165
systems monitored daily
Platform EcOS -Energy Community Operating System
Use Case
Energy flexibility
Ensuring Proper Management and Optimization of Energy Flows in Communities
Addressing the challenges of the evolving energy sector necessitates a focus on managing and optimizing energy flows within communities. Energy communities, being at the heart of this evolution, require innovative solutions for efficient and sustainable energy management. A technologically advanced and innovative approach is essential to effectively match energy supply and demand, thereby improving network resilience and user engagement. In this context, Apio has developed EcOS (Energy Community Operating System) as part of the European Commission's ONTOCHAIN initiative, offering a solution tailored to the needs of energy communities.
The ONTOCHAIN Project
Under the European Commission's Next Generation Internet program, the ONTOCHAIN project, which started in September 2020, funds innovation in knowledge management using Blockchain technology. This initiative aims to enhance online service security, transparency, and interoperability. It involves seven organizations from Luxembourg, Slovenia, France, Italy, Greece, and Ireland, supporting 40 innovators in conceptualizing, developing, experimenting, and integrating new technologies. ONTOCHAIN focuses on aiding researchers and high-tech companies in creating, testing, and integrating advancements in Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies. With a total fund of €4.2 million, ONTOCHAIN accelerates the development of secure and interconnected technological solutions across various sectors.
Project's numebers
+180 GWh
managed annual energy production
+6
AI algorithms adopted
Sustainable goals achieved with the project
An Operating System for Energy Communities
EcOS (Energy Community Operating System) is an integrated platform for managing Energy Communities that ensures a transparent and accountable system, capable of creating economic value for all involved users.
Thanks to IoT, EcOS enables two-way communication with Distributed Energy Resources (DER) installed downstream of the meter, such as photovoltaics, storage systems, thermostats, and electric vehicle charging points, and, through the use of a dashboard and an application, generates engagement among all actors of the Energy Community. Integrating ONTOCHAIN architecture, EcOS enhances transparency and creates a token-based economy for prosumers involved in the energy community.
The architecture of the EcOS platform is based on the following principles and key components to ensure effective integration and holistic management of Energy Communities:
- Interoperability and Standardization: The platform is designed to ensure interoperability between different devices and systems, using open standards and established protocols. This allows for easy integration of new devices and energy sources, as well as facilitating data exchange between different actors and platforms.
- Data Security and Privacy: Implementation of robust security measures to protect sensitive data and user privacy. This includes data encryption in transit and at rest, user authentication and authorization, and compliance with privacy regulations such as GDPR.
- Scalable and Modular Architecture: EcOS's modular structure allows for horizontal and vertical scalability, enabling the platform to adapt to communities of various sizes and complexities, and to evolve with the introduction of new modules and functionalities.
- Data Analysis and Artificial Intelligence: Integration of advanced data analysis tools and artificial intelligence algorithms to optimize production, distribution, and energy consumption within the community. This includes predicting energy demand, optimizing distributed energy resources, and customizing user engagement strategies.
- Blockchain and Token Economy: Use of blockchain technology to ensure transparency, security, and traceability of energy and financial transactions within the community. The integration of a token economy incentivizes sustainable and virtuous energy behaviors among users, through reward and penalty mechanisms.
- APIs and Cloud Services: Provision of a set of open APIs and cloud services to facilitate the development of third-party applications, integration with other systems, and the collection, processing, and analysis of energy data on a large scale.
- Intuitive User Interface: Development of intuitive user interfaces (UI) for the coordination platform and mobile application, designed to enhance the user experience, facilitate access to information, and promote interaction and active participation in the energy community.
Architecture
Thanks to the experience gained by Apio in the energy sector and digital platforms, EcOS is structured as a three-layer platform that includes:
- IoT Layer: This level facilitates automatic data flow to and from peripheral devices. By "peripheral device," we refer to energy meters, storage systems, and renewable energy sources (RES).
- Coordination Platform: An interactive dashboard that interfaces with the infrastructure backend to manage the Energy Community, user administration, real-time data analysis, and user engagement.
- User Application: A mobile application that allows users to interact with the community and energy assets. The mobile application integrates wallet functionality, enabling a Token Economy for the Energy Community.
Specifically, at the infrastructure level, EcOS's design developed around 4 aspects:
- IoT Layer for data acquisition: This level will be integrated with DESMO (or other ONTOCHAIN modules) for on-chain/off-chain data management, ensuring timestamping and provenance of energy data for community users.
- API Gateway: This interface integrates the different services of the platform, handling interactions coming from the Coordination Platform and User Application. It also offers access to user data, energy data, and resources for the service marketplace. The API Gateway will be integrated with ONTOCHAIN modules, in this initial analysis OntoSsiVault, Reputable, and POC4Commerce.
- Coordination Dashboard: The interface for the Energy Community Manager or Coordinator allows monitoring of the community's status in terms of energy consumed/produced and the percentage of energy self-consumption. The dashboard also facilitates the management of Energy Community users in terms of uploading/modifying and consulting data (regarding buildings/offices/apartments and personal data). This dashboard is integrated with the ecOS infrastructure to handle customer service.
- User Application: The central service of the ecOS platform, a mobile application (Android and iOS) that implements the following services:
- User registration.
- The possibility for the user to join an energy community.
- Display of energy consumed and produced by the user (energy awareness).
- Display of energy consumed and produced by the energy community (percentage of self-consumption).
- Management of tokens earned for virtuous behaviors from an energetic point of view.
- Exchange of Tokens through in-app Wallet integration.
- View and purchase services in the Marketplace Platform.
- Marketplace Platform: Intended for service providers who want to offer services to community users. Service providers can be companies or members of the community itself or companies outside the community that offer services such as babysitting, electric vehicle charging, and other services that can be purchased by community users.
Starting from the ONTOCHAIN topic B4 and the associated challenges, the EcOS platform is designed to engage users in an EnergyCommunity through an application that enables:
- Secure, reliable, and transparent communications, allowing every community member to transparently understand energy produced/consumed.
- Promoting virtuous behaviors by maximizing energy consumption within the community (self-consumption) through a community token.
- Understanding the impact of negative behaviors in terms of greenhouse gas emissions through penalties.
For a deep understanding of the solution, its components, modules, and the connection with ONTOCHAIN architecture and specifications, please check https://ontochain.ngi.eu/
EcOS aims to be a platform capable of supporting the management of Energy Communities and helping them reach their full potential, promoting sustainability, energy efficiency, and innovation in the energy sector. The collaboration with the ONTOCHAIN project provides a solid technological base and a framework to address the challenges associated with managing energy transactions and promoting a decentralized and trust-based energy economy.
