Research & Development

Enabling technologies for the digitalization of Energy Communities with IoT tools — a MIMIT-funded applied research programme.

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MIMIT-funded project — "Tecnologie abilitanti per la digitalizzazione delle Comunità Energetiche con strumenti IoT", financed by the Italian Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (MIMIT).
ID FTE0000079 — CUP B77H21010410008

The Project

We are designing and field-testing a prototype ERAB controller (Energy Resource Aggregation Business — IEC SRD 63443-1): an IoT-based digital technology that monitors and controls the energy flows of a Renewable Energy Community (CER), with particular focus on battery scheduling. The goal is to enable the community to participate in energy and flexibility markets through virtual aggregation and centralized management, on top of international standards (IEC 61850 first).

ERAB Controller — Edge-Cloud Architecture Cloud Layer — CER Controller Forecasting · Linear Optimization (LP) · Historical DB (InfluxDB) · Config DB (MongoDB) Web Interface for CER managers and end users MQTT Brokers (RabbitMQ) — Monitoring & Control · IEC 61850-7-420 data model User Controller #1 Huawei API (hardware-free) Local setpoint mgmt User Controller #2 Zucchetti Modbus (Raspberry-based) Local setpoint mgmt Consumer Node ALFA Sinapsi (blockchain meters) M1 readings Field Devices — Inverters · BESS · Meters

Validated Impact

A live pilot with partner ceBASE (3 residential producers and 2 consumers, mixed Huawei / Zucchetti / ALFA Sinapsi assets) validated the full edge-to-cloud chain. Year-long rolling-horizon simulations on a reference residential prosumer (3 kWp PV, 10 kWh BESS) quantify the economic uplift over a baseline self-consumption strategy:

+30% Energy sale revenue
+40–170% CER incentive uplift
15 min Optimization cycle

Next Steps

Research phase completion by July 2026, then a second pilot focused on local flexibility and new inverter brands, on the way to progressive industrialization with broader vendor coverage and integration with CER management platforms.

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