Figure 1: The ICT infrastructure of HEAT 4.0 (very simplified drawing). In the center, you have the consortium-common infrastructure part (cloud). The partner companies’ digital tools and services can be provided through the ‘common cloud,’ enabling the DH operators to choose any combination of services.
to the necessary sampling rates. It also enables DH operators to choose and replace digital services and connect them with plug-and-play technologies through standard data interfaces. The project partner Center Denmark, a non-profit organiza- tion, is in charge of developing this new, commercial cloud platform within the HEAT 4.0 project, enabling business-based value chains. The versions of CSS p2p mentioned above are im- plemented on this platform for the involved three DH compa- nies. Standardized data exchanging interfaces are tested and ready. Generalized versions are under development, enabling other software firms to involve. The objective is a secure, effi- cient, and adaptable platform that will save integration hours for the DH companies, making data much more intelligent and giving freedom of choice to the operators. At the same time, the platform supports the operators to meet the privacy regulations, known as GDPR. Demand for an agile system architecture Within the HEAT 4.0 project, three DH plants are involved in testing the innovations’ ideas, but no DH system in Denmark looks the same. Two of the three DH companies, Bronderslev DH Ltd. and Hillerod Forsyning, have their own and various production sites. In contrast, the energy company TREFOR
Varme buys heat from a heat distributor. Since 2014, Bronder- slev Forsyning had already e-meters installed whereas Hillerod Forsyning has not. It means that the components involved are all different at the three sites. From a HEAT 4.0 perspective, this variation is a technological advantage as it ensures robustness for the project results and solutions developed. The DH companies are using first-generation tools that are working independently. The IT tools usually are directly com- municating with the SCADA systems - a cumbersome task that often leads to high costs and high time expenditure. In the HEAT 4.0 project, the data integration solutions were devel- oped and standardized, inspired by Industry 4.0, general ICT- and security guidelines. This relatively simple adoption enables the companies to integrate easily and operationally with any IT service provided from outside.
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