Analyzing industrial flexibility participation in Day-ahead and Intra-day markets of Nordic Countries: Electrified Asphalt Production Process as an example case

Abstract: Electrification of industries is a critical step toward achieving fossil decarbonization targets, as industries are currently responsible for at least 24% of emissions. In the context of the METAWAVE project, three industrial units are being studied to replace fossil fuel-burning components with microwave electricity heating technology. This change enables these industrial units to change their electricity demand curves at specified times to provide flexibility services and participate in multiple energy, balancing, and reserve markets. The objective of the paper is to analyze the potential of industrial flexibility of an electrified high-temperature heating process in the Nordic day-ahead (DA) and intraday (ID) markets by connecting it to Nordic power markets' order types, and to explain how it can be traded as a flexibility product. An example case of the asphalt production process is utilized. The paper describes the plant's current situation, how the heating process will be electrified, and how flexibility resources can be used to minimize electricity purchase costs as a flexibility service in the electrified industry. To this end, the flexibility products in the day-ahead and intraday Nordic countries are also discussed.

The structure of the paper is outlined in the following manner:

1. Introduction

2. Nordic Electricity Market Participation of Industrial Flexibility: In this part, flexibility will first be discussed at three levels, and then the following parts will be explained. a) Industrial Flexibility: In this part, technical ways of implementing IDR, as flexibility resources, will be discussed, b) Nordic DA and ID markets: An explanation of order types of each market and how industrial flexibility relates to them will be added.

3. Flexibility analysis of an industrial process: Asphalt production process

a) Description of the process in general: In this part, a batch-mix hot-mix asphalt production plant will be described.

b) Electrification of the process: In this part, the electrification of the process will be explained.

c) Analysis of energy flexibility potential: In this part, the electrified process will be analyzed to find where energy flexibility is located. To this end, flexibility resources in the electrified process are introduced and explained, the cost-minimization of the electrified company as a flexibility service is demonstrated, and the products that may be utilized to realize this service are identified. Some strategies for the electrified asphalt power plant are discussed in detail, including a) The company buys the maximum electricity needed in the DA market using regular block orders and sells a portion of the power in ID markets. b) If the process can start within a time window, the company may submit flexi orders. c) The company can use exclusive group orders in the DA market when it can operate under multiple modes of operation.

4. Conclusion