K. Skytte, C. Bergaentzlé, F. Fausto, P.A. Gunkel, Flexible Nordic Energy Systems. Summary Report, 2019. 120 p. Nordic Energy Research, https://www.nordicenergy.org/article/act-fast-and-nordic-while-paving-the-way-for-carbon-neutrality/ ISBN: 978-87-93458-65-9

Bergaentzlé, L. R. Boscán Flores, K. Skytte, E. R. Soysal, and O. J. Olsen, Framework conditions for flexibility in the electricity sector in the Nordic and Baltic Countries. 2016. ISBN: 978-87-93458-46-8

Blom, and L. Söder. Including Hydropower in Large Scale Power System Models. Available from http://kth.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A1320598&dswid=-4766

R. Boscán Flores et al., Framework conditions for flexibility in the Gas–Electricity interface of Nordic and Baltic countries: A focus on Power-to-Gas (P2G). 2017. ISBN: 978-87-93458-50-5  https://www.nordicenergy.org/publications/framework-conditions-for-flexibility-in-the-gas-electricity-interface-of-nordic-and-baltic-countries/

Crosara, E. Tomasson, and L. Söder, Generation Adequacy in the Nordic and Baltic Region: Case Studies from 2020 to 2050. KTH, 2019. Available from http://kth.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A1336561&dswid=-9620

Karimi, P. D. Lund, K. Skytte, and C. Bergaentzlé, Better Policies Accelerate Clean Energy Transition. Policy brief – Focus on energy system flexibility. 2018. Available: https://www.nordicenergy.org/article/better-policies-accelerate-clean-energy-transition/  ISBN: 978-87-93458-56-7.

Koivisto, P. Sørensen, P. Maule, E. Nuño, Needs for Flexibility Caused by the Variability and Uncertainty in Wind and Solar Generation in 2020, 2030 and 2050 Scenarios. DTU Wind, 2017.

Møller Sneum, D. Blumberga, J. Katz, and O. J. Olsen, Framework conditions for flexibility in the individual heating-electricity interface. 2017. Available: http://www.nordicenergy.org/publications/framework-conditions-forflexibility-in-the-individual-heating-electricity-interface/ ISBN: 9788793458499

Møller Sneum, E. Sandberg, E. R. Soysal, K. Skytte, and O. J. Olsen, Framework conditions for flexibility in the district heating-electricity interface. 2016. ISBN: 978-87-93458-42-0 https://www.nordicenergy.org/publications/framework-conditions-for-flexibility-in-the-district-heating-electricity-interface/

Skytte, L. Söder, N. Mohammad, Methodology of Determine Flexibility Costs and Potentials and major flexibility potentials in the Nordic and Baltic countries. DTU/KTH, 2018.

Sønderberg Petersen, R. B. Berg, C. Bergaentzlé, S. Bolwig, and K. Skytte, Eds., Smart grid Transitions: System solutions and consumer behaviour. Department of Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, 2017. ISBN: 978-87-93458-51-2

Published journal articles & books

Arabzadeh, S. Pilpola, and P. D. Lund, Coupling Variable Renewable Electricity Production to the Heating Sector through Curtailment and Power-to-heat Strategies for Accelerated Emission Reduction, Futur. Cities Environ., vol. 5, no. 1, Jan. 2019. DOI:10.5334/fce.58

Bergaentzlé, I. Græsted Jensen, K. Skytte, and O. J. Olsen, Electricity grid tariffs as a tool for flexible energy systems: A Danish case study, Energy Policy, pp. 12–21, Mar. 2019. DOI:10.1016/j.enpol.2018.11.021

Blumberga, E. Vigants, F. Romagnoli, A. Blumberga, S. N. Kalnins, and I. Veidenbergs, Hybrid System with Biomethanation for Wind Energy Accumulation in the Baltic Countries, Energy Procedia, vol. 75, pp. 754–759, Aug. 2015. Available: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876610215012758  DOI:10.1016/J.EGYPRO.2015.07.507

Bolwig et al., Review of modelling energy transitions pathways with application to energy system flexibility, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. Elsevier Ltd, pp. 440–452, 01-Mar-2019. DOI:10.1016/j.rser.2018.11.019

Bramstoft and K. Skytte, Decarbonizing Sweden’s energy and transportation system by 2050, International Journal of Sustainable Energy Planning and Management, vol. 14, p. 3-20, 2017. DOI:10.5278/ijsepm.2017.14.2

Ekström, M. Koivisto, I. Mellin, R. J. Millar, and M. Lehtonen, A statistical modeling methodology for long-term wind generation and power ramp simulations in new generation locations, Energies, vol. 11, no. 9, Sep. 2018. DOI:10.3390/en11092442

Ekström, M. Koivisto, I. Mellin, R. J. Millar, and M. Lehtonen, A Statistical Model for Hourly Large-Scale Wind and Photovoltaic Generation in New Locations, IEEE Trans. Sustain. Energy, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 1383–1393, Oct. 2017. DOI:10.1109/TSTE.2017.2682338

Gravelsins et al., Modelling energy production flexibility: System dynamics approach, in Energy Procedia, 2018, vol. 147, pp. 503–509. DOI:10.1016/j.egypro.2018.07.060

Herre, T. Matusevičius, J. Olauson, L. Söder, Exploring Wind Power Prognosis Data on Nord Pool: The Case of Sweden and Denmark, IET Renewable Power Generation(2019), 13 (5):690.

Khabdullin, Z. Khabdullina, A. Khabdullin, G. Khabdullina, D. Lauka, and D. Blumberga, Analysis of Industrial Electricity Consumption Flexibility. Assessment of Saving Potential in Latvia and Kazakhstan, in Energy Procedia, 2017, vol. 113, pp. 450–453. DOI:10.1016/j.egypro.2017.04.037

Khabdullin, Z. Khabdullina, G. Khabdullina, D. Lauka, and D. Blumberga, Demand response analysis methodology in district heating system, in Energy Procedia, 2017, vol. 128, pp. 539–543. DOI:10.1016/j.egypro.2017.09.004

G. Kirkerud, T. F. Bolkesjø, and E. Trømborg, Power-to-heat as a flexibility measure for integration of renewable energy, Energy, vol. 128, pp. 776–784, 2017. DOI:10.1016/j.energy.2017.03.153

G. Kirkerud, E. Trømborg, and T. F. Bolkesjø, Impacts of electricity grid tariffs on flexible use of electricity to heat generation, Energy, vol. 115, pp. 1679–1687, Nov. 2016. DOI:10.1016/j.energy.2016.06.147

Koivisto et al., Using time series simulation tools for assessing the effects of variable renewable energy generation on power and energy systems, Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, vol. 8, no. 3. John Wiley and Sons Ltd, 01-May-2019. DOI:10.1002/wene.329

Møller Sneum and E. Sandberg, Economic incentives for flexible district heating in the Nordic countries, Int. J. Sustain. Energy Plan. Manag., vol. 16, pp. 27–44, May 2018. DOI:10.5278/ijsepm.2018.16.3

Møller Sneum, E. Sandberg, H. Koduvere, O. J. Olsen, and D. Blumberga, Policy incentives for flexible district heating in the Baltic countries, Util. Policy, vol. 51, pp. 61–72, Apr. 2018. DOI:10.1016/j.jup.2018.02.001

Nuno, M. Koivisto, N. Cutululis, and P. Sorensen, On the Simulation of Aggregated Solar PV Forecast Errors, IEEE Trans. Sustain. Energy, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 1889–1898, Oct. 2018. DOI:10.1109/TSTE.2018.2818727

Pilpola, P.D. Lund, Different flexibility options for better system integration of wind power, Energy Strategy Reviews 26 (2019). DOI: 10.1016/j.esr.2019.100368

Roos and T. F. Bolkesjø, Value of demand flexibility on spot and reserve electricity markets in future power system with increased shares of variable renewable energy, Energy, vol. 144, pp. 207–217, Feb. 2018. DOI:10.1016/j.energy.2017.11.146

Sandberg, J. G. Kirkerud, E. Trømborg, and T. F. Bolkesjø, Energy system impacts of grid tariff structures for flexible power-to-district heat, Energy, pp. 772–781, Feb. 2019. DOI:10.1016/j.energy.2018.11.035

Sandberg, D. Møller Sneum, and E. Trømborg, Framework conditions for Nordic district heating – Similarities and differences, and why Norway sticks out, Energy, 2018. DOI:10.1016/j.energy.2018.01.148

Skytte and L. Bobo, Increasing the value of wind: From passive to active actors in multiple power markets, Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, vol. 8, no. 3. John Wiley and Sons Ltd, 01-May-2019. DOI:10.1002/wene.328

Skytte and R. Bramstoft, Decarbonising the finnish transport sector by 2050—Electricity or biofuels? in Green Energy and Technology, no. 9783319636115, Springer Verlag, 2018, pp. 3–22. DOI:10.1007/978-3-319-63612-2_1

Skytte and P. E. Grohnheit, Market prices in a power market with more than 50% wind power, in Studies in Systems, Decision and Control, vol. 144, Springer International Publishing, 2018, pp. 81–94. DOI:10.1007/978-3-319-74263-2_4

Skytte, O. J. Olsen, E. R. Soysal, and D. Møller Sneum, Barriers for district heating as a source of flexibility for the electricity system, J. Energy Mark., vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 41–59, 2017. DOI:10.21314/JEM.2017.161

Skytte, A. Pizarro, and K. B. Karlsson, Use of electric vehicles or hydrogen in the Danish transport sector in 2050?, Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, vol. 6, no. 1. John Wiley and Sons Ltd, 01-Jan-2017. DOI:10.1002/wene.233

Soloha, I. Pakere, and D. Blumberga, Saules enerģijas izmantošana centralizētajā siltumapgādes sistēmā. Gadījuma izpēte Latvijā, pp. 100–118.

Söder, Requirements for Strategic Reserves in a Liberalized Market with Wind Power, in Electricity Markets, Renewable Generation and Software Agents: Traditional and Emerging Market Designs, Springer, Cham, 2018, pp. 165–185. Available: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-319-74263-2_7  DOI:10.1007/978-3-319-74263-2_7

Söder et al., A review of demand side flexibility potential in Northern Europe, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 91. Elsevier Ltd, pp. 654–664, 01-Aug-2018. DOI:10.1016/j.rser.2018.03.104

Tomasson and L. Soder, Generation Adequacy Analysis of Multi-Area Power Systems with a High Share of Wind Power, IEEE Trans. Power Syst., vol. 33, no. 4, pp. 3854–3862, Jul. 2018. DOI:10.1109/TPWRS.2017.2769840

Trømborg, M. Havskjold, T. F. Bolkesjø, J. G. Kirkerud, and Å. G. Tveten, Flexible use of electricity in heat-only district heating plants, Int. J. Sustain. Energy Plan. Manag., vol. 12, pp. 29–46, Mar. 2017. Available: https://journals.aau.dk/index.php/sepm/article/view/1632  DOI:10.5278/ijsepm.2017.12.4

Å. G. Tveten, T. F. Bolkesjø, and I. Ilieva, Increased demand-side flexibility: market effects and impacts on variable renewable energy integration, Int. J. Sustain. Energy Plan. Manag., vol. 11, pp. 33–50, Oct. 2016. Available: https://journals.aau.dk/index.php/sepm/article/view/1419  DOI:10.5278/ijsepm.2016.11.4

Wiese et al., Balmorel open source energy system model, Energy Strateg. Rev., vol. 20, pp. 26–34, Apr. 2018. DOI:10.1016/j.esr.2018.01.003

Forthcoming (by August 2019) peer-reviewed articles

Bazbauers, Power sector flexibility through power-to-heat and power-to-gas application, Submitted for publication.

Bergaentzlé, K. Skytte, and P. A. Gunkel, Comparative analysis of cross-border and cross-sector approaches for flexibility in the Nordic countries, Submitted for publication.

Bolwig et al., Transition pathways to a flexible and carbon-neutral energy system in the Nordic-Baltic region: Coupling techno-economic modelling and socio-technical analyses, Submitted for publication.

Y.-K. Chen, H. Koduvere, P.A. Gunkel, J.G. Kirkerud, K. Skytte, H. Ravn, T.F. Bolkesjø The role of cross-border power transmission in a renewable-rich power system – a model analysis for Northwestern Europe,  Submitted for publication.

Y.-K. Chen, A. Hexeberg, K.E. Rosendahl, T.F. Bolkesjø, Review on long-term trends of North-West European power market. Submitted for publication.

Fausto and K. Skytte, Power Purchase Agreements and the Energy Only Market: A Hybrid Design for Future Decarbonized Power Markets, Submitted for publication.

Graested Jensen, F. Wiese, R. Bramstoft, and M. Münster, Potential role of renewable gas in the transition of electricity and district heating systems, Submitted for publication.

A. Gunkel, H. Ravn, S. Petrovic, F. Fausto, H. Koduvere, and J. G. Kirkerud, Modelling transmission systems in energy system analysis: a comparative study, Submitted for publication.

Jasiünas, J. Mikkola, P.D. Lund, Review on energy system resilience. Submitted for publication.

G. Kirkerud, N. O. Nagel, and T. F. Bolkesjø, The role of demand response in the future renewable Northern European energy system, Submitted for publication.

Koduvere, S. Buchholz, and H. Ravn, Constructing aggregated time series data for energy system model analyses, Submitted for publication.

D. Lund, V. Arabzadeh, J. Mikkola, and J. Jasiunas, Deep decarbonization of urban energy systems through renewable energy and sector-coupling flexibility strategies, Submitted for publication.

D. Lund et al., Pathway analysis of a zero-emission transition in the Nordic-Baltic region, Submitted for publication.

Skytte, C. Bergaentzlé, and O. J. Olsen, Grid tariffs that facilitate flexible use of power-to-heat., Submitted for publication.

Sorknæs, H. Lund, I.R. Skov, S. Djørup, K. Skytte, P.E. Morthorst, Smart Energy Markets – future electricity, gas and heating markets. Submitted for publication.

Published conference articles

Bergaentzlé, K. Skytte, J-G. Kirkerud, and O-J. Olsen, Electrification and Interconnections for Flexibility: A Comparative Analysis, in 2019 16th International Conference on the European Energy Market (EEM). IEEE Xplore

Bergaentzlé, K. Skytte, E. R. Soysal, L. R. Boscán Flores, and O. J. Olsen, Regulatory barriers for activating flexibility in the Nordic-Baltic electricity market, in 2017 14th International Conference on the European Energy Market (EEM), 2017, pp. 1–6.  DOI:10.1109/EEM.2017.7981948  ISBN: 978-1-5090-5499-2

F. Bolkesjø, J. G. Kirkerud, and E. Trømborg, Power market impacts of increased use of electricity in the heating sector, in 2017 14th International Conference on the European Energy Market (EEM), 2017, pp. 1–6.  DOI:10.1109/EEM.2017.7981955  ISBN: 978-1-5090-5499-2

R. Boscán Flores, K. Skytte, and E. R. Soysal, Flexibility-friendly support policies: A Nordic and Baltic perspective, in 2017 14th International Conference on the European Energy Market (EEM), 2017, pp. 1–7.  DOI:10.1109/EEM.2017.7981856  ISBN: 978-1-5090-5499-2

Crosara, E. Tómasson and L. Söder, Generation Adequacy in the Nordic and Baltic Area: The Potential of Flexible Residential Electric Heating, 2019 IEEE PES Innovative Smart Grid Technologies Europe (ISGT-Europe)

J. Fausto, P. A. Gunkel, K. Skytte, C. Bergaentzlé, and R. McKenna, Designing Taxes and Tariffs for Electricity Systems with Complex Flexible Actors, in 2019 16th International Conference on the European Energy Market (EEM), 2019

Gea-Bermúdez, L. Pade, A. Papakonstantinou, M Koivisto, North Sea Offshore grid – effects of integration towards 2050, in 2018 15th International Conference on the European Energy Market (EEM), 10.1109/EEM.2018.8469945

P.A. Gunkel, F.J. Fausto, K. Skytte, C. Bergaentzlé, The Impact of EV Charging Schemes on the Nordic Energy System, in the 2019 16th International Conference on the European Energy Market (EEM). IEEE Xplore.

Herre, J. Dalton, L. Söder, Optimal Day-Ahead Energy and Reserve Bidding Strategy of a Risk-Averse Electric Vehicle Aggregator in the Nordic Market, 2019 IEEE Milano PowerTech, Year: 2019

Herre and L. Soder, Enhancing market access of demand response through generation forecast updates, in 2017 IEEE Manchester PowerTech, 2017, pp. 1–6. DOI:10.1109/PTC.2017.7981023  ISBN: 978-1-5090-4237-1

Koivisto, N. Cutululis, and J. Ekström, Minimizing Variance in Variable Renewable Energy Generation in Northern Europe, in 2018 IEEE International Conference on Probabilistic Methods Applied to Power Systems (PMAPS), 2018, pp. 1–6. DOI:10.1109/PMAPS.2018.8440369  ISBN: 978-1-5386-3596-4

Koivisto, P. Maule, N. Cutululis, and P. Sørensen, Effects of Wind Power Technology Development on Large-scale VRE Generation Variability, in 13th IEEE PES PowerTech Conference, Milan, Italy, June 2019.

Koivisto, P. Maule, E. Nuño, P. Sørensen, and N. Cutululis, Statistical Analysis of Offshore Wind and other VRE Generation to Estimate the Variability in Future Residual Load, in Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 2018, vol. 1104, no. 1. DOI:10.1088/1742-6596/1104/1/012011

Koivisto, P. Sørensen, and J. Gea-Bermúdez, North Sea Offshore Grid Development: Combined Optimization of Grid and Generation Investments Towards 2050, 17th Int. Wind Integr. Work., no. October, 2018.

Nuño, M. Koivisto, N. Cutululis, and P. Sorensen, Simulation of regional day-ahead PV power forecast scenarios, in 2017 IEEE Manchester PowerTech, 2017, pp. 1–6. /  DOI:10.1109/PTC.2017.7981155  ISBN: 978-1-5090-4237-1

Risberg and L. Soder, Hydro power equivalents of complex river systems, in 2017 IEEE Manchester PowerTech, 2017, pp. 1–6. DOI:10.1109/PTC.2017.7981057  ISBN: 978-1-5090-4237-1

Skytte, C. Bergaentzlé, J. K. Sekamane, and J. Katz, Flexible electricity markets for a decarbonised energy system, Eurelectric-Florence Sch. Regul. Conf., no. June, pp. 20–26, 2017. DOI:10.2870/420547  ISBN: 9789290845775

Skytte, C. Bergaentzlé, E. R. Soysal, and O. J. Olsen, Design of grid tariffs in electricity systems with variable renewable energy and power to heat, in 2017 14th International Conference on the European Energy Market (EEM), 2017, pp. 1–7.  DOI:10.1109/EEM.2017.7981940  ISBN: 978-1-5090-5499-2

Skytte and O. J. Olsen, Regulatory barriers for flexible coupling of the Nordic power and district heating markets, in 2016 13th International Conference on the European Energy Market (EEM), 2016, pp. 1–5. DOI:10.1109/EEM.2016.7521319  ISBN: 978-1-5090-1298-5

R. Soysal, D. Møller Sneum, K. Skytte, O. J. Olsen, and E. Sandberg, Electric Boilers in District Heating Systems: A Comparative Study of the Scandinavian market conditions, Swedish Assoc. Energy Econ. Conf., 2016.

R. Soysal, O. J. Olsen, K. Skytte, and J. K. Sekamane, Intraday market asymmetries — A Nordic example, in 2017 14th International Conference on the European Energy Market (EEM), 2017, pp. 1–6. DOI:10.1109/EEM.2017.7981920  ISBN: 978-1-5090-5499-2

Traber, H. Koduvere, and M. Koivisto, Impacts of offshore grid developments in the North Sea region on market values by 2050: How will offshore wind farms and transmission lines pay?, in 2017 14th International Conference on the European Energy Market (EEM), 2017, pp. 1–6. DOI:10.1109/EEM.2017.7981945  ISBN: 978-1-5090-5499-2

Podcasts

In Energy Policycast, Flex4RES results are disseminated in a straightforward (and geeky) way. With host D. M. Sneum. Available: https://energypolicycast.podbean.com/ or https://www.nordicenergy.org/flagship/flex4res/flex4res-podcasts/

Available episodes:

1. Fausto, D.M. Sneum, Power Purchase Agreements – Good for the energy system – and for old ladies.
2. Lund, D.M. Sneum, Policies for flexibility: A Flex4RES perspective. What have violins to do with flexibility and sector coupling?
3. K. Skytte, D.M. Sneum, The future Nordic energy system. Water as storage and flexibility provider – flushing batteries away.

Other dissemination metrics

Homepage: www.Flex4RES.org

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF0u__dH3GLV7catlUXuP_Q

Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/user99822174

In May Nordic Energy Research was engaged in a number of events as part of Nordic Clean Energy Week in Malmö and Copenhagen. The week was a big success, with researchers, politicians, students and business representatives from around the Nordics gathering to discuss some of the burning issues regarding the future of clean energy. Below you can find links to articles and other information about the individual events.

The EU Observer on our negative emissions flagship project and Nordic Clean Energy Week.

NEF partnership events under Nordic Clean Energy Week:

Bridging the Gap Between Cleantech R&D and Commercialization

Sustainable Urban Solutions

Sustainable Future Energy Systems

Browse the Nordic Clean Energy Week hashtag on twitter.

Iris Baldursdottir, Executive Vice President of Systems Operations and ICT at Landsnet in Iceland, presenting at Sustainable Future Energy Systems during Nordic Clean Energy Week 2018

Danfoss Drives CEO, Vesa Laisi, presenting at Sustainable Future Energy Systems during Nordic Clean Energy Week 2018.

Left to right: Kennith Karlsson, DTU/Flex4RES; Brian Vad Mathiesen, Aalborg University; Rebecca Collyer, European Climate Foundation. Panel discussion at Sustainable Future Energy Systems during Nordic Clean Energy Week 2018.

NER’s CEO Hans Jørgen Koch presenting at Sustainable Urban Solutions, during Nordic Clean Energy Week 2018

Policy Brief –  Focus on energy system flexibility

The barriers and hence also policies to energy system flexibility are numerous. In this brief, we focus on policy recommendations for two important barriers to flexibility in the Nordic electricity market, namely insufficient market signals to some stakeholders, and uneven market frameworks for different renewable energy resources.

We present seven major recommendations, which could mitigate the market barriers to flexibility.

A central recommendation is to have better tariffs for electricity and grid use to promote flexibility. This would improve the coupling of access renewable power to other sectors such as heat, transport, and gas, which has a large potential for increased flexibility.

Expectations were high for this first meeting with all three project managers and the External Reference Group. Also the NER Board was present and got a first-hand knowledge of the four year research projects.

The external experts are as follows:

• Florian Kern, University of Sussex
• Oluf Langhelle, University of Stavanger
• Benjamin Sovacool, Aarhus university
• Nigel Brandon, Imperial college
• Patricia Harvey, University of Greenwich

The purpose of the External Reference Group is to contribute especially on two tasks, namely:

• To strengthen the scientific quality of the projects, and
• To improve the dissemination and international visibility of the research results.

How this can be done, was one of the issues being discussed at the meeting. There were basically two challenging issues common for the three individual research projects: How to ensure the quality of data, since registration and national statistics are not standardized among the Nordic countries? And how to ensure interest from industry and politicians, so that the research results will be of relevance for implementation into practice? These questions are important in order for the Flagship Projects to succeed, and will be high on the agenda in future meetings.

It was suggested to exchange news and draft papers inbetween the meetings. Another suggestion was to meet more than once a year, and hopefully we will find an opportunity to meet this fall. Even if there were more questions than answers at this first meeting, a shared enthusiasm for the work was developed, and also a team spirit among the involved participants. One of the final comments summarizes this: – Yes, let’s make this work!

As part of the program a tour in the SINTEF energy lab facilities was arranged. Yngve Larring and colleagues demonstrated the lab equipment and presented some of the ongoing studies, which are done mostly in collaboration with international industry partners.

The ultimate goal of the Negative CO2 project is the development of new competitive technology that:

• enables CO2 capture and negative CO2 emissions with the lowest possible cost and energy penalty
• is able to produce power and/or steam for industrial and other applications
• utilizes Nordic expertise and competence in fluidized bed technology
• eliminates thermal NOx emissions and has potential to achieve more efficient fuel utilization compared to ordinary biomass combustion.

The technology capable of achieving these goals is Chemical-Looping Combustion of biomass (Bio-CLC), a unique and innovative combustion technology that will be studied and developed in the project. Chemical-Looping Combustion (CLC) involves oxidation of fuels with oxygen provided with solid oxygen carrier particles rather than with air and both the high energy penalty and the high capital cost associated with gas separation can be avoided. Because of this CLC is expected to have at least 50% lower energy penalty and cost than any other CO2 capture technology.

Scientific and technical progress

In the project an experimental campaign in a semi-commercial facility (Chalmers Research Boiler) is scheduled for 2018. However, already in November 2015 an opportunity arose to make preliminary experiments in the said facility. During 3 days the gasification reactor of Chalmers Research Boiler was successfully operated as a CLC fuel reactor, although it should be noted that the gasifier is not designed for this purpose. Wood pellets corresponding to a thermal power of up to 2.4 MW was topfed to the gasification reactor. The oxygen carrier was a pre-calcined manganese ore. Fuel powers up to 2.4 MW were examined and the fuel conversion was in the order of 60-70% at 820°C. Much higher conversion is attained in CLC pilot reactors and is also expected in full-scale boilers. For the 2018 campaign, improvements with respect to fuel feeding and temperature of operation are planned. Nevertheless, these experiments constitute a considerable leap forward and have potential to contribute greatly on many issues that is to be examined in the project.

A number of key decisions have been taken with respect to planned experimental work. This includes selection of two reference fuels (Finnish White Wood Pellets and Norwegian steam treated Arbapellets) and a number of oxygen carrier materials for examination (three manganese ores and three ilmenite sands available via the project partner Sibelco, one sintered manganese product provided by advisory board member Alstom and rock ilmenite provided by advisory board member Titania).

Samples of fuels and oxygen carriers are currently being distributed among parties involved. Initial experiments are being planned and performed at SINTEF MC and Åbo Akademi. VTT’s 50 kWth scale bio-CLC test rig, located in new piloting center called Bioruukki in Espoo, Finland, has been very recently successfully commissioned by tests using ilmenite as oxygen carrier and wood pellets as fuel. During the test campaign on April, a special interest is to study the conditions, deposit formation and risk for high-temperature corrosion in the flue gas paths to evaluate the possibility for improving power generation efficiency by using enhanced steam values. Also at SINTEF experimental facilities are currently under commissioning and rock ilmenite will be used as oxygen carrier during the first campaigns.

Contacts

For general questions about the project or subscription, please contact the coordinating party, which is Chalmers University of Technology:

Anders Lyngfelt, anders.lyngfelt@chalmers.se, +46 (0) 31 772 1427

Magnus Rydén, magnus.ryden@chalmers.se, +46 (0) 31 772 1457

The logotype for Flex4RES reflects the variation in wind and solar power as well as in the inflow to hydro power. It also visualizes the movement and metering of markets, energy and finance through an illustrative graph. The waves encapsulates the feeling of flexibility, as waves found in nature, be it the ocean, sound or electricity, might be the best symbol for flexibility you can find.

The Flex4RES project investigates how an increased interaction between similar energy markets can facilitate the integration of variable renewable energy (VRE). Changes in regulatory frameworks to support this process is necessary. This may in turn ensure stable, sustainable and cost-efficient Nordic energy systems. By taking into account the energy system as a whole and looking at energy markets that are dependent on each other, we identify potentials, costs and benefits of achieving flexibility in the Nordic power market.

The advantage of combining different energy markets, both with respect to flexibility and economics, is that financial and environmental benefits can be created in several sectors at once. The heat, gas and transport sectors are obvious candidates for generating such benefits, as well as within power transmission and generation.

Thumbs up for Balmorel! Flex4RES is off to a flying start and already one PhD course has started at DTU in Lyngby, Denmark. The 12 PhD students who are joining this course will study the Balmorel energy model during the months of January and February 2016.

The Balmorel energy model is used for modelling and analysis of the energy markets, with emphasis on the electricity and combined heat and power sectors. The results of such a model can aid both the energy sector and government in integrating renewable energy sources in the electricity grid.

One ambition of the Flex4RES project is to develop a common updated version of the Balmorel energy system model, which will reflect the flexibility of the Nordic energy system. The updated model is intended to be an open source model shared between the Nordic countries.

This update would be of common use and interest for the entire Nordic region, and could facilitate common future development and analysis in the energy sector.

The course is the first Balmorel model PhD course at DTU and to our knowledge the first Balmorel course in Europe since 2012. This marks the start of a new era with promising possibilities for the growing Nordic Balmorel community and for analyses of the common Nordic energy system.