DSOFlex project explores how flexibility can drive the energy transition and new business ecosystems

Rapid electrification and the growth of renewable energy are placing increasing pressure on electricity distribution networks. DSOFlex responds to this challenge by developing research based tools, business models, and coordination practices that help distribution system operators (DSOs), companies, and consumers use energy more flexibly and efficiently.

Flexibility as a foundation for resilient energy systems

Flexibility means adjusting electricity consumption or production according to system needs and market signals. DSOFlex studies how flexibility can be enabled through demand response, energy storage, distributed energy resources, and real time coordination between distribution and transmission networks.

The project brings together expertise from energy systems engineering, sustainability assessment, and digital business research. The research team includes Adjuct Professor Jean Nicolas Louis (VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland), Professor Petri Ahokangas (Martti Ahtisaari Institute), and Professor Eva Pongrácz (University of Oulu, Faculty of Technology) among other senior and early career researchers.

“Flexibility is becoming a core capability of future energy systems. It connects technical solutions with business models and regulation, and it enables new forms of cooperation between actors,” says Petri Ahokangas, Professor of Future Digital Business at the Martti Ahtisaari Institute.

Business models and ecosystems at the centre

The Martti Ahtisaari Institute’s role in DSOFlex focuses on digital business models, platform thinking, and ecosystem development in the energy sector. As energy systems become increasingly decentralized, value creation shifts towards collaboration between grid operators, technology providers, real estate actors, industries, and end users.

DSOFlex explores how flexibility services can be designed in a regulatorily compliant and economically viable way, while supporting the neutral role of DSOs. The research aims to move beyond isolated technical solutions towards scalable ecosystem level models that benefit both business and society.

Measuring positive climate impact with the carbon handprint

In addition to grid efficiency, DSOFlex emphasizes measuring positive climate impacts. The project develops methods to quantify the carbon handprint, which captures avoided emissions enabled by flexible energy solutions and complements traditional carbon footprint assessments.

These methods support evidence based decision making for companies, policymakers, and investors, and help align energy system development with EU climate objectives and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Key consortium collaborators

DSOFlex is led by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland together with University of Oulu, and brings together a consortium that connects research with real world energy system development. Key collaborators include Finnish distribution system operators Kajave and Oulun Energia Sähköverkko Oy, real estate and infrastructure stakeholder Suomen Yliopistokiinteistöt Oy, and international academic partners Aalborg University and University of Grenoble Alpes (UGA).

This interdisciplinary collaboration ensures that DSOFlex addresses technical, regulatory, business, and societal dimensions of the energy transition in an integrated way.