With technological solutions of Kolektor sETup to greater energy efficiency of the SIJ Group

03. 09. 2024

The Slovenian Steel Group is the largest producer of steel and steel products in Slovenia, with leading market shares in Europe. In the field of ​​reducing the carbon footprint, the SIJ Group plans to reduce specific emissions by 51 percent by 2030 compared to 2020. Considering the mentioned ambitious goal of reducing own emissions by half by 2030 and continuous improvement of efficiency, their investments, based on the principles of the best available technology (BAT), are focused on several key areas, including optimizing production with advanced tools. This also includes the optimization of consumption and costs of energy products, which have a great impact on business in energy-intensive industries. With the help of Kolektor sETup solutions, the SIJ Group will establish an information system that is connected to energy markets in real time and enables real-time monitoring of electricity consumption, optimization of electricity consumption and costs, and network fees.

"With Kolektor sETup, we found a competent partner and a suitable software optimization platform for the digitization of electricity procurement and the optimization of consumption and deviations. With their responsiveness and adaptability, they will help us design and implement a real-time technical and market platform that meets our needs, and which will hopefully bring greater dynamics and optimization effects on the markets within a day," said Viktor Vračar, Deputy for Energetics to Chief Production, Technology and Investments Officer.

The energy transition requires energy system managers to quickly adapt to new circumstances. Wrong approach can lead to an increase in costs and a worse business result. Energy system managers must actively adapt to changes in energy markets and ensure that the operation of energy and production assets is consistent with existing and upcoming regulatory frameworks. The management of complex energy systems is therefore becoming even more challenging. The digitalization of business operations enables the use of comprehensive solutions for technical and market management, i.e. through the appropriate planning of energy and production systems and the dynamic optimization of the operation of individual assets according to actual market conditions, technical and security restrictions, and costs associated with operation. For effective monitoring and optimization of operations, the appropriate implementation of an advanced platform for technical and market management is therefore of key importance, as it enables the exploitation of actual market conditions on the energy markets, taking into account all possible technical, safety and operational restrictions with the aim of minimizing operating costs.

Aleš Koželjnik, Managing Director of Kolektor sETup, said at the signing of the contract: "In cooperation with the Norwegian partner Volue, we have developed a platform for comprehensive planning and management of energy systems in Kolektor sETup. This enables optimization in real time by taking into account all technical limitations, energy needs, operating costs and conditions on the energy market. The platform enables efficient and reliable management of energy systems in real time, which ensures cost effectiveness in relation to current conditions. Our solutions are intended for companies that want to optimize their energy efficiency and adapt to a dynamic energy environment. The SIJ Group is undoubtedly one of them."   

A platform for optimizing energy efficiency

In Kolektor sETup, the above-mentioned challenges are addressed with a comprehensive platform for technical and market management and optimization of energy and production systems. The solution, which is the result of a partnership between Kolektor sETup and the Norwegian company Volue, has been tested on the market and has been already successfully operating within complex energy systems and portfolios across Europe. Kolektor sETup has successfully integrated the "BoFit Optimization" and "Algo Trader" optimization tools into the mentioned platform, which are adapted to the specifics and requirements of the local energy market, and the end customer legislation.

The comprehensive Kolektor sETup platform for technical and market management will enable the SIJ Group, both in the planning and operational stages, to be able to respond effectively and daily to a changing demand in relation to fluctuations in energy prices on the market, and to integrate the platform in a way to achieve maximum connectivity into the existing systems for monitoring and active management of energy consumption and production in the SIJ Group. The main goal of Kolektor sETup will be to enable the operation with assets at the minimum costs, with different business models and with maximum profit, yet focusing on sustainability.

In the SIJ Group, "BoFiT Optimization" will serve as an upgrade of the existing systems for monitoring energy consumption and production and will connect them in real time with energy markets. The optimization will ensure that the optimal operating schedule of all included assets will be determined at the minute level for the portfolio of SIJ Group assets, and this will be automatically forwarded to the energy managers in the SIJ Group; in a later phase, full automation of the adjustment of operating schedules will be enabled. 

"Algo Trader" in combination with high-performance execution algorithms will ensure the SIJ Group to systematically use the possibilities of software trading with access to the BSP Southpool market and have the possibility of fully flexible control over trading processes that include and structure external market data and price and portfolio forecasts. This will enable the SIJ Group to operate competitively on markets within a day.

In Slovenia, the platform has already been used for modeling and technical and market management/optimization of various energy units and systems, e.g. in Komunalno podjetje Velenje, Energetika Maribor, Salonit Anhovo etc.