The Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) has recently announced the selected projects for new business models in the energy transition and access to the regulatory sandbox for promoting research and innovation in the electricity sector. These initiatives are part of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan – Funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU. IREC is participating in four of these projects, all of which have launched in the first half of 2025:

• FLEXIGRHID – “Use of hydrogen through an intelligent fuel cell to provide energy flexibility to the grid”
• MELIXA – “Distributed governance platform for integration into flexibility markets”
• NEXUSFLEX – “Reducing energy costs for large consumers”
• EDELPRAT – “Energia del Prat: Distributed shared storage sandbox”

FLEXIGRHID aims to develop a new business model that facilitates the entry of fuel cells into the electricity market, providing grid flexibility using hydrogen as an energy source. The project includes the development of a converter specifically designed for fuel cell systems, along with tailored energy management software. The consortium is led by Protio Power, with participation from IREC and Epic Power Converters. At IREC, researcher Lucía Igualada from the Energy Systems Analytics Department will lead the design and implementation of the smart energy management software, to be tested with the converter at the Energy SmartLab in IREC.

MELIXA addresses the challenges of demand-side flexibility through the integration of a multiservice distributed governance platform. This platform enables participation in demand response markets to unlock flexibility and enhance renewable energy penetration. The project is coordinated by R2M Solution Spain, with IREC and four other partners. Josh Eichman, head of the Energy Systems Integration group, and Eduardo Salazar will coordinate IREC’s contributions focused on flexibility service development and management.

NEXUSFLEX seeks to reduce energy costs for large consumers by exploring the viability of new business models based on demand-side flexibility, process digitalization, and optimization of self-consumed photovoltaic production. The energy supplier Nexus, along with Bamboo and IREC, are combining their expertise to develop more efficient and innovative solutions. At IREC, Josh Eichman and Francisco Arellano will lead efforts in optimization, including the development of an optimal management model for a “Virtual Battery 2.0” and algorithms for a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) photovoltaic surplus marketplace. IREC will also collaborate with Bamboo to integrate two new flexibility services into its existing platform.

EDELPRAT aims to explore and validate new business models in a real-world environment through a sandbox approach. The project leverages both existing and newly installed distributed storage solutions within the “Energia del Prat” energy community. As the first initiative of its kind in Spain, EDELPRAT represents a significant step towards a more adaptable electricity system. The regulatory sandbox allows the testing of innovative pilot projects in a controlled environment with potential regulatory exemptions, ultimately promoting regulatory innovation. The project is led by Energia del Prat, with IREC, Bamboo Energy (an IREC spin-off), OMI – Polo Español (OMIE), and olivoENERGY as partners. Under the leadership of Lucía Igualada, IREC will design AI and optimization algorithms to be integrated into Bamboo Energy’s platform, test various use cases, and collaborate with OMIE to evaluate local flexibility markets.

These newly approved projects address key aspects necessary to advance the energy transition. The initiative supports the move toward a more distributed, flexible, and multidirectional energy model—where citizen participation, energy aggregators, demand-side management, digitalization, and energy storage play a crucial role in overcoming current and future challenges.

Acknowledgements (in Spanish): Proyecto acogido al programa de concesión de ayudas a proyectos de nuevos modelos de negocio en la transición energética en el marco del Plan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliencia – financiado por la Unión Europea – NextGenerationEU. Sin embargo, los puntos de vista y las opiniones expresadas son únicamente los del autor o autores y no reflejan necesariamente los de la Unión Europea o la Comisión Europea. Ni la Unión Europea ni la Comisión Europea pueden ser consideradas responsables de las mismas.