Description

THE CURRENT SITUATION

Enel Grids aims to provide top-quality energy distribution services to its final customers. In order to do this, technicians regularly perform field checks on the grid to ensure that smart meters are working correctly. These meters measure energy use for homes and businesses and need real-time connections for tasks like reading and programming. However, some smart meters are hard for technicians to read, or else they are not physically accessible, and this creates inefficiencies.  

 

THE CHALLENGE SOLUTION’S REQUIRED FEATURES AND DETAILS

Enel Grids is looking for a portable device that can be carried by field technicians in order to communicate with the device for reading/programming activities at a distance from the smart meter. 

This device must be portable, small and lightweight so that it can be carried in the technician’s pocket or else in a small bag, with a rechargeable battery and an external RF antenna that can be removed, for carrying or for when it needs to be changed, and with the possibility to interface with a smartphone for meter management.

The connection is made using the 169 MHz radiofrequency channel Wireless M-Bus which is already available in some types of Smart Meter, encapsulating the Meters and More protocol that is necessary for exchanging information. The acquisition, and compliance, of all necessary standards and instructions to provide the functionalities described is the responsibility of the Participant.

The device has to be linked and managed by an Android smartphone as the first option, while the possibility for it to be used by laptops or other Windows-based end points can be a plus. The suggested connection between the device and a smartphone is via Bluetooth for energy efficiency reasons, but Wi-Fi can be evaluated, if it is feasible in terms of battery duration and overall performance.

An LED bar or display is requested to clearly show the current operational status (e.g., ON, Trying-to-connect, Connected, Scanning, Alarm, etc.)

Applicants are being accepted globally. But the testing phase will be conducted in Italy.

 

SOLUTION MUST HAVES

1. MAIN TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS:

1.1. Reliability in terms of expected lifetime and failure rate that must consider all the conditions described in this document.

1.2. Portable with a maximum weight of 500g. In terms of dimensions, the device must be easily hand held and will need to be placed stable on a flat surface.

1.3. Internal memory: storage area for at least 1000 messages and log, with rolling functionality plus a storage area for errors and diagnosis.

1.4. End point: the device must communicate with an Android device such as a smartphone (e.g., Samsung Note8, Samsung Galaxy S22: more specifications will be defined during the testing activities).

1.5. Terminals and interfaces:

1.5.1. USB Type-C for charging.

1.5.2. Bluetooth 5.0 or higher, with a range of 20 meters without obstacles.

1.5.3. Signaling LEDs or Display for power, current operational status, and Bluetooth status (or other types of wireless).

1.5.4. Powered by a rechargeable battery for at least 12 hours of activity.

1.5.5. SMA (Subminiature version A) male connector for a removable external RF 169MHZ antenna.

1.6. TRL >5: The device could also be a prototype at the date of the proposal and during the testing phase.

 

2. FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS

2.1. Meter programming and reading via Wireless M-Bus

The device must be able to communicate by Meters and More via Wireless M-Bus with a specific meter. By using this interface, the field technician will be able to interact with the Smart Meter for all regular maintenance activities, involving reading and writing actions on smart meter registers according to the Meters&More data model.

The device’s Bluetooth connection will be restricted to the use of the smartphone application designed for reading the meter’s instant parameters. The passwords for reading/programming the smart meter data can be obtained through the mobile application that will access the DSO system. The design of the application to access the DSO system is beyond the scope of this project, so a demo smartphone application that demonstrates this functionality will be sufficient and the password for reading/programming the smart meters will be supplied to the application offline.

2.2. Sniffer mode

The device must monitor the RF channel to detect and store all the messages that pass between Smart Meters and the LV Concentrator, identifying the ones that are specific to the wM-Bus protocol.

2.3. Test mode

A functionality that enables the field technician to evaluate whether the RF channel is in good working order This means that the device must be able to:
- Send a specific message over the RF channel to simulate a LV concentrator and see the Smart Meter’s reaction;
- Send a specific message over the RF channel to simulate a Smart Meter and evaluate the LV concentrator’s reaction.

 

3. OTHER REQUIREMENTS

The acquisition, and compliance, of all necessary standards (e.g., Meters and More association, Wireless M-Bus standard, etc.) and instructions to provide the functionalities described is the responsibility of the participant to this challenge.

The device needs to be tested in the field using a smartphone or equivalent solution that enables Enel to verify each functionality described.

The provider of the winning solution shall make available at least 20 devices (or prototypes) for the Proof-of-Concept covered by the collaboration agreement to be negotiated in good faith with Enel Grids, as further described below. 20 devices (or prototypes) shall be made available within 1 month of the signing of the collaboration agreement.

 

SOLUTION: NICE TO HAVE

1. Environmental: Temperature -20°C÷+70°C; Hr ≤ 90%; altitude 0÷2000m; Pollution degree 2 (CEI EN 61010-1); IP54 (in accordance with EN 60529).
2. A USB Type-C for communication.
3. A wireless WiFi connection to communicate with Android Smartphones.
4. A webserver that can communicate with a variety of different endpoints (e.g., tablets, smartphones, laptops, etc.). RF 169MHz
5. An internal antenna.
6. Act as a portable LV concentrator (as an alternative to the regular power line channel) storing all readings from Smart Meters in a certain area without the need to be connected to a smartphone for the entire process.

 

DELIVERABLES

Proposals shall be submitted to the openinnovability.com platform in a single stage and must include the following information in English:

1. Solution name/title and overview;
2. Solution detailed description (e.g., Technical, Functional, Cybersecurity and Operational specifications, etc.);
3. Solution design (e.g., Hardware, Software, Interfaces and electronic diagram, etc.);
4. An estimation of the price for at least 20 devices (or prototypes) available for a Proof-of-Concept;
5. An estimation of the final price of the solution for an amount of 1000 devices and multiples;
6. Supporting documentation: any additional supporting materials, diagrams, simulations, or research that can help in understanding and evaluating the proposed solution could be uploaded.

 

The provider of the winning proposal(s) will have the opportunity to collaborate with Enel Grids and test the devices (or prototypes) in a Proof-of-Concept agreement, in accordance with the terms and conditions better described in the REGULATIONS ATTACHED. 

Challenge rules

All participants are invited to carefully read the challenge description and the Regulations, in the Attachments section, before submitting a solution.

BY SUBMITTING A SOLUTION, PROPOSERS AUTOMATICALLY ACCEPT THE ATTACHED REGULATIONS, IN ADDITION TO THE TERMS OF USE OF THIS PLATFORM.

Please explain your proposal clearly in English, attach documents (max 5 files, 35MB total size, ZIP, JPG, PDF format), if needed.

                                            

ELIGIBILITY

THE CHALLENGE IS RESERVED TO ALL THE LEGAL ENTITIES WHICH ARE NOT PART OF THE ENEL GROUP.

The employees of Enel Grids and Enel S.p.A. who are involved in the organization and management of the Competition or admitted to the Open Innovability Portal back office, as well as their spouses or partners and their relatives up to the fourth degree, are not eligible for participation in this Challenge.

The spouses, partners, and relatives up to the fourth degree of Enel Grids and Enel S.p.A. employees who are involved in the organization and management of the Challenge, and of all the people admitted to the Open Innovability^® Portal back office, are not eligible for participation in this Challenge.

Furthermore, the spouses, partners and relatives up to the fourth degree of the employees of Enel Grids and Enel S.p.A. who have worked or currently work in the technical sector of network component design and standardization are not eligible for participation in this Challenge.

 

CHALLENGE, REWARD, IP RIGHTS AND DEADLINES

This is a Call for Partners Challenge; the participants will need to submit a written proposal to be evaluated by the Challenge Owner with the goal of establishing a collaborative partnership.

THIS CHALLENGE DOES NOT REQUIRE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (IP) TRANSFER.

The provider of the winning solution will be rewarded with the possibility to negotiate a collaboration agreement with the Challenge Owner.

The proposals must be submitted on openinnovability.com by March 9 2025 and the evaluation will begin after this date. This date could be postponed, if necessary.

The provider of the winning solution will have the opportunity to test a prototype with Enel, in accordance with the terms and conditions better described in the REGULATIONS ATTACHED.

Late submissions will not be considered.

Specific regulations attached

What happens next?

After the Challenge deadline, the Challenge Owner will complete the review process and decide with regards to the Winning Solution(s). All participants who submit a proposal will be notified on the status of their submissions. However, no detailed evaluation of individual submissions will be provided.

The Challenge Owner will evaluate the proposal considering the features and characteristics required for the Solution, focusing the following criteria:

• The overall scientific and technical feasibility of the proposed solution;
• The economic potential of concept (e.g., the Total Cost of Ownership);
• The business potential for the Challenge Owner;
• Novelty and not obviousness;
• The potential for proprietary position (i.e., whether the technology is novel or protectable);
• The user’s capabilities and related experience;
• The realism of the proposed solution;
• The maturity level of the proposal.

If the reward includes the opportunity to collaborate with Enel, once one or more suitable solutions have been identified, Enel will reserve the right to start a collaboration, by way of example, on all or part of the following activities:

• Test execution;
• Supply of prototypes (if the solution includes equipment);
• Installation and site tests;
• Follow-up and monitoring of the proposed idea’s behavior.

At the end of the assessment, you will receive feedback.

In the event of success, an Enel contact person will get in touch with you to discuss the next steps.

The final reward for this Challenge is contingent upon the satisfactory completion of the pre-awarding process, including acceptance of the Challenge Regulations.

The pre-awarding process includes obtaining some documents from the participants such as the Counterparty Analysis Questionnaire (CAQ) and the signed Challenge Regulations.

 

CHALLENGE OWNER IDENTIKIT: ENEL GRIDS

Enel Grids, is a world leader in electricity distribution and it guarantees electricity supply through efficient, resilient and digital grids: more than 30,000 people are directly involved in the construction and operation of our infrastructure, which consists of 1.9 million km of electricity lines in seven countries; 489 TWh of electricity was distributed in 2023. At Enel Grids, we operate with a constant focus on the highest standards of service, working on advanced grid digitalization to foster the development of renewables and to ensure a superior experience in our customers' journey toward electrification, leveraging the opportunities offered by emerging technologies. In the near future, an increasing number of economic sectors will depend more heavily on electricity, requiring more resilient distribution grids in order to withstand climate change and extreme operating conditions. Energy will come from a far larger number of renewable plants, and this requires the development and implementation of innovative approaches to ensure grid stability, reliability, and efficiency.