Over the last years, various EU-funded research projects have developed or are developing technologies to further exploit energy flexibilities. With the ES-1 call on “Flexibility and retail market options for the distribution grid", the European Commission issued a dedicated call to speed up this process.

To enhance synergies not only between the projects that answered the call, but with all stakeholders, institutions and initiatives working on flexibilities in the energy system, the consortia of the three BRIDGE projects edgeFLEX, FEVER and Platone initiated the FlexCommunity.

The FlexCommunity is a platform for knowledge transfer and networking. It is organised in different FlexGroups, whose groups’ members meet regularly to discuss focus topics of their choice. There are currently four groups:

• FG1: Technical management of flexibilities;
• FG2: Flexibility market and organisational design;
• FG3: Solutions for utilities and energy communities;
• FG4: FlexOffer User Group.

As with any community, its value stands and falls with its members. Since the official kick-off in the beginning of February 2022, the FlexCommunity has grown to now more than 150 members, from academia to industry and policy. The founding projects edgeFLEX, FEVER and Platone are supported by other EU projects that are actively involved in the community like BD4OPEM, FLEXGRID, FlexiGrid or GIFT, to only mention a few. E.DSO, the European Technology & Innovation Platform for Smart Networks for Energy Transition (ETIP SNET), OPEN DEI and DG Energy also showed their support by joining the official FlexCommunity events.

Together the FlexCommunity recently defined a memorandum of understanding to have a common view of the community’s purpose, goals and mission. All members share the vision of an energy system which is based on 100 % renewable energies and decentral energy resources and believe that the large-scale use of flexibilities is one of the key enablers to make this happen.

Interested in joining the FlexCommunity? Go to: https://flex-community.eu/register

More about the initiating projects:

• edgeFLEX – https://www.edgeflex-h2020.eu/
• FEVER – https://fever-h2020.eu/
• Platone - https://www.platone-h2020.eu/