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During GLocalFlex’s 4th General Assembly in Prague on May 15th and 16th, the “Energy Flexibility Forum: Advancing Building and Management Solutions” panel discussion, co-organized by GLocalFlex and ČVUT, took place on the afternoon of May 15th.

Moderated by CTU in Prague, this event featured a dynamic panel of three experts from the International Energy Agency’s EBC Annex 81 and Annex 82 initiatives and three representatives from the EU-funded GLocalFlex project. The event, hosted by Vojtěch Zavřel from ČVUT, was held at the Center for Architecture and Metropolitan Planning in Prague and saw a packed auditorium. Watch the full video of the panel discussion here.

Speakers included

• Henrik Madsen, Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
• Nicholas Long, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
• Stephen White, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
• Jan Hicl, Delta Green
• Giuseppe Macario, Evergreen
• Šárka Kuthanová, SWW Wunsiedel

Henrik Madsen from DTU highlighted the challenges of integrating future energy markets with physical distribution systems, emphasizing the need for a shift from static, centralized energy delivery to dynamic participation from active end-customers.

Stephen White from CSIRO discussed the concept of flexibility assets in buildings, defining them as any energy-consuming device with the ability to be switched on/off and connected digitally.

Nicholas Long from NREL introduced the principles of «Shed, Shift, Shimmy» to adjust load profiles and the importance of quantifying these concepts practically.

Jan Hicl from Delta Green addressed the future of automated trading in demand-side response, suggesting that smart appliances could optimize energy consumption in real-time without the need for aggregators.

Šárka Kuthanová and Giuseppe Macario advocated for energy communities, emphasizing the benefits of local energy sharing, independence, and cost-effectiveness, while supporting larger investment projects like industrial batteries or hydrogen storage.