UK-South Korean collaboration announces series of trades in flexibility demonstration trial
The project additionally sought to illustrate the value of a flexible electricity system for countries seeking to use more intermittent renewable energy. Flexibility is a mainstay of how the UK intends to decarbonise its electricity grid at least cost. Modelling by Imperial College showed that the potential savings to South Korea from flexibility increase as the country pursues more stringent carbon targets. Their results suggested that South Korea could save KRW1.1tn/yr ($0.95bn/yr), by implementing a more flexible system now. This figure increases to KRW2.7tn/yr ($2.3bn/yr) in 2030 were carbon intensity limited to 100g CO2/kWh.
Gridwiz entered the project looking for a market-based approach to flexibility that might help its customers ensure delivery of Demand Response. The trial involved six industrial companies, such as casting producer Daedong Metals, Hanwha Total Petrochemical and car component manufacturer Castec Korea, who contract with Gridwiz to reduce their energy demand when congestion results in a ‘stress event’ for the Korean electricity grid. Through the Electron platform, the assets which found themselves unable to deliver as contracted were able to avoid punitive penalties by trading with those who had surplus capacity. These assets in turn were able to earn extra revenue from the four completed trades. Without the marketplace, this 2,000kWh of demand response capacity would not have delivered. Gridwiz and Electron collaborated in the design of the market, in which Gridwiz acted as the market operator.
The trial built on Electron’s earlier Project Helios, which explored flexibility trading in the UK, to test how the model could be applied to other market structures. Jo-Jo Hubbard, Electron chief executive, said: ‘Project Artemis proves the value flexibility providers place in being able to refine their trading position near real time. This market layer can be incorporated in any geography that requires new tools to manage grid volatility as a result of decarbonisation.’
Junewoo Ryu, Gridwiz vice-president, emphasised the significance of the project saying, “We believe that the Project Artemis has demonstrated the value of Demand Response as a flexibility resource. We hope this project can be used as evidence to support the policy goal of increased flexibility to complement the recent surge of renewable energy capacity in Korea.”
Electron’s innovative platform consists of a blockchain-based asset register, which governs access to confidential asset data, connected to multiple ‘off-chain’ trading engines which can be securely operated by third-party market and service operators. The Peak Response platform is one of these markets. The decentralised nature of the data source means that the market can potentially be extended to other South Korean aggregators in a way that would allow Gridwiz customers to trade with 3rd parties.
The project was jointly funded by BEIS, the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning.
About Electron
Electron is an energy technology company providing electricity marketplace infrastructure to enable system operators, distribution network utilities, distributed energy resources, and market intermediaries to digitally interact and trade in decarbonising energy systems. Electron’s vision is that zero carbon energy is never wasted, and consumers are empowered to use it, accelerating the transition to net zero markets. Founded in 2015, Electron is based in London. It also has a market presence in North America and Continental Europe. For more information on Electron, please visit https://www.electron.net/
About Gridwiz
GridWiz Inc. is a South Korea based energy startup that provides an intelligent software platform integrating Gigawatt-scaled distributed energy resources (DERs) including demand response, energy storage, renewable energy, and EVs to provide flexibility to the grid. Founded in 2013, Our clean and sustainable energy solutions are at the core in delivering benefits to our 500+ customers and healing the Earth. For more information on GridWiz, please visit www.gridwiz.com/
