Project Information
Reinforce
Renewable Energy INtegration for Flexibility, Optimal Management and Resilience in Energy Communities and the Built Environment
REINFORCE explores how buildings, districts and energy communities can become more climate-neutral, flexible and energy-autonomous through the better integration of renewable energy. The project combines a real-world multi-energy Living Lab with open-source simulation, stochastic optimisation and advanced digital methods to develop and validate practical solutions for future energy systems. By linking electricity, hydrogen, heat, storage and mobility, and by openly sharing data, models and methodologies, REINFORCE aims to create solutions that can be replicated and transferred to other energy communities across Europe.
Living Lab
REINFORCE links PV generation, building electricity and heat demand, battery storage, hydrogen production by electrolysis, hydrogen compression and storage, electric and hydrogen mobility, and the public electricity grid within its Living Labs. This provides real data on when energy is produced, when it is needed and where flexibility is available.
MESS
The MESS (Multi Energy System Simulator) simulation tool is used in REINFORCE to test different ways of combining technologies such as PV, batteries, hydrogen storage and other energy devices. This helps identify which system setups can make better use of renewable energy over longer periods and at reasonable cost.
SECOEM
SECOEM (Stochastic Energy Community Optimisation in Energy Markets) is used in REINFORCE to find the best way to operate the energy community by deciding when energy should be used, stored, converted to hydrogen or exchanged with the grid. It takes into account changing renewable energy production, energy demand and electricity prices.
Quantum Computing
As energy communities become more complex, the number of possible operating decisions increases significantly. REINFORCE explores whether quantum computing could provide useful new methods for solving such optimisation problems in the future.
Validation & Open Data
The developed models are compared with measurements from the Living Lab to check how well they represent reality and to improve them where needed. By sharing data, models and methods openly, REINFORCE also aims to make the results useful for other buildings, districts and energy communities.
The REINFORCE Concept
Flexible, climate-neutral energy communities
Renewable energy generation is increasingly variable, while energy demand from buildings, heating, mobility and other services changes over time. Production and demand therefore often do not coincide.
REINFORCE investigates how electricity, heat, hydrogen, storage and mobility can be coordinated to better match renewable generation with demand. MESS (Multi Energy System Simulator) supports the long-term assessment and design of energy-system configurations, while SECOEM (Stochastic Energy Community Optimisation in Energy Markets) optimises short-term operation under uncertain renewable generation, demand and electricity prices.
The developed approaches are validated using real Living Lab data, while quantum computing is explored as a future option for increasingly complex optimisation problems.
REINFORCE
The Living Laboratories
Lab 1 - Green Energy Center
Focus on multi-energy infrastructure, hydrogen, storage, mobility, monitoring and energy-community integration.
Lab 2 - Residential buildings
Residential/building energy system with significant PV generation and complementary demand/storage characteristics.
Future Locations
The REINFORCE project laboratory sites might further expand in the future with new locations added to the research grid.
REINFORCE
The Technology Overview
REINFORCE
Work Packages
REINFORCE is implemented over 36 months and structured into eight Work Packages covering project management, Living Lab implementation and operation, technology and sustainable mobility development, multi-energy system simulation with MESS, stochastic optimisation with SECOEM, quantum computing, validation and case studies, and reporting and Knowledge Community activities. Together, the Work Packages connect real-world experimentation with modelling, optimisation, validation and knowledge transfer across the full project duration.
WP1 – Project Coordination & Management
Coordinates the scientific, administrative and financial implementation of REINFORCE. WP1 manages project interfaces, quality and risks, monitors progress and supports effective collaboration across the consortium.
WP2 – Living Lab Implementation & Operation
Plans, implements and operates the combined Power on Demand and Power to Hydrogen Living Labs. WP2 integrates the energy-system components, establishes monitoring and data collection, and provides real-world data for modelling, optimisation and validation.
WP3 – Technology & Sustainable Mobility
Assesses renewable-energy, storage and mobility technologies relevant to REINFORCE and defines key performance parameters for monitoring. A central focus is the development of a green-mobility modelling approach and its integration into energy communities.
WP4 – Multi Energy System Simulator (MESS)
Further develops the open-source MESS for long-term analysis of energy communities. It models interactions between electricity, hydrogen, heat, storage and mobility and evaluates different system configurations from an energy and economic perspective.
WP5 – Energy Community Optimisation (SECOEM)
Develops SECOEM for short-term optimisation of energy communities. It determines how energy should be used, stored, converted or exchanged with the grid while accounting for uncertainty in renewable generation and electricity-market prices.
WP6 – Quantum Computing
Investigates whether quantum computing can support the complex optimisation problems addressed by MESS and SECOEM. The work includes quantum-computing simulations, feasibility studies on quantum hardware and monitoring of quantum-computer energy consumption.
WP7 – Validation & Case Studies
Develops energy-community case studies and validates MESS and SECOEM using Living Lab data. The results create a feedback loop between modelling, optimisation and real-world operation and help identify improvements for the Living Labs.
WP8 – Reporting & Knowledge Community
Coordinates project reporting, communication and dissemination and connects REINFORCE with the CETPartnership Knowledge Community. It supports scientific exchange, publications and the project commitment to sharing open data and open-source models.