This talk will explore control strategies for sector coupling, focusing on how distributed flexibilities—such as flexible loads, generation facilities, energy storage, and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technologies—can be leveraged to ensure efficient and reliable grid operation while balancing supply and demand, minimizing the need for costly grid expansion and maximising the sustainability of future grid supply systems. We examine the control of energy management systems that introduce ancillary services, with a focus on three use cases: demand-side management for beverage industries, electric park houses and energy communities. These use cases demonstrate how flexibilities in decentralized production, generation, and storage can be implemented effectively.

The talk will specifically highlight model-predictive control algorithms enabling the physical entities—such as vehicles, machines, and enterprises—to autonomously participate in primary, secondary and tertiary energy markets (spot, intra-day, and day-ahead) without human assistance. For instance, we devise how incentive-based demand response (DR) programs can facilitate beverage production lines to contribute to the stability of smart grids by adapting their power and energy consumption in accordance with grid balancing requirements. In both cases, the algorithms trade off between the flexibility revenue and reduced production.

In a second use-case, we propose a novel control algorithm to use bidirectional charging in the framework of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology for optimal energy transaction and investment. The energy storage components of an electric charging station, including the buffers of energy, provide the opportunity to sell energy to or buy energy from a smart grid that not only improves the stability and power quality of the grid but also offers the possibility to the charging station owner and the EV drivers to benefit from the trades in the energy market financially. Here, the portfolio optimization from financial mathematics is adopted.

Finally, we introduce an innovative top-down approach that empowers system operators to optimize grid operations, reduce costs, and enhance overall grid stability. The discussion will address also the regulatory changes necessary to support this transition, offering insights into the future of a decentralized, flexible, and efficient grid system.