Ayesa helps build a carbon-free future for Europe’s islands through smart energy management

The company is currently leading the Islander project to create a digital platform able to manage renewable energy production and storage.

Ayesa, a global provider of technology and engineering services, is leading Islander, an EU project that aims to make the future of Europe’s islands green, digital, sustainable and intelligent. With a budget of EUR 8 million and expected to end next year, the initiative brings together seven European countries represented by eleven organisations.

The EU’s islands are home to 16 million people, around 4% of its population. However, they are also popular tourist spots and tend to rely on fossil fuels for electricity, transportation and heating.

That is why the EU is funding innovation projects such as Islander, designed to further the decarbonisation of its islands through renewable energy and smart energy management. One key aspect of the project is the implementation of the GridPilot platform, which manages renewable energy generation and storage in an integrated manner.

The initial site of the project is the island of Borkum, which aims to be carbon free by 2030, although the solution is set to be rolled out on four other islands with similar geography and weather. An innovative system that uses seawater to heat buildings in the summer and cool them in the winter is also being tested at a building with 100 apartments.

Another important innovation is the demand response services offered. These provide prosumers with power through hydrogen storage systems, as well as solar panels and lithium batteries in 30 homes and 3 buildings. All this infrastructure is connected to Ayesa’s IT platform.

Another key to achieving the decarbonisation of the island is the use of electric vehicles. As such, bidirectional charging stations have been installed and integrated with the rest of the infrastructure. This has allowed electric vehicles to become mobile energy storage devices, which work together with the rest of the system to provide energy to both the grid and end users.

Added value

Islander is a continuation of the EU’s H2020 NETfficient project, which saw Ayesa develop GridPilot, a unique smart platform for managing distributed energy assets.

GridPilot manages energy across various producers, automatically deciding with perfect timing when electricity should be stored, consumed or sold. What’s more, by using artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT), it does this in a controlled and secure manner, something that is necessary to operate in the energy market.

In terms of the technology used, artificial intelligence has been used to scale renewable infrastructure and energy storage technology, as well as automatically operate all assets in a coordinated manner. The solution developed by Ayesa combines machine learning algorithms, mathematical modelling, new optimisation algorithms (such as stochastic ones) and distributed technologies to forecast energy generation, prices and consumption.

Key to the success of the system is the acquisition, storage and use of high-quality data, in addition to rapid responses. Furthermore, the technology offered by GridPilot maximises the scalability and integration of AI technology. Finally, a particular focus has been placed on harnessing mass data in order to gain insights into end users.

The project makes use of various types of renewable energy, including solar, wind and ocean thermal, as well as storage technology, such as lithium-ion batteries and hydrogen. A software platform (GridPilot®) has also been developed, which is responsible for managing, orchestrating and monitoring all generation and storage devices.

Additionally, V2G (vehicle to grid) chargers have been installed and mobile apps developed to allow the island’s residents to access services, such as reserving electric vehicle charging stations and monitoring how much charge their vehicle’s battery has left.