The FlexBeAn project was a research project conducted jointly by Creos, the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) and the Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT) at the University of Luxembourg from May 2022 to December 2025. The 3 partners worked together to evaluate the technical demand side flexibility potential in Luxembourg, identify how energy literacy contributes to flexibility provision from household customers and the impact of flexible customers on the grid.
Over the last few decades, the production of renewable energies has steadily increased in Luxembourg, and this increase is set to accelerate in the coming years. From 16.5%1 in 2022, the share of renewable energies in the country's overall energy consumption should reach 37.3%1 in 2030. However, this transition to renewable energies is not without its major problems, particularly in terms of supply. How can we guarantee a constant supply of electricity in the future when renewable energy sources are fluctuating and certain sectors are undergoing rapid electrification, such as mobility with electric vehicles and heating with heat pumps?
To meet this enormous challenge, Creos has been investing massively for several years in strengthening its network and implementing intelligent solutions. This is a major step towards the energy transition, but if it is to have every chance of succeeding, the active participation of consumers - be they households, SMEs, industry or e-mobility players - is essential. By adapting their consumption to fluctuations in renewable energy, they can optimise the capacity of the electricity grid. But how, and to what extent?
1 Figures from "Luxembourg's Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan for the period 2021-2030 - Preliminary draft update".
This was precisely the aim of a research project conducted jointly by Creos, LIST and SnT. Entitled Flexibility potentials and user Behaviour Analysis (FlexBeAn), the aim of the project was to study and model the flexibility potential of electricity consumers (households, industry, SMEs, e-mobility players). Not only in terms of the absolute amount today, but also considering future scenarios as well as modelling when and where the potential would be available - since demand side flexibility is far from being constantly available across the grid. It heavily depends on seasons, weather conditions and weekly or daily consumption patterns.
In practical terms, the project focused on three areas: technical, behavioural and economic.
The project has demonstrated that:
Consumers across all sectors can play a central role in the energy transition by adapting their consumption patterns.
The main flexibility potential comes from decentralised assets installed by residential customers (Batteries, smart EV charging and heat pumps)
Well-designed incentives and market structures are essential to unlock and scale flexibility potential.
Behavioural factors are as critical as technical capabilities in enabling real-world adoption.
These findings contribute to accelerating the reduction of carbon emissions while maintaining system reliability. An executive summary with key outcomes of the project and concrete recommendations on how to unlock the value from flexibility can be found in the North Start document. For in-depth insights, detailed reports of the individual work packages are available.
