Noven will test the Kraken platform to control heat pumps, solar panels, EV chargers and smart meters to automatically reduce consumption and ensure customers avoid the costly peak charges. It is the first time domestic flexibility has been harnessed in this way in the country.
Following a number of successful flexibility trials like this in the UK, which saw over 100,000 consumers willingly reduce usage in return for savings, Kraken and Noven are hoping to expand the project and bring down grid costs and energy bills for everyone in Belgium.
Kraken offers its clients end-to-end management of the whole energy supply chain through one platform, aiming to improve efficiency and flexibility. Its flexibility division is currently contracted to control over 3,800 MW across 10,000 green energy assets. The platform is targeting management of 25,000 devices and 6,000 MW of energy capacity by 2023. The platform recently went live in Canada for the first time with a 500kW Tesla battery owned by Hydro REIN.
“We feel very privileged to have been selected to help Belgium create a smarter ecosystem for energy users” said Devrim Celal, CEO of Kraken. “This next partnership with Noven will allow the same benefits of cheaper, greener energy to be passed on to households. By remotely managing a plethora of home devices, we are able to save customers money without impacting their day to day lives. Boundary pushing technology projects like this will be the best way to reduce our reliance on dirty gas and move the whole continent away from exposure to high wholesale energy prices to bring costs down through the whole system.”
Belgium households will soon have a capacity threshold beyond which, if surpassed, means consumers will begin to be charged at a higher rate. System operator Elia and Kraken have already begun working on a number of projects to create the green grid of the future in the country, and now Kraken is looking after other companies along the supply chain, including Noven.
Pieter-Jan Degroote, Project Manager at Noven, added that the technology will not only allow Europe to move away from high wholesale energy prices, but it will also help promote greener energy solutions.
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