This report provides an overview of the progress made in 2020 by the EU projects (Horizon2020 funding framework) that include RSE in their consortium and are related to the System Research Project 2.1. For the status update referring to the year 2019, please refer to the similar additional report completed in 2019 [1].

Three projects are considered:

FlexPlan: Under the technical and administrative coordination of RSE, this project establishes a new network planning methodology by considering the introduction of new storage resources and leveraging the flexibility provided by loads in electricity grids (T&D) as an alternative to constructing new network elements. FlexPlan aims to create a new network planning tool with the ambition of advancing beyond the current state of the art. It will develop six regional cases covering almost the entire European continent or the Iberian Peninsula, or France and Benelux, or Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, or Italy, or the Balkan countries, or Nordic countries, to provide insights into network planning in Europe up to 2050. FlexPlan will conclude with the formulation of guidelines for regulators and system operators, indicating the extent to which flexibility can contribute to reducing overall system costs.

INTERRFACE: This project aims to design a pan-European interoperable network services architecture (IEGSA) that serves as an interface between TSOs, DSOs, and end customers. Cutting-edge digital tools based on blockchain and big data management will provide new opportunities for market participation, enabling a greater number of customers to engage with the market structures proposed by INTERRFACE.

ASSIST: The goal of this project is to alleviate energy poverty in various EU countries through the creation of a network of so-called Home Energy Advisors (HEAs). These are volunteers and professionals from the energy, social, or health sectors who are trained through the ASSIST project to implement a series of pilot actions aimed at advising vulnerable consumers on how to optimize (and potentially reduce) their energy consumption, primarily through behavioral changes and low-cost energy and efficiency measures.