Purpose and Objectives

The project ELIN aims to develop advanced data-driven decision-support systems focused on electric arc furnaces (EAFs) and their interaction with the electricity market. The objective is to improve electricity consumption forecasting, provide better support for electricity market bidding, and offer real-time assistance to operators and decision-makers. This will enable more effective production planning and reduced electricity costs.

Challenge

Electric arc furnaces are highly electricity-intensive and characterized by fluctuating power demand that is difficult to forecast with the level of accuracy, time resolution, and planning horizon required by today's electricity markets. When actual electricity consumption deviates from planned electricity procurement, significant imbalance costs can arise, affecting both profitability and production planning.

At the same time, there is a lack of tools capable of translating forecasts and operational data into concrete actions, making it difficult for industrial companies to respond flexibly and remain competitive in a rapidly changing energy landscape.

Solution

ELIN is developing a combination of a digital twin, AI-based forecasting models, and operational decision-support tools. The solution consists of both a forecasting tool that improves electricity demand predictions ahead of electricity market bidding and a real-time operator support system that optimizes energy usage during operations.

Through continuous data analysis and simulation of different operational scenarios, operators can adjust production processes and more closely adhere to planned electricity consumption. The solution also creates opportunities for integration with other flexible energy resources, such as battery storage systems and hydrogen production.

Impact

The project is expected to reduce imbalance costs, improve energy efficiency, and strengthen the competitiveness of the steel industry. It will contribute to greater flexibility in the power system and enable closer alignment between industrial operations and energy markets.

At a societal level, the project supports the transition to fossil-free steel production and contributes to reducing carbon emissions, in line with global sustainability goals for climate action and sustainable industry.i.

About the project

Renewable energy is already being produced locally at many Swedish farms and industries, but regulations and technology have so far prevented local actors from trading directly with each other. AIPI builds the prototype for a virtual electricity grid that allows producers and consumers to collaborate seamlessly, using existing infrastructure and without waiting for new legislation or grid operators' IT systems.

At the core of the solution is the Process Abstraction Layer (PAL), a method originally developed for the telecom sector and used to integrate hundreds of systems at large operators. PAL translates the APIs and interfaces of different systems into a common layer, drastically reducing the complexity of system integration. In AIPI, PAL is combined with an AI-based optimization module developed by RISE to coordinate energy flows, storage, and consumption across multiple sites.

The project is demonstrated at three farms on Gotland: Widegrens gård, Ryftes gård, and Tjauls gård.

The challenge

The integration of renewable energy systems today is fragmented and costly. Without standardized solutions, the market risks being locked into proprietary systems that only work with specific combinations of vendors. Small and medium-sized industries also lack the in-house IT resources to build tailored energy management solutions.

Local energy producers currently cannot sell electricity directly to neighbors or participate in ancillary services on equal terms, which limits the profitability of local energy production and slows investment in distributed renewable energy.

The solution

AIPI uses PAL to allow each site to manage its own systems locally, while also participating in a virtual electricity grid spanning multiple locations. Each site is equipped with a local AI optimizer that plans and automates energy use, regardless of how "smart" the existing equipment is.

The system supports:

• Local energy trading between sites
• Demand flexibility and optimized storage
• Participation in external electricity and ancillary service markets
• Quantum-safe encryption for secure communication

Expected results

• A working prototype for a virtual electricity grid in Gotland's agricultural sector
• An API proposal demonstrating how industries can connect to virtual grid operators
• Documented principles for how accounting and transactions can be handled in a virtual electricity grid

Project partners

The project brings together expertise from technology, research, the energy sector, and agriculture:

RISE: project coordinator, AI/ML optimization, and knowledge dissemination to other industries
X-IT-API: PAL technology and system integration
Skellefteå Kraft / IoT Open: experience in smart grids and IoT platforms
Widegrens gård & Ryftes gård: demonstration sites with solar, wind, and battery storage
Gotlands Elektrifieringsdemonstrator AB (Tjauls gård): technical demonstration and tenant integration
Region Gotland / Energicentrum: regional anchoring and the goal of 100% renewable energy by 2040 LRF Öst: relevance for the agricultural sector at large
Science Park Gotland: reference group and external monitoring

RISE's role

RISE is the project coordinator and contributes AI and machine learning technology for predictions, genetic optimization, and simulation. The optimization module is configured for each site's specific needs and runs locally on edge nodes. RISE is also responsible for disseminating project results to other industrial sectors, as well as for evaluation and publication of project outcomes.

Funding

The project is funded by Vinnova under the call Advanced Digitalization – Industry-Driven Innovation 2025.

The design of power-based tariffs within electricity distribution pricing models is currently subject to extensive discussion, and the planned regulatory requirement for Swedish distribution system operators (DSOs) to implement such tariffs has been postponed. Power-based tariffs are intended to provide economic incentives for households to shift electricity consumption over time and reduce peak power demand during periods of high load in the electricity grid. However, the specific design of these tariffs strongly influences the extent to which single-family homeowners can respond to tariff signals and manage their power-related costs. This project investigates how different power tariff designs affect households’ ability to align electricity use with tariff structures and thereby reduce overall electricity costs.

Within the project, we assess how the introduction of power-based tariffs may affect electricity costs for Swedish single-family homes with electric heating, in the form of heat pumps, and with electric vehicles charged at home. Using simulation-based analyses, the project examines how electricity costs vary depending on a range of factors, including geographical location, local distribution network conditions, electricity price areas, building characteristics, and the presence of electric vehicles.

The project further analyses households’ potential to influence their electricity costs through control of major electrical loads, such as heat pumps and electric vehicle charging, as well as through the use of energy storage systems to reduce peak power demand and shift electricity consumption to hours with lower electricity prices. In addition, the project contributes to international knowledge exchange through participation in IEA Heat Pumping Technologies Project 70, a recently launched collaborative initiative focusing on flexibility provided by heat pumps.

The overall objective of the project is to contribute new knowledge on the potential for single-family homes to reduce electricity costs through smart control strategies that account for both energy- and power-based costs. The project evaluates to what extent simple rule-based control approaches may be sufficient, compared with more advanced control algorithms. In the longer term, the project aims to support the development of new products and services for the control of residential electrical loads. Furthermore, the project seeks to generate insights that can assist distribution system operators in designing electricity grid tariff models that effectively contribute to relieving network congestion during periods of high load.

Background and Rationale

Sweden has long displayed an unusually strong consensus regarding the need for ambitious climate and energy policies. This has created favourable conditions for the transition towards a fossil‑free energy system. However, when national goals are operationalised, friction emerges as values, priorities, and interests collide. The transition produces both winners and losers, and such distributional effects can undermine trust, generate resistance, and weaken political capacity. The project takes this paradox as its entry point: strong formal consensus – yet increasing practical friction.

Scope and Research Questions

The overarching aim is to analyse how consensus and conflict shape the energy transition’s pace, direction, and legitimacy. The project examines relationships among key actors – policymakers, public officials, firms, experts, and citizens – and how tensions between facts, values, and institutions influence governance and decision‑making. Its goal is to develop new theoretical and empirical insights that strengthen capacities to manage conflict, build legitimacy, and accelerate the transition.

Research Challenge

Existing research has examined specific components of the energy transition, but often lacks a system‑level perspective on how actor relations, norms, and conflicts of interest shape transition dynamics. As a result, the knowledge base underpinning policy risks becoming fragmented. This project addresses this gap by combining political science and transition studies within a unified analytical framework.

Approach and Methodology

The project brings together researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, the University of Gothenburg, and RISE within a coherent interdisciplinary research agenda. The work draws on advanced qualitative and quantitative methods, including discourse network analysis, text analysis, and experimental design studies. Through international comparative analysis, the project also generates knowledge relevant beyond the Swedish context.

Impact and Contribution

The project delivers tools, analytical frameworks, and evidence‑based insights for policymakers, public authorities, businesses, and civil society. By clarifying how relationships, conflicts, and perceptions of fairness influence political action, the project supports a faster, more legitimate, and more effective energy transition – in Sweden and internationally

Background

Problem and potential: Sawing of logs generates 10–15% sawdust, which is usually burned, resulting in loss of economic value and stored CO₂. A reduction of kerf width by 1 mm could reduce Sweden’s CO₂ emissions by up to 0.4%.

Research solution: The project develops models for cutting processes and tool–wood interaction supported by CT technology, high‑speed imaging, and numerical simulation to optimize sawing and enable thinner tools.

Impact and funding: The aim is to increase yield, reduce energy consumption, and strengthen climate benefits throughout the value chain. The project funds Frank Schleicher’s doctoral education at LTU, with supervision from LTU and funding through the Swedish Energy Agency.

Impact Goals

The project increases resource efficiency and climate benefits in the Swedish sawmill industry through real‑time controlled sawing using CT data and cutting‑force measurement. This enables narrower kerfs (−1 mm), generates +2.5 billion SEK/year in value, reduces CO₂ emissions by 225,000 tons, and lays the foundation for future high‑precision sawing.

Project Goals

The project develops knowledge, methods, and equipment for more precise and resource‑efficient sawing through real‑time control based on CT data and cutting forces. The aim is to create prototype equipment, new tools for thinner cuts, and demonstrate a reduction in kerf width of at least 0.2 mm—strengthening industrial precision, quality, and sustainability.

Target Groups

• Swedish sawmills and the wood industry can implement the technology to increase yield and reduce energy use.
• Tool and machinery manufacturers can develop saw tools and equipment for thinner cuts and intelligent control.

• Research and innovation actors working with process modeling, measurement technology, and sustainable production.

   

This work is carried out with financial support from the Impact Innovation program Net Zero Industry—an initiative of the Swedish Energy Agency, Formas, and Vinnova.

Karlstad Municipality, Karlstads Energi AB and Region Värmland own several energy facilities, such as combined heat and power boilers and energy storage units. These are currently used optimally by each party, but they could also be utilised to provide energy services in a broader context. The parties wish to form an energy community, but the regulations in this area remain unclear.

The project aims to map the legal aspects of establishing an energy community agreement in line with the Renewable Energy Directive. A steam boiler plant is used as an example case to identify legal barriers and propose solutions, although other suitable examples may also exist. The project is primarily carried out by legal experts.

The goal is to gain a clear understanding of the legal obstacles and uncertainties that exist, and—where possible—propose solutions related to energy communities involving municipalities, municipal companies, and regional authorities. Dissemination of results is central to the project and will take place within the participating organisations as well as nationally, where the SKR has expressed interest in receiving the outcomes for broader distribution and knowledge sharing.

EISER aims to develop innovative solutions that enhance the energy- and resource efficiency, and resilience of the pulp and paper industry. By integrating technological development, system integration, and industrial symbiosis, the project delivers practical methods and tools that support companies in making long‑term, sustainable decisions. The overarching objective is to reduce energy and water consumption, strengthen local resilience, and create new value at the intersection of industry and society.

EISER addresses key challenges in the pulp and paper industry by reducing energy and water use, increasing the utilization of waste heat, and strengthening industrial resilience. Using an integrated methodology that combines advanced analysis, system modelling, pilot development, and real‑world case studies in Sweden, Italy, and Austria, the project develops practical solutions within energy‑efficient processes, the water–energy nexus, and industrial symbiosis—enabling sustainable innovation, new collaborations, and long‑term value creation for both industry and society.