To achieve its energy goals EU needs to establish a geographically large market by initially improving its cross-border electricity interconnections. A geographically large market, based on imports and exports of electricity, could increase the level of competition, boost the EU’s security of electricity supply and integrate more renewables into energy markets. Electricity should, as far as possible, flow between Member States as easily as it currently flows within Member States, so as to increase sustainability potential and real competition as well as to drive economic efficiency of the energy system. To this end, FARCROSS aims to address this challenge by connecting major stakeholders of the energy value chain and demonstrating integrated hardware and software solutions that will facilitate the “unlocking” of the resources for the cross-border electricity flows and regional cooperation. The project will promote state-of-the-art technologies to enhance the exploitation/capacity/efficiency of transmission grid assets, either on the generation or the transmission level. The hardware and software solutions will increase grid observability to facilitate system operations at a regional level, exploit the full potential of transmission corridors for increased electricity flows that will facilitate transition to flow-based regional market coupling, consider cross-border connections and their specific ICT and grid infrastructure, planning to use a wide-area protection approach to ensure the safe integration of renewable energy sources into the grid, mitigate disturbances, increase power system stability. An innovative regional forecasting platform will be demonstrated for improved prognosis of renewable generation and demand response and a capacity reserves optimization tool will be tested to maximize cross-border flows. The non-harmonization of national regulation will be studied and measures will be recommended to avoid distortion of the technology benefits.

FLEXITRANSTORE project shall develop a next generation of Flexible Energy Grid (FEG), which provides the technical basis to support the valorisation of flexibility services, enhancing the existing European Internal Energy Market (IEM). This FEG addresses the capability of a power system to maintain continuous service in the face of rapid and large swings in supply or demand, whatever the cause. Thus, a wholesale market infrastructure and new business models within this integrated FEG should be upgraded to network players, incentivize new ones to join, while demonstrating new business perspectives for cross border resources management and energy trading. The strategic objectives of FLEXITRANSTORE are: to enhance and accelerate the integration of renewables into European energy systems and to increase cross border electricity flows across Europe. Flexibility is one of the keys to meeting these strategic objectives. A range of state-of-the-art ICT technologies / control improvements will be exploited to enhance the flexibility of this novel energy grid while increasing the utility of the existing infrastructure by integrating storage and demand response management. From a market perspective, state-of-the-art ICT technologies / control improvements will be applied to develop an enhanced market model on an integrated platform, for flexibility services and to support cross border auctioning and trading of energy. The FEG components and the digital market infrastructure will be deployed in 8 Demonstrations which will take place in 6 countries (Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Slovenia, Belgium, Spain), focusing on illustrating specific functions and serving real needs and existing challenges.