How can companies benefit from collaborating on energy?

How can companies use energy and the power grid’s capacity more intelligently by collaborating? This is one of the questions being explored as part of the work on industrial energy communities in Vårgårda. When the project group recently met at Chalmers, the focus was on the next step—defining exactly what needs to be investigated and what benefits an energy community could actually bring to the companies.

An industrial energy community is based on the idea that companies can derive greater benefit from their energy resources by pooling them. One company might have on-site electricity generation, another might have the capacity to store energy, and a third might have operations where some of its electricity consumption can be shifted over time.

“It’s easy to get caught up in what technical solutions are possible. Now we need to shift our perspective and start with the companies’ needs. What problems do they want to solve, and where can collaboration actually make a difference? Those are the questions we’re continuing to work on now,” says Peter Berg, project manager at Innovatum Science Park.

But this is also where the issue becomes complex. Companies have different energy needs, production processes, and levels of flexibility. In addition, the capacity of the power grid, peak loads, energy prices, investments, and regulations all influence what is actually possible.

From Idea to Tangible Benefit

The project team is now continuing its work to understand where collaboration can create real benefits. Can the companies’ different consumption patterns complement one another? Is it possible to reduce peak demand or make better use of local electricity generation? And what role can storage and flexibility play?

The starting point is the companies’ own energy consumption. First, we need an overview of how much energy the business uses, when demand is at its peak, and what factors can be influenced. This may involve improving energy efficiency or adapting certain processes so that they do not all require electricity at the same time. With this knowledge, it becomes easier to see what the company can do on its own and where collaboration can yield additional benefits.

Analyses and simulations must therefore be linked to specific questions raised by companies. What measures are possible without disrupting production? What investments are required, and how can costs and benefits be shared among the collaborating parties?

These are the relationships the project team needs to examine in order to assess when an energy community is valuable and what is required for it to function in practice.

Flexibility is becoming increasingly important

Following the project group’s meeting, the group attended the seminar“How Might Electricity Prices Evolve Over the Next 10 Years?” featuring Mia Bodin from Mivast AB, Arne Bergvik from Sigholm, and Lisa Göransson, professor of energy systems at Chalmers. Professor Tomas Kåberger served as moderator.

The seminar’s topic placed the challenges in Vårgårda in a broader perspective. The industry’s demand for electricity is expected to increase, while it remains uncertain how quickly new power generation capacity can be brought online. Several of the discussions therefore focused on flexibility—the ability to adjust electricity usage based on when electricity is available and how much it costs.

Lisa Göransson demonstrated how flexibility can affect companies’ actual electricity costs. For businesses that are able to shift parts of their electricity usage over time, there can be a significant difference between the average electricity price and the price the company actually pays. This makes flexibility an important issue, both for individual companies and for the energy system as a whole.

Hydropower, wind power, batteries, thermal storage, and flexible electricity use can together contribute to a more flexible energy system. Mia Bodin also highlighted the rapid advancements in battery storage and the opportunities this creates for shifting energy between different times of day.

For the work on industrial energy communities, the question therefore becomes a concrete one: What flexibility do companies in Vårgårda have, and could that flexibility become more valuable if the companies’ different circumstances are considered collectively?

Differences among companies can be an asset

It is precisely the different circumstances of these businesses that make them interesting for the ongoing work in Vårgårda. If one business has high electricity consumption while another has low consumption, or if there is local production or the ability to store energy, there may be benefits to looking at the area as a whole.

The project team is now linking the companies’ needs with analyses and simulations. This work will provide a concrete basis for assessing which partnerships are worth pursuing and which investments can generate benefits.

“For businesses, it’s about more than just lowering electricity costs. Smarter energy use can also create opportunities to expand operations when the power grid’s capacity is limited. The work in Vårgårda will show where collaboration can make a difference and what it takes to take the next step,” Peter concludes.

The work is being carried out as part of the EiVI project—Energy in Our Industry—which is led by Innovatum Science Park/West Sweden Energy Agency. Project partners include the Center of Innovation Vårgårda and Chalmers University of Technology, as well as Chalmers Next Labs, and the project is funded by the Swedish Energy Agency.

The EiVi Project Team