As the year comes to an end, it is time to look back on the work that has been carried out so far, and to look ahead in order to see what is yet to come. This applies particularly to InterFlex as a whole, as the project is heading towards its conclusion after three years full of lively discussions, exciting works and remarkable achievements.
The energy sector is looking at a historic opportunity. Decentralization, decarbonisation and digitalisation can help us build a cross-sectoral energy system that empowers customers and reduces geopolitical dependencies. By seizing this opportunity, the energy industry can reinvent its business models and operational practices and stay on top of tomorrow’s challenges.
Meanwhile, we are facing a number of hurdles, such as regulatory instability, operational inertia, lack of coordination or insufficient policy updates. Those obstacles could lead to sub-optimal developments or even block the potential of new business ideas or technical innovations.
That is why it is so important to keep up the dialogue among regulation, technology and business players – and to disseminate new insights and innovations. In order to address these challenges, the InterFlex project consortium investigated a wide range of innovations to procure and use flexibilities for the local benefit of the distribution grid.
But InterFlex did not only provide technical achievements and new solutions. It also showed that fruitful cooperation between different players across Europe can be a significant boost for innovation, and a powerful means for sharing experiences and building long-lasting partnerships.
The end of InterFlex is only the end of one chapter. It’s the moment to acknowledge once more the EU support and to say thank you to a great project consortium!
By Christian Dumbs, Enedis
InterFlex Project Coordinator
