The integration of more variable renewable electricity generation necessitates that the electricity system becomes both smarter and more flexible. As an example, it is estimated that to keep up with the growth in variable energy production the flexibility in the European system needs to almost double by 2030 compared to today (ACER, 2023). In this context, flexibility refers to the electricity system’s ability to quickly and effectively react to imbalances that occur between supply and demand, ensuring stability and reliability. The more flexibility in the system, the more resilient it is to sudden changes in supply or demand.

Flexibility markets have emerged as one approach to manage and increase the flexibility in the electricity system. They are also promoted by the European Commission as a way to reach the EU target of be- coming climate neutral by 2050 (The European Commission, 2024). Under this approach demand flexi- bility becomes a service that end-users and other market actors can sell on the market, participating actively in making the system more stable and resilient. Flexibility platforms are key players in the flexi- bility market to facilitate the coordination of flexibility services trading, dispatch and/or settlement, acting between system operators and flexibility service providers.

By improving the utilization of flexibility in the system, the platforms help address challenges regarding grid congestion and system balancing, creating value for both the flexibility service providers (FSP), the system operators and our societies as a whole.
This report focuses specifically on flexibility platforms’ ability to unlock the use of flexibility from smart appliances in the household and commercial sectors. Integrating flexibility from these sectors is chal- lenging, but as the residential and commercial sectors are responsible for around 27% and 21% of the world’s electricity consumption, respectively, the potential is substantial.