Siemens collaborates with Areti on RomeFlex project to enable local grid flexibility in Rome

• Italian distribution system operator (DSO), Areti, to use Siemens technology to forecast grid congestion and request flexibility on MV and LV grids
• Set of algorithms developed by Siemens for RomeFlex project enables the Roman DSO to use flexibility to make the grid smarter, more resilient and future-proof
• With the RomeFlex project, Areti and Siemens will build on the experience gained from the EU Platone project

Siemens and Roman DSO, Areti, have announced their collaboration on the RomeFlex project, which starting today will test the ability to manage congestion and voltage volatility across the stressed power grids of Italy’s capital city.

Leveraging Siemens’ digital expertise and software, Areti is managing challenges related to climate change and ‘the electrification of everything’, which are heavily impacting power grids in Italy and all around the world, more effectively.

As a key enabler of the energy transition in Italy, Areti designed an innovative local flexibility market architecture that will be boosted by Siemens pioneering energy domain know-how and dedicated technology.

In the next ten years, it is estimated that the peak electricity demand on the Roman DSO power grid will increase from 2,200 MW to 3,300 MW. To manage this growth in energy demand and prevent the grid from criticalities like blackouts or voltage violations, Areti is going to increase its grid capacity at a fast pace, accelerating its digital transformation to shape the next level of grid management.

Siemens Grid Software, a business unit of Siemens Smart Infrastructure, enables grid operators to accelerate and secure the energy transition in a sustainable and profitable way. The software products are part of the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio. They are interoperable, open, flexible and available as a service and provide the highest cybersecurity standards, helping power utilities accelerate their digital transformation – easier, faster and at scale.

Background info

RomeFlex project

Approved by the Italian authority Arera in 2023, RomeFlex (Reshaping Operational MEthods to run grid FLEXibility) is a project that makes real a new and inclusive Local Flexibility Market accessible by all stakeholders connected to the Roman DSO MV and LV power grids.

Thanks to its open and modular architecture, the RomeFlex project is scalable and replicable by all the DSOs active in Italy. All the stakeholders involved can participate with their generation and consumption assets to the new local flexibility market by modulating their loads on MV and LV grids managed by the DSO.

EU Platone project

Successfully completed in August 2023, Platone – PLATform for Operation of distribution NEtworks – was a four-year Horizon 2020 funded European project. Platone aimed at defining new approaches to increase the observability of renewable energy resources and of less predictable loads while exploiting their flexibility. A consortium of 12 partners from Belgium, Germany, Greece and Italy developed advanced management platforms to unlock grid flexibility and to realize an open and non-discriminatory market, linking users, aggregators and operators. The solutions developed in the project were tested in three European demonstration examples. 

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Siemens Smart Infrastructure (SI) is shaping the market for intelligent, adaptive infrastructure for today and the future. It addresses the pressing challenges of urbanization and climate change by connecting energy systems, buildings, and industries. SI provides customers with a comprehensive end-to-end portfolio from a single source – with products, systems, solutions, and services from the point of power generation all the way to consumption. With an increasingly digitalized ecosystem, it helps customers thrive and communities progress while contributing toward protecting the planet. Siemens Smart Infrastructure has its global headquarters in Zug, Switzerland. As of September 30, 2023, the business had around 75,000 employees worldwide.

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In fiscal 2023, which ended on September 30, 2023, the Siemens Group generated revenue of €77.8 billion and net income of €8.5 billion. As of September 30, 2023, the company employed around 320,000 people worldwide. Further information is available on the Internet at www.siemens.com.