Industrial Flexibility Options and their Applications in a Future Energy System

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Buhl, Hans Ulrich ; Gabrek, Nadine ; Gerdes, Jan-Niklas ; Kaymakci, Can ; Rauland, Katrin ; Richter, Fabian ; Sauer, Alexander ; Schneider, Christian ; Schott, Paul ; Seifermann, Stefan ; Tristán, Alejandro ; Wagner, Jonathan ; Wagon, Felix ; Weibelzahl, Martin ; Weissflog, Jan ; Zachmann, Bastian:
Industrial Flexibility Options and their Applications in a Future Energy System.
Sankt Augustin , 2021 . - VI, 41 S.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24406/fit-n-639062

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Abstract

The ratification of the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015 and the resulting efforts to reduce emissions
require a fundamental shift towards a system of Renewable Energy Sources. The increasing use of wind
and solar power creates fluctuations in the electricity supply. However, in electricity systems, it is crucial
to balance electricity supply and consumption at any point in time. Therefore, future electricity systems
require flexibility on the demand side, to dynamically adjust electricity consumption to the availability of
electricity from Renewable Energy Sources, as well as on the supply side, to adjust electricity output.
We structure this demand for flexibility into different flexibility applications (e.g., ancillary services or
intra-day market). In turn, various flexibility options (e.g., industrial Demand-Side Management or battery
storages) can meet these flexibility applications. The objective of this Whitepaper is to answer the
question which flexibility options qualify to meet the requirements of specific flexibility applications to
provide insights for the deployment of flexibility options in the German electricity system. This
Whitepaper provides a comprehensive analysis of overall flexibility options based on literature. The
focus of the Whitepaper lies on the flexibility option industrial Demand-Side Management and the underlying
Energy Flexibility Measures like, e.g., the adaption of production start.
The evaluation of technical and regulatory aspects of flexibility options based on empirical data of
participating companies within the Kopernikus-project SynErgie and the matching of flexibility options
and their possible applications yields the following results: In the overall view, industrial Demand-Side
Management can contribute to every flexibility application. As a part of industrial Demand-Side
Management, there are Energy Flexibility Measures that only meet the requirements of specific flexibility
applications, such as for energy-only markets or ancillary services (in the positive direction), but also
single Energy Flexibility Measures that can be used for every flexibility application. Therefore, industrial
Demand-Side Management must reach a competitive price level to prevail against competing flexibility
options.
Overall, we derive five recommendations for policy makers:
▪ First, in the short to medium term, barriers should be lifted by policy makers for industrial
companies to incentivize investments in industrial Demand-Side Management and to foster
flexibility. So far, inhibited by existing regulations, we see a need for change, with regard to,
e.g., grid charges, which today penalize the provision of flexibility for energy-intensive industrial
companies. Also, the conflicting goals of energy flexibility and energy efficiency must be
addressed by regulation.
▪ Second, there is a need for change in the medium to long term for (non-discriminatory) market
access to flexibility applications with respect to industrial companies providing flexibility.
▪ Third, we recommend that the current levy and tax system must be reconsidered, which distort
the electricity price signals in a way, that low and negative electricity market prices are hardly
reflected in the effective electricity prices of most industrial companies.
▪ Fourth, a higher degree of harmonization of flexibility-providing market players such as utilities,
industrial companies, and residential consumers, in the form of standardized communication
must be created to avoid lock-in effects when deploying flexibility potentials and thus, effectively
foster these flexibility potentials.
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▪ Fifth, flexibility options and their corresponding Energy Flexibility Measures need to be
explored further and the transfer of findings between research and practice needs to be
strengthened.
Summarizing, regulatory barriers and financial disadvantages for flexibility provision by industrial
companies must be lifted and incentives should be provided by policy makers to foster the flexibility
potential of industrial Demand-Side Management.