Future Internet for smart distribution systems

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Solutions for a smart environment are in the focus of many research initiatives in Europe. In this paper we present work carried out in the FI-PPP project FINSENY (Future Internet for Smart Energy). ICT Solutions often face the challenge of requirements not covered by current technology and they must avoid restricting themselves to domain specific solutions that limit economies of scale and the emergence of innovative services. Smart Grids are particularly concerned in this context as they are a prerequisite for a reliable, sustainable and cost-efficient future energy supply. In this article we describe a methodology that identified a set of Smart Distribution Grid use cases and utilized them to define an architecture based on Future Internet technologies. In addition, we discuss our main findings, requirements, enabling components and architecture as well as the planned evaluation on test sites in Europe.