The international energy markets are becoming increasingly more complex, more digital and more integrated. Alpiq is responding to this rapid development with the Energy Solutions Competence Centre, which was founded this year. The integrated platform will generate added value in the core business of Alpiq’s customers and partners. This includes new solutions and services relating to all aspects of digitalisation, the Internet of things, optimisation and load management. To achieve this Alpiq has implemented an integrated smart data platform that processes all the available information in real-time and calculates the optimal decision options or even directly dispatches decisions for customers and their assets, flexibility or portfolios. This involves, for example, the digital processing of parameters from the individual generation units, price information, trading data, weather data, process data, grid data or forecasts, the management of assets and storage facilities or the optimisation of flexibility contracts. Alpiq’s partner Digital Route is providing a powerful software solution for scalable real-time data processing that will allow Alpiq to offer its customers apps that provide solutions and added value.
Alpiq is already optimising the first power stations and sewage treatment plants with the aim of reducing energy costs. To achieve this, the cloud-based service collects asset, environmental and process data, predicts imminent events and uses this data to calculate the best courses of action – every six seconds, 24/7 and fully automated. In this example, all types of flexibility, in particular generators and large loads such as pumps, are managed.
Alpiq will successively integrate and interlink all types of systems into the platform, from smart homes, charging networks for electric cars, through to large industrial consumers or decentralised power stations and large power stations, solar energy systems, storage facilities or electricity grids. Once the real-time connection is established, additional revenues can be generated for the involved partners, supplementary services can be offered, and it will even be possible to contribute towards security of supply, grid stabilisation and decarbonisation. Alpiq has already developed a comprehensive portfolio of algorithms, solutions and expertise in order to offer the best solution for every application and each customer. Thus Alpiq is positioning itself as the leading energy company for automated real-time solutions and artificial intelligence.
With the new platform and the competence centre for real-time algorithms and artificial intelligence in the energy market, Alpiq is following its strategy of transformation into Europe’s leading smart energy services provider. The platform is part of the initiative that Alpiq launched in 2016, which foresees the development and marketing of cross-market solutions and digital competencies.