Brussels / 31 January & 1 February 2026

schedule

Rust Meets the Grid: Building OpenLEADR-rs for Real-World Demand Response


OpenLEADR-rs is an opinionated, open-source Rust implementation of the OpenADR 3.0 protocol, which is already being used for real-world pilots.

In this joint presentation, Stijn van Houwelingen (ElaadNL) and Maximilian Pohl (Tweede Golf) will kick things off with a quick primer on demand response: what it is, and why it’s essential to accelerate the energy transition. From there, they’ll dive into some design decisions behind OpenLEADR-rs.

Among the decisions explored: why Rust was a good choice for the protocol and why OpenLEADR-rs did not implement real-time updates yet.

Next, the focus shifts to adoption, specifically focusing on the use case of Grid-Aware Charging in the Netherlands.

The talk then wraps up with a look at what’s next for OpenLEADR-rs, including our effort to implement OpenADR version 3.1, how developers and organizations can get involved, and what early adopters can expect in terms of support and collaboration.

Speakers

Maximilian Pohl
Stijn van Houwelingen

Links