Why is Yncréa Méditerranée interested in this field?
Since the beginning of the 21st century, the production and optimization of energy consumption have been at the center of global concerns, due to the depletion of fossil resources, the impact of energy resources and the pollution generated.
In France, the 2010 Grenelle 2 law commits to new actions on various themes, including a whole section on energy and climate, with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020, based on the following three points:
- reduction of energy consumption;
- prevention of greenhouse gas emissions ;
- promotion of renewable energies.
These three points are guided by the regional policies undertaken with the SRCAE, Regional Climate, Air and Energy Plans. This dynamic generates needs in research and skills for future engineers to meet all these challenges.
What does this research involve?
Smart energy aims to provide an energy system that is efficient, cost-effective, sustainable, safe and makes the best use of natural resources.
The aim is to create smart energy solutions to meet the challenges ahead. One of these challenges is the introduction of demand flexibility in the European energy market. The production of renewable energy is encouraged in particular by European directives with the aim of carbon neutrality 2050. In fact, it is increasing, but this production is not easily storable, or storable with loss of yield. Therefore, flexibility mechanisms are put in place in order to maximize the use of this punctual energy, in order to encourage a consumption that follows the production. New regulations are therefore being created, implying that the technology will adapt to meet these needs.
There are new players emerging in the energy market, such as aggregators, who value flexibility. The market is evolving, with electricity providers becoming energy service providers.
These new services and interconnections require interoperability, privacy and security.
Thus, the introduction of flexibility encourages the installation of new technologies at the consumer's premises. These installed technologies allow the automatic and intelligent control of different household appliances.
In addition, consumers will become "consumer actors" by allowing the power system operator and aggregators to control demand, making it possible to decarbonize the power generation sector and control renewable energy with greater granularity.
Smart energy is about identifying who needs energy and providing it at the right time, right place and at the lowest cost, while preserving natural resources.
How is R&D carried out?
The Smart Energy team mixes observations and realizations in its daily work, both in the research, industrial and academic fields.
On the "observation" side, team members are constantly on the lookout for new technologies in areas close to their own (renewable energies, smart grids, flexibility, self-consumption, legislation, educational innovation, etc.), in order to keep abreast of developments and constantly challenge themselves.
The direct consequences of this work can be seen in the themes of the courses offered to the students as well as in the feasibility studies of industrial projects, but also in a more latent way in the organization of ISEN Yncréa Méditerranée, in the form of think tanks (on energy, the smart grid, the recharging of electric vehicles, etc.)
That's why the team is involved in one of the largest smart energy implementation projects: InterConnect, which demonstrates interoperability and demand flexibility.
The Interconnect project (Interoperable Solutions Connecting Smart Homes, Buildings and Grids) involves the implementation of interoperable digital solutions to adjust the electricity consumption of buildings according to the needs of the electricity grid. The total budget for the project is over €35 million. The project started on October1, 2019 and lasts four years.
This project shows how connected objects, via an interoperable platform (to allow them to communicate with each other), can meet the needs of flexibility of the network for the various actors involved (network managers, energy suppliers, aggregators, ...)
Manufacturers such as Citroën, Dalkia, Enedis, ENGIE, Gfi, GrDF, PSA, RTE, Sensinov, ThermoVault, Trialog and Veolia are all contributing to the energy transition. There are a huge number of players involved, whether in energy conservation, renewable energy production, energy transport, distribution and storage networks, and all the equipment manufacturers needed to supply installations in these different fields.
Smart Energy projects completed :
- solar shading with the CEA ;
- smart energy production on the Ile du Levant.
Projects in progress :
- Interconnect: concerns an H2020 research project, https://interconnectproject.eu/;
- Smart Isen: solar panels on the roof of ISEN Yncréa Méditerrannée.
