Unlocking Flexibility in Multi-Energy Systems: A Literature Review

Integration of energy carriers into a Multi-Energy System (MES) is a promising approach in increasing flexibility of energy systems that enables integration of additional renewable intermittent generation. This paper gives an overview on the state of the art of research on flexibility management in MESs by analyzing three categories of flexibility programs: Conversion, Storage and Demand-Side Management. The literature review reveals different assumptions on the structure and operation of energy systems including end-consumer energy prices being calculated with or without effects of network constraints and associated emission costs. Furthermore, several challenges are identified that need to be addressed by future research, such as the application of the proposed models in real market environments and interaction of several MES in a larger system context.