electricity Flexibility dIstrict heaTiNg bidirEctional SubStation
The eFITNESS project focuses on integrating thermal prosuming schemes into district heating networks. Its goal is to enable a bidirectional exchange of energy with the network through the use of heat pumps installed at customer sites.
The project aims to industrialise innovative bidirectional heat exchange substations to transform users into active nodes for the local generation of thermal energy. Development will include the integration of advanced control algorithms and predictive models to enable the dynamic balancing of demand and supply, leveraging the integration of renewable energy sources such as photovoltaics.
The adoption of data-driven logic, based on cloud and edge optimisation, will ensure both electrical and thermal flexibility, supporting network operators through ancillary services and contributing to decarbonisation.
The technologies of Maps S.p.A. and Maps Energy S.r.l. for the project
Within the partnership, Maps Group is participating through two of its companies: Maps S.p.A. and Maps Energy S.r.l., which work in close synergy to provide an end-to-end “turnkey solution”. Maps S.p.A. is responsible for the algorithmic intelligence and optimisation components, while Maps Energy oversees the system architecture, device interfacing, and field implementation.
The specific role of Maps S.p.A.
- Digital Twin development: Creation of data-driven mathematical digital twins to represent the behaviour of heat pumps, bidirectional substations and associated devices, including photovoltaic systems and batteries.
- Cloud-edge optimisation: Development of a hybrid optimisation model. Model Predictive Control will be implemented in the cloud for the long-term horizon, while a lightweight, sub-optimal model will operate at the edge to ensure fail-safe logic and responsiveness in the event of disconnection.
- Multi-site and portfolio optimisation: Extension of optimisation logic from individual sites to an aggregated system-level Digital Twin, designed to maximise overall energy flexibility.
- Multi-objective logic: Definition of configurable objective functions to balance cost minimisation, maximisation of local self-consumption, reduction of CO2 emissions and revenues from flexibility markets involving DSOs and TSOs.
- Business plan and dissemination: Definition of the business model, such as SaaS or on-premise licensing, the go-to-market strategy and the management of communication activities for the commercialisation of the software.
The specific role of Maps Energy S.r.l.
- System architecture: Design of the hardware, software, and application architecture, including dashboards and alerts, for edge-to-cloud monitoring, with the definition of edge device requirements and communication protocols.
- Algorithm-device interfacing: Development of software drivers, normalisation of field data, and programming of the edge node with local control logic, autonomous safety functions, and fallback mechanisms.
- Pilot installations: Technical surveys, physical installation, field wiring, and functional testing of edge devices, including gateways, PLCs, and sensors, at the three pilot sites in Turin.
- Cloud integration: Ensuring the secure transmission of field data to the Maps S.p.A. cloud platform and implementing automated control logic, sent remotely, to field devices.
The other eFITNESS partners
- IREN Energia S.p.A. (IEN): Project coordinator, responsible for the industrialisation of the bidirectional substation, the development of plant engineering schemes, and the physical installation of the three pilot plants on Turin’s district heating network.
- IREN S.p.A. (IREN): The Group holding company, providing cross-functional support for legal, regulatory, ICT, communication, and energy management aspects, while contributing to the development of the business plan and the identification of commercial use cases.
- Politecnico di Torino (POLITO): Research organisation responsible for numerical optimisation, experimental analysis through laboratory test beds, the development of advanced models for hierarchical control, and the scientific validation of data collected from the pilot sites.
More details about eFITNESS
| Project Acronym | eFITNESS |
| Full title | electricity Flexibility district heaTiNg bidirectional SubStation |
| Funding programme | Italian Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security (Energy Department – Directorate-General for Programmes and Financial Incentives) |
| Project Coordinator | IREN Energia S.p.A. |
| Project start date | 1st July 2025 |
| Duration | 18 months |
| Project call | Public Notice ex Article 4, paragraph 1, Ministerial Decree No. 386/2023. |