H2020 Smart Island – VPP4Islands project

IDEA is participating in the H2020-Smart Island, VPP4Islands project along with our partner Regenera developing virtual Power Plants for smart and interoperable islands in Europe.

The European H2020 project, in which IDEA is participating hand in hand with Regenera, officially kicked off on 22 and 23 October 2020.

IDEA, along with Regenera and 18 other public-private companies that are part of the consortium, travelled to Marseille to attend the kick-off event.

After two years, and being halfway through the project, IDEA has achieved its objectives established for this period: digitising and creating a digital twin capable of housing modelling and simulation modules for systems covering resources such as batteries and wind turbines, among others.

The result is a virtual copy that not only can behave in the same way as the original system, but also simulate hypothetical scenarios that help to optimise the efficiency of the entire system.

Our objective for this second period is to continue working hand in hand with the rest of the partners in the consortium to ensure smooth integration and communication between the modules, which will lead to the creation of a software platform for the coordination and management of all the resources involved.

> HORIZON 2020

Horizon 2020 or H2020, is the European Union’s largest programme that funds research and innovation projects in various thematic areas in Europe, with a budget of almost €80 billion for the 2014-2020 period.  Researchers, companies, technology centres and public entities all have a place in this programme. 

IDEA, under its internal environmental policy called ‘IDEAGREEN’, has been carrying out numerous social responsibility measures and promoting sustainability initiatives throughout all these years. Therefore, our involvement in H2020 fits in perfectly with IDEA’s corporate philosophy, which has always focused on sustainability, energy efficiency and circular engineering. We are also deeply committed to the SDGs and, thanks to this project, we have achieved SDG 11.  

> SMART ISLAND

On this occasion and within the framework of H2020, the project, called VPP4Islands, aims to streamline the integration of renewable systems, accelerate the transition to smart energy and help islands exploit their energy efficiency potential and innovative storage solutions, encouraging the active participation of citizens, with the aim of becoming energy self-sufficient. In short, turn them into ‘Smart Islands’.   

What is a Smart Island? 

Smart islands are interconnected spaces that apply ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) for the management and provision of services. The aim is to create an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable environment. This translates into a better quality of life, greater efficiency of available resources and an increase in active citizen participation. Click here to learn more about Smart Islands.  

To achieve these goals, VPP4Islands is proposing disruptive solutions based on the digital twin concept, virtual energy storage systems (VESS) and shared registry technology (DLT) to revolutionise existing virtual power plants (VPPs) and build smart energy communities.

Furthermore, in order to validate and evaluate the proposed solutions, two real use cases are presented, showing the implementation of the development on two leading islands. The control and optimisation of different systems will be broadened to cover not only electrical, but also multi-energy vectors, in a project that aims to implement lasting social and environmental values for the benefit of consumers.

Composition of the consortium of companies 

The project consortium is composed of several partners 1 large company, 1 Distribution System Operator (DSO), 7 SMEs, 3 Universities, 2 Regional Transmission Organisations (RTO), 3 island municipalities and 2 non-profit organisations.

By Clara Osuna of #IDEAteams

At IDEA we grow by innovating, we grow with you.