Your Questions, Answered
Here are the most frequently asked questions answering the pressing issues and concerns that our customers commonly encounter, providing clear and concise information to help you navigate our services with ease.
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No! At Sympower, we help your business identify, connect and monetise its energy flexibility without impacting core processes. Demand response programmes offer granular control, allowing specific minimum and maximum allowable changes to critical equipment. This ensures that product quality remains unaffected during activations.
When working with us, you gain a trusted partner who understands the nuances of your industry, your local energy landscape and who can swiftly adapt to your individual needs.
We work closely with your team to identify which assets are non-essential to core processes and can therefore be used for demand response, as well as which assets are not to be touched.
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Demand response experts understand business production cycles. They work closely with plant managers and energy teams to identify flexible assets, plan demand response activations strategically, minimise disruptions, and maximise revenues from demand response. Control of the assets can be achieved either directly and automatically, or Sympower can also just forward the control signal and your operations team proceed to controlling the assets as needed.
Together we agree on which assets to include, the duration of their availability, and any necessary restrictions. Availability for participation can be updated at any time and we also jointly establish rest periods for the assets. This collaborative approach ensures your operational needs are met while optimising your participation in demand response programs.
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The revenue changes depending on the market programme and the country you reside in.
It also depends on your participation in the market. The more you participate, the more revenue you make. Our local experts work with your team to identify which balancing markets are suitable for your equipment, and what is the sweet spot of MW that will not impact production. As your flexibility services provider, it is Sympower’s job to maximise your revenue.
Find out more about the different revenue models here. Also, try our demand response earnings calculator.
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Sympower operates on a revenue-sharing model. The national Transmission System Operator pays us, and we then send the revenue to our customers minus a small share. Because of the revenue-sharing model, your best interest is our best interest.Your flexibility is a valuable asset and by selling it to the grid you create new revenue streams. In turn, your flexibility contributes to a more stable and robust electricity grid.
We do not install devices ourselves. We provide detailed instructions and will assist you on-site if needed. The installation is done by our customer's trusted or in-house electrician.
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When one or more assets are unavailable for activations, either because of maintenance, failures, or just ordinary change of schedule - the facility manager would be able to declare ‘non-available assets’ or to restrict an asset from being activated, just within a few clicks through the Sympower interface or by any other channel established between you and Sympower.
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We unlock the potential of your existing equipment, enabling you to participate in demand-side flexibility without any initial investment.
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Most energy-intensive industries can participate in demand response! A few examples of industries with high flexibility potential are:
- Pulp and paper
- Wood processing
- Food processing
- Metal production
- Data centres
- Commercial buildings
- Cement industries
- Greenhouses
In general, The first part of our services is dedicated to identifying the flexibility of your industrial processes. At Sympower, our teams of Technical Sales Engineers (TSE) are experts and bring a decade of experience working with hundreds of different energy assets with dozens of industries. Together with your plant manager and team, our energy experts will identify the hidden flexibility of your equipment.
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If you operate energy-intensive equipment, there's a good chance you can participate in demand response services. You may have flexibility if you meet some of the following criteria:
- Existing buffer in processes: A buffer in the production process acts as a reserve of materials, components, or semi-finished products that are held between different stages of production, ensuring a smooth and continuous manufacturing process. By maintaining a high volume of buffer, the production line can operate efficiently even when there are demand response activations.
- Reactive equipment: If certain equipment can quickly adjust its energy consumption, you may qualify for demand response. Our energy experts can help identify suitable equipment and determine how much capacity you can offer.
- On-site production units: If you have your own energy production or storage systems—like CHP, solar panels, or batteries—you can use them to help balance the grid and participate in demand response initiatives.
If your production facility is not operating at full capacity or continuously through the day and the week, it presents a good opportunity for demand response participation. You can adjust the production plan, consumption levels and energy usage to have more flexibility without impacting your core operations, allowing you to take advantage of demand response programs.
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For Sympower to monitor your assets and to send you activation signals we need to integrate with your facility. There are a variety of technical solutions available depending on your existing facilities and equipment, including direct connection to your control system, to every asset separately or even without any hardware installation through cloud-cloud integration. Sympower covers all the required hardware and there is no upfront cost from your side.
We do not install devices ourselves. We provide detailed instructions and will assist you on-site if needed. The installation is done by our customer's trusted or in-house electrician.
How flexible is your industry?
Agriculture
In agriculture, flexibility means the ability to manage the energy of your equipment like lights, pumps and CHP units. By optimising energy consumption, farms can reduce costs while maintaining productivity.
Automotive
The automotive sector can benefit from energy flexibility in manufacturing processes like calendering and tyre recycling. By adjusting energy use based on demand, automotive manufacturers can reduce operational costs while meeting production targets.
Cement
Cement production requires substantial energy for heating processes. By leveraging flexibility in mills and CHP units, cement manufacturers can optimise their operations, cutting energy costs during peak times without disrupting production.
Chemicals
In the chemicals sector, flexibility is useful for managing the high energy demands of electrolysis, furnaces, and condensers. Our services allow chemical plants to adjust their energy needs, prioritising cost-efficiency and production targets.