Open communication protocols and open source software go hand in hand and fuel each other. But there is a potential chicken-and-egg problem: Should the OEMs support it first, or are they waiting for widespread support of the protocol in EMS implementations (who are hesitant if the OEMs don't support it)?

The only forward is to start showing real solutions and implementations with front-runners from both sides. Then, these smaller showcases can become an avalanche and lift the sector up in an open way. Both steps are difficult and need partnerships.

Energy flexibility optimization behind the meter is already deployed in practice. However, networking protocols and definitions of flexibility are used which are not standardized and not openly available. This makes building new solutions with new flexible energy assets (like EVs, batteries, heat pumps and also solar inverters) a chore and drives up costs. Each new energy asset (or new brand) has to be integrated with their specific protocols and patterns. New protocols attempt to standardize these concepts, such as the S2 protocol. It targets an international audience for both existing and new/future energy assets. See https://s2standard.org/

S2 is approved as European standard, but the next batteline is to showcase that implementations can work and that both sides, OEMs and EMS, are willing to get to work. Open source implementations will provide building blocks and serve as reference.

This presentation will show the efforts and experiences of two different consortia, from different implementation projects, with adopting the protocol and creating tools to spur adoption by other innovators and OEMs. Of course, we will also briefly outline the protocol itself, and address differences and shared features in other existing protocols in this space, like EEBus and OpenADR.

We hope this talk can spur more interest and collaboration in this space and towards a lift for open efforts in the industry.

Join our presentation if you want to learn more about protocol standardization efforts within the energy transition and S2 specifically!