Policy Webinar: Digitalisation in the Energy Sector

During the past decade emphasis on energy efficiency and renewable energy has increased as a response to the environmental challenges, including greenhouse gas emissions. In 2018, the European commission set out in its communication a set of objectives and actions to realise its long-term vision for climate neutral economy. Renewable energy, including thermal technology, is one of the solutions in the energy sector that shall contribute to the European Commission’s goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The recent updates on some of the Energy Directives would help in reaching the 2050 goals.

Concerning the energy sector, updated directives aim to bring the energy sector closer to the Green Deal objectives by (1) promoting and strengthening competition in the energy market with focus on innovative and green solutions; (2) enhancing energy efficiency of buildings, and (3) promoting the use of renewable energy as an alternative to traditional energy sources. For the past 3 years, SABINA project has worked through thermal technology to support EU’s policies on climate change. In doing so, it also acknowledged the role of standards in maintaining stability and continuity and facilitating adoption of new technologies.
As a core part of the energy efficiency projects, a gateway is being designed with the purpose of decoupling the data traffic in the substation network from the one in the public network. For example, once a project such as SABINA is deployed, it will typically extend over a group of buildings about the size of a block. If SABINA scales up, its extension will be across neighborhoods or cities. In such a context, standardisation will help to reach the goal with a reasonable complexity and supporting the interoperability and the data communication and utilisation.
SABINA technology is a prime example of the Twin Transition. On the one hand, its renewable energy solutions that are based on thermal technology helps in reaching the net-zero greenhouse gas emissions targets, increasing energy efficiency of buildings, and providing better data for consumers and aggregators for enhanced flexibility. On the other hand, its core technology depends on digital solutions, connected devices, data exchanges, algorithms design, and ICT standards. Data and data exchanges connect these two aspects in an intertwining relationship.
SABINA’s contribution to the Twin Transition can be further expanded with the scale up of the technology and adoption by smart cities and the Common European Data Spaces, where SABINA could act as a middleware to connect suppliers and consumers and provide real-time data on consumption, providing an open and fair marketplace for energy.
This event will present possibilities of scaling up energy-related technologies, such as SABINA, using IoT standards to reach maximum benefits for producers and consumers. The rationale is to (1) provide policy makers with relevant recommendations to standardisation related to SABINA and highlight the potential of SABINA and other energy-related technologies in contributing to the objectives of the Green Deal; and, (2) present SABINA’s final results, and provide an overview of SABINA technology’ capabilities.

PROGRAM

(online event)

10.00-10.10     Signing in of participants

10.10-10.40     Setting the Scene: recent policy and standardisation developments in Energy and Construction – Why Digitalisation in construction is important for the Green Deal

This opening session will discuss the policy objectives defined in the EU’s Green Deal and their implication on the Energy and Construction sectors. Further, it will touch upon results obtained through SABINA and their contribution to the overall EU targets?

Speakers:

• Antonio Kung, CEO, Trialog – Keynote speech: Integration Technology in the Energy Sector
• Andy Bolitho, Senior Energy Policy, SMS – Overview of SABINA, main results

10:40-12:00     Roundtable discussion with invited experts

The roundtable discussion will concentrate on how different stakeholders can contribute to the EU’s energy targets by embracing digitalisation in their core activities.

Topics for discussion:

• What are the current challenges in construction? How can digitalisation address these challenges?
• What is the role of standards in energy efficiency? What re the underlying benefits of using open standards from European Standardisation Organisations?
• How can technologies such as SABINA contribute to the overall energy efficiency of buildings?
• What opportunities/challenges new technologies for SMEs? How can new business models stimulate efficiency in the energy market?

Speakers:

• Antonio Kung, CEO, Trialog
• Andy Bolitho, Senior Energy Policy, SMS
• Francesco Biasioli, Secretary General of ERMCO, representing The Concrete Initiative
• Vittorio Cossarini, Presidnet of AssoESCo – Italian Association of Energy Service Companies
• Pietro Bertelli, Business Intelligence Manager, Alperia Bartucci
• Omar Dhaher, Technology Manager, European DIGITAL SME Alliance

Moderated by Sebastiano Toffaletti, Secretary-General, European DIGITAL SME Alliance

12:00 – Closing remarks