German company Envelio’s intelligent grid platform is automating grid connections in Estonia in partnership with local utility Elektrilevi and Estonian energy firm Enefit Connect.

The companies are collaborating on a full rollout project in Estonia. Enefit Connect will digitise its network planning processes with the help of Envelio’s IGP intelligent grid platform so it can provide better service quality for Estonian biggest distribution grid operator Elektrilevi.

In particular, the process for new connections of distributed energy resources will be completely automated bringing customer service and the speed of the energy transition to the next level.

The project reinforces Elektrilevi’s strategy of using digital technologies to make the interconnected grid future-proof for renewable generation plants and loads such as charging points or heat pumps.

“Further automation of Enefit Connect’s grid planning processes will allow us to handle the rising numbers of new connection requests in the most efficient way, while ensuring the best network service for our clients” said Meelis Melder, head of planning at Enefit Connect.

The project started in December 2021 and covers the full scope of Enefit Connect’s distribution network services to Elektrilevi, whose distribution network covers up to 95% of the area of Estonia.

“Besides the technical evaluation and processing of new connection requests, also the planning of grid enhancements is an area where we see great potential in the IGP to support our decision-making process,” said Melder. “Technological support is increasingly important to derive optimal investment decisions to guarantee to the society the most cost-efficiency while securing the highest grid security.”

The IGP’s proprietary algorithms combine smart meter data with topological grid data to create an accurate and always up-to-date digital twin of the grid. This creates a high level of grid transparency and serves as the basis for further automation. In addition, geographical information is integrated into the platform to consider structural restrictions, such as roads or nature reservations, when automatically planning new grid connections.

“Estonia is a European role model in the field of digitisation,” said Simon Koopmann, CEO of Envelio. “Thus we are really excited about the opportunity to take digital grid planning there to the next level with Enefit Connect and Elektrilevi.”

Enveliois a spin-off from RWTH Aachen University and provides the IGP to distribution system operators. Grid planning and operation processes are digitised and automated by Envelio’s IGP. This automation enables a faster and more cost-efficient integration of renewable generation and charging points for electric vehicles into the energy system. The cores of Envelio’s technology are optimisation and machine-learning algorithms based on the five PhD theses of the founders. Envelio was founded in 2017 and has around 70 employees Its more than 35 customers are grid operators including Westnetz, E.Dis (both E.On group), Vattenfall, Helen, Enel, Iberdrola, EDP and Elektrilevi.

Enefit Connect is part of the Eesti Energia group that develops and manages various power networks, a high-speed internet network, a modern electric car charging network and a large part of Estonian street lighting.

Elektrilevi is alsopart of the Eesti Energia group. With 650.000 grid connection points, it is a distribution system operator covering approximately 95% of the Estonian distribution network.