The research project Industry4Redispatch (I4RD) has reached a significant milestone with the successful execution of a large-scale demonstration. During this demonstration, redispatch activation was tested at four Austrian industrial sites. Participants in the test phase included major companies such as MONDI and voestalpine Stahl, as well as medium-sized enterprises like Wiesbauer Wien and a “Virtual Power Plant” (VPP) operated by Siemens and Energie Kompass, where multiple facilities were pooled to collectively provide flexibility.
The demonstration focused on thoroughly testing the redispatch process. Redispatch is an emergency intervention by the grid operator to prevent network overloads and stabilise the regional power system. Typically, power plants in proximity are controlled to make electricity available locally, thus relieving the grid. With I4RD, industrial enterprises can also contribute to stabilising the power system by shifting their consumption to periods of lower demand.
From transmitting master data and next-day consumption schedules to bid placement and redispatch activation, all necessary steps were tested under realistic conditions. The facilities of the participating industrial enterprises successfully met the requirements of redispatch activation, which demanded deviations from the original schedules. This confirmed that automated redispatch activation by industrial enterprises functions effectively in practice.
“In the framework of the I4RD project, we achieved our central goal: as a project consortium, we succeeded in convincingly demonstrating through this trial that the aggregated activation of redispatch services from multiple flexible components is feasible—taking into account the respective grid conditions in distribution networks,” explains Tara Esterl, project leader and head of the Integrated Energy Systems Department at the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology.
Innovative Automation of Redispatch Processes
The aim of the I4RD project is to enable industrial enterprises to contribute to redispatch provision and to fully automate this process. Redispatch measures control the physical flow of electricity in the grid to prevent overloads and ensure supply security. Until now, these measures have primarily been coordinated manually by the transmission system operator using thermal and hydroelectric power plants. By automating and integrating industrial enterprises, conventional fossil power plants can be gradually replaced in the long term.
Successful Implementation of TSO-DSO Interaction
Another key element of the demonstration was the successful implementation of the so-called TSO-DSO interaction, ensuring that redispatch measures do not cause overloads in the distribution network. A procedure was developed within the project to filter bids from the distribution network that could lead to local issues. For this, capacity information from the distribution system operators (DSOs) was integrated into the process.
Cooperation for the Future of the Power Grid
For the first time in Austria, the I4RD project brings together all relevant stakeholders to utilise untapped flexibilities from industrial customers and medium-sized companies for the redispatch process. Alongside the development of a new redispatch product to integrate these flexibilities, various incentive models as well as legal and regulatory frameworks were also examined. With the successful completion of this demonstration, the project has taken another step towards an automated and future-ready redispatch process, contributing significantly to grid stabilisation and the integration of renewable energies.
Project Partners
The flagship project I4RD is a key initiative within the innovation network NEFI – New Energy for Industry. Led by the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, the partners include Ankerbrot GmbH, APG Austrian Power Grid, Energie Kompass GmbH, Energienetze Steiermark GmbH, EVN AG, evon GmbH, kleinkraft. OG, Mondi AG, Netz Burgenland GmbH, Netz Niederösterreich GmbH, Netz Oberösterreich GmbH, Siemens AG, TU Wien – Institute for Energy Systems and Thermodynamics, TU Wien – Institute for Mechanics and Mechatronics, Research Division for Control Engineering and Process Automation, voestalpine Stahl GmbH, and Wiesbauer Holding AG. More information about the project can be found here.