Evaluation of Industrial Energy Flexibility Potential: A Scoping Review

Abstract

It is vital to conduct the evaluation of industrial energy flexibility potential to provide knowledge to relevant market players about the energy potential with economic gain through unlocking flexibility. This paper applies a scoping review methodology and presents the findings for uncovering industrial energy flexibility. The scoping review was conducted in the last quarter of 2019, and 855 publications were found through related databases. Through a systematic quantitative and qualitative review, 26 essential publications fulfill the criteria. The result indicates that the field of evaluating the potential of industrial energy flexibility is matured with an increasing research interest. Meanwhile, the results reveal a tendency to focus on evaluating the potentials in a single process within the industrial facility. Furthermore, the result indicates that optimization is the main evaluation method. Based on the scoping review analysis and results, it was found that there is a gap between the evaluation of energy flexibility and the impact on the production flow. Hence, there is a need to focus on solutions that promote a holistic view of the production flow. Through holistic solutions, it is possible to access to which extent introducing energy flexibility measures may propagate through the production system. This can be achieved through simulation-based solutions that also promote solution validation.