INESC TEC’s open-source software in the energy domain gains a European dimension

From the operation of electricity grids to the forecasting of renewable energy production, through the interoperability of distributed energy resources and demand-side flexibility, INESC TEC has been strengthening its commitment to developing open-source solutions for the energy sector. Currently, three open-source projects are part of the Linux Foundation Energy ecosystem — one of the most relevant international communities dedicated to the development of open-source software for energy systems — whilst a fourth technological output is already being used by the Elia Group, operator of the electricity systems in Belgium and Germany.

This integration comes at a time when INESC TEC’s involvement in Linux Foundation Energy continues to grow. The institute participated in the LF Energy Summit for the first time in 2025, where it presented its work in  interoperability, renewable forecasting, and Artificial Intelligence applied to energy systems, quickly becoming an active member of the community and reinforcing the European presence of technologies developed within its research projects.

The most recent example is AINETUS, a decision-support platform for electricity grid operators. Developed within the scope of the European project AI4REALNET, AINETUS brings together a set of advanced Artificial Intelligence technologies designed to support the operation of critical infrastructures. By joining Linux Foundation Energy, AINETUS becomes part of an open, collaborative ecosystem governed by the international community. The aim is to ensure the long-term sustainability of technology, promote its adoption by industry, and facilitate knowledge transfer among researchers, infrastructure operators, and technology companies.

But AINETUS is just one example of a broader open innovation strategy at INESC TEC.

The institute currently leads or coordinates, together with European partners, several open-source initiatives that serve as references for the energy sector. Among them is CUPID, developed within the InterSTORE project — an interoperability tool that enables communication between distributed energy resources, grid management platforms, and legacy systems via the IEEE 2030.5 standard. Also noteworthy is the Semantic Energy Framework (SEF) –  developed within the InterConnect project  –  a semantic framework that facilitates the sharing, discovery, and interpretation of data across different energy systems.

Another success story is Predico, a collaborative energy forecasting platform developed by INESC TEC and already adopted by grid operators. The solution demonstrates how research outputs can be transformed into operational tools with real market impact.

For Ricardo Bessa, coordinator of the Energy Systems area at INESC TEC, the commitment to open-source software is fundamental to accelerating innovation in a rapidly transforming sector. “Working in open source allows us to build ecosystems around software that results from R&D work, accelerate its adoption — benefiting, for example, from advances in generative AI — and ensure that research outputs generate value for society well beyond the lifetime of funded projects.”

The work developed by INESC TEC is available through its open-source page, which brings together more than 11 open-source projects aimed at researchers, companies, grid operators, and decision-makers in the energy sector.

Disclaimer: This text was translated from Portuguese into English using an artificial intelligence tool.