CIRCE Foundation (Centre of Research for Energy Resources and Consumption) was established in 1993 as an independent Research Centre to create and develop solutions and scientific/technical knowledge and transfer them to the business sector in the field of energy. CIRCE’s mission is to drive forward improvements in energy efficiency and to spread the use of renewable energy by means of the development of R+D+I activities and formative actions, thereby contributing to sustainable development.
Diving into CIRCE’s activities
CIRCE maintains a national leadership position in the field of energy, being the second national research center getting more projects in competitive calls during the period 2014-2017 in Spain. CIRCE is also a very active actor in the R&D and Renewable Energy integration projects at Spanish and European levels.
At the European level CIRCE is a member of platforms and associations related to Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. In particular, CIRCE is co-chair and funding member of the Sustainable Process Industry through Resource and Energy Efficiency (SPIRE), and co-chair of the WG2 of the European Technology and Innovation Platform Smart Networks for Energy Transition (ETIP SNET), as well as a member of other associations such as: the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA), European Renewable Energy Centres Agency (EUREC), Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), European Association of Research and Technology Organisations (EARTO) or the Advisory Council of the European Zero emissions Platform (ETP ZEP). At national level, CIRCE is member of the Spanish Energy Efficiency Technology Platform (PTE-EE) and the National Accreditation Entity (ENAC).
Contribution to the BEYOND project
Within the BEYOND project, CIRCE will lead the definition of Use Cases, Business Requirements and Architecture Design, handling the leadership in obstacles to innovation and focusing on the definition of the BEYOND PMV methodology. Based on the latter, CIRCE will be heavily involved in the definition and application of the Evaluation Framework of the BEYOND project during the demonstration activities, while also leading the replication planning activities of the project.
Finally, CIRCE will have a pivotal role in Infrastructure sizing and planning, where they will analyze optimal planning and informed sizing of assets in electricity distribution grids.
Finally, CIRCE will have a horizontal role in the project with contributions in several tasks:
- The design and development of the Big Data platform
- The design and development of big data analytics with focus on Industrial Data Analytics Algorithms Definition
- The development of advanced portfolio level analytics services; support to the Spanish DSO/Aggregator Demonstrators
- Technical contribution in the demonstration of BEYOND project in the Spanish Pilot, acting as a technical consultant for the Spanish demo activities
- Implementation of activities for the dissemination and exploitation of project results, as well as the activities related to standardization enhancement and policy reforms.
Benefit from the BEYOND project
CIRCE is a leading Spanish RTO in the domains of Smart Buildings and Energy Services. CIRCE aims to use its vast experience in energy analytics services in order to facilitate project΄s validation activities. In addition, CIRCE will be able to support the design and energy system modeling activities in the Spanish demonstrators, acting also as a technical partner for the Spanish demo.
BEYOND provides CIRCE the opportunity of carrying out R&D&I activities with the ultimate aim of ensuring the energy efficiency of products, processes and services that contribute to reducing energy demand without compromising supply, comfort and safety, and to transfer these results to both technology providers and end-users.
The concept of energy efficiency ranges from the search for better technology on thermal and electric systems in a broad scope of sectors (biomass heaters, process ovens, thermal power stations, industries with intensive energy usage, cogeneration and desalting systems, etc.), to changes in behavior regarding energy usage, encouraging a wiser more sustainable consumption. Besides, this project is a positioning platform for CIRCE both at the national and European levels, to facilitate the participation of the entity in associations and collaborative projects on one side, and to create contacts with potential customers of CIRCE services
