The Federal Council of Ministers approved five EnergyVille projects for the Energy Transition Fund, which falls under the authority of Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten. This marks an important kick-off for new and innovative research within a wide range of energy topics. The four approved projects on which VITO will work are BeCoOptimal, CEEP-IT, CROCODILE and GALILEO.
Five new energy transition projects within EnergyVille will start in autumn 2024, supported by the Energy Transition Fund. This fund was created to encourage energy research, development and innovation within federal energy powers. The approved projects have a duration of 2-3 years.
Below you can see an overview of the four VITO/EnergyVille projects.
VITO/EnergyVille projects
1. BeCoOptimal
The objective of the BeCoOptimal project is the innovative integration of artificial intelligence by means of machine learning with physicochemical models of battery aging, aiming to improve the accuracy of battery state estimates and the optimization of its control by battery operators. A key aspect of our approach is the use of this integrated model to better estimate the total cost of ownership, thereby enabling battery operators to optimize their usage and benefits. This initiative aims to fill gaps in current battery pack modeling and monitoring and improve fault diagnostics and prognosis, paving the way for more advanced BESS monitoring and better tailored services.
Partners: VITO/EnergyVille, Octave, Gigastorage
Duration: 3 years
2. CEEP-IT
The CEEP-IT project will develop climate-neutral energy-economy pathways for different possible developments of demands for key energy-intensive products and services in Belgium. It provides methodological advancements by linking different model types: energy system optimization, computable general equilibrium, and input-output models. This allows an assessment of the economic implications of the energy transition and offers more robust energy system planning with better-informed projections of energy service demand in industry.
Partners: VITO/EnergyVille, ICEDD: Institut de Conseil et d’Etudes en Développement Durable, Federal Planning Bureau
Duration: 3 years
3. CROCODILE
CROCODILE aims at fostering offshore wind integration by de-risking offshore infrastructure investments by means of analysing the efficiency of offshore grid market design and implementation choices with respect to day-ahead markets, balancing needs, reserve sizing and long-term incentive requirements such as power purchase agreements (PPAs). The analysis will be conducted from the perspective of all stakeholders in order to facilitate the participation of large off-takers, citizens, SMEs and local governments. Eventually recommendations will be provided to maximize the welfare impact of offshore investments for all stakeholders.
Partners: EnergyVille/KU Leuven, Otary RS, Ugent, VITO/EnergyVille, Cociter, Ecopower, Seacoop
Duration: 3 years
4. GALILEO (Maximizing the potential of Industrial flexibility and supporting competitiveness of the Belgian industry)
GALILEO aims to support further decarbonization, electrification and flexibility provision from industry towards de grid. Flexibility is important to mitigate grid investments and to balance the system. GALILEO explores the flexibility potential of industrial processes and examines solutions to unlock industrial flexibility by addressing technical, operational, economic and regulatory barriers. GALILEO combines academic models, with industrial cases from different energy-intensive sectors.
Partners: VITO/EnergyVille, Aperam Stainless Belgium, Elia Transmission Belgium, ENTRAS, EnergyVille/KU Leuven, Nyrstar Belgium, Tiense Suikerraffinaderij, Tessenderlo Group
Duration: 2,5 years
With the support of FOD Economie.
