ECOS | Environmental Coalition on Standards

Climate Change & Clean Energy

Energy systems

The European energy sector is undergoing a period of rapid transformation away from fossil dependency. Power generation has become progressively more decarbonised, distributed and renewable. Wind power and solar photovoltaics have been part of this trend and will continue to dominate in the future, although other options such as hydrogen are considered to decarbonise hard-to-electrify sectors such as heavy industrial processes, aviation and maritime transport. As the renewable sources increase in market share, so will the volatility of the supply side of the power system. In parallel, power systems are increasingly digitalised and interconnected with other sectors and infrastructure. Information Communication Technologies (ICT) have opened new possibilities in the active management of power systems and strengthened the ability of the demand side to react to changes to the price of electricity. Standards offer the technical foundation for this transition. Our goal is to ensure a clean, smart and secure energy system.

What we are working on

  • Improving the system and component interoperability within the smart home, and reflect shortcomings at the political level;
  • Developing the ‘Customer Energy Manager’ standard to support demand-side flexibility in smart buildings;
  • Standardisation developments related to Smart Energy Grid and Smart Meter, including home and buildings;
  • The European Commission’s Smart Grid Task Force Expert Group on Demand-side Flexibility, with the aim to support coherence between smart grid standardisation activities and EU policies.
  • Enhancing the sustainability of bioenergy systems, for instance, through banning the use of primary biomass for energy applications.
  • Improving traceability and certification of hydrogen through work on EN 16325 on Guarantees of origin
  • Participating in the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance to make sure that hydrogen is produced from additional renewable electricity and is only channeled to sectors which are hard to electrify.

Related news

  • Join the ECOS team! – Programme Manager, Carbon accounting & management

    We are looking for a highly motivated Programme Manager to drive our work towards environmentally robust, effective, and credible carbon accounting and carbon management. Working in close partnership with our wide network of members and partners, you will lead our technical and advocacy work on international voluntary standards and policies. While based in Brussels, your work will have a global focus.

  • CALL FOR EXPERTS – Hydrogen technologies (GHG emissions)

    ECOS is looking for experts in the field of Hydrogen with a focus on Greenhouse Gas Emissions associated to production, conditioning, and consumption to consumption gate.

  • Watch it again! Webinar ‘Is there a chance for hydrogen boilers?’

    There's a lot of hype about hydrogen. But don't get caught up! Hydrogen should not be used for domestic heating. Discover why in the replay of our webinar: Is there a chance for hydrogen boilers? In the webinar, we launched our new report: 'Burning question: Why hydrogen boilers are not the answer'.

Contact person

Rita Tedesco
Senior Programme Manager+32 2 894 46 38 rita.tedesco@ecostandard.org

ECOS is co-funded by the European Commission and EFTA Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or EISMEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

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