Flexiblepower Alliance Network - FAN
FAN is a Dutch non-profit foundation developing open communication standards for energy flexibility, notably the S2 standard (EN 50491-12-2). It serves Dutch and European grid operators, device manufacturers, energy suppliers, and researchers through its standards, FlexMonitor research, and FLEXCON conference.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- Headquarters—
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Flexiblepower Alliance Network - FAN does
Flexiblepower Alliance Network (FAN) is an independent Dutch non-profit foundation (stichting) established in 2013 and headquartered in the Netherlands, with operations spanning Amsterdam and Rotterdam. FAN develops and promotes open communication standards that enable energy flexibility between distributed devices (heat pumps, EV chargers, solar inverters, home batteries) and energy management systems. Its core protocol is the S2 standard (EN 50491-12-2), co-developed with Dutch research institute TNO, which allows flexible assets to expose their flexibility capabilities to energy management software. FAN also maintains the Energy Flexibility Interface (EFI) protocol for equipment control by energy management software, publishes the FlexMonitor research series benchmarking the flexibility readiness of Dutch connected devices, and convenes the annual FLEXCON conference — Europe's leading energy flexibility event.
FAN's product surface consists of five core offerings: the S2 standard (a formal European specification), the EFI protocol, the FlexMonitor research reports, the annual FLEXCON conference, and the Smart Energy Community webinar platform run jointly with TKI Urban Energy. The organization operates through a partner ecosystem of 15+ Dutch and European energy sector players. Governance board members are senior executives from anchor partners: Adriaan van Eck (Chairperson, independent consultant), Jaap Brouwers (Treasurer, Alliander), Sabine Dujardin Papo (Board, Stedin), Wilbert Prinssen (Board, Technolution and Phase to Phase), Arjan Wargers (Board, Enexis), and Jan Pellis (Secretary). Customer segments are organized vertically: transmission and distribution system operators (TSOs/DSOs) seeking flexibility to balance variable renewable supply and reduce grid congestion; device manufacturers needing interoperable, non-proprietary communication; energy suppliers and aggregators delivering smart energy services; and research institutions and policymakers.
FAN has no external investors and is funded through partner contributions and membership fees, with revenue not publicly disclosed. FLEXCON ticket pricing has shifted from free in the 2020 digital edition to a paid model with a 30% Early Bird discount for 2026 in Antwerp. FAN's near-term expansion signals include the Belgian edition of FLEXCON in 2026 and the June 2026 Residential Flexibility Interoperability Test Event co-organized with ElaadNL and TNO. Strategic milestones include the 2022 board transition (replacing Chairperson Bert den Ouden and Treasurer Alexander Savelkoul) and FLEXCON's growth from 250 attendees in 2023 to over 500 in 2024.
Flexiblepower Alliance Network - FAN firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Flexiblepower Alliance Network - FAN
- Legal name
- Stichting Flexiblepower Alliance Network (FAN)
- Website
- https://flexible-energy.eu
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- FAN is a Dutch non-profit foundation developing open communication standards for energy flexibility, notably the S2 standard (EN 50491-12-2). It serves Dutch and European grid operators, device manufacturers, energy suppliers, and researchers through its standards, FlexMonitor research, and FLEXCON conference.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Flexiblepower Alliance Network - FAN industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Energy Standards & Smart Grid Research
- SIC
- Electric & Other Services Combined (4931)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Field Area Networks (FAN) for Distribution Automation (RF Mesh, Wi-SUN, Private LTE/5G) (EUADAIAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Field Area Network (FAN) & Backhaul for AMI (EUADAFAE), Residential DER Aggregation & VPPs (Solar+Storage, Smart Home, Community) (EUAFAHAA), Aggregator-as-a-Service & White-Label VPP Programs (Retailers, OEMs, Utilities) (EUAFAHAK), DER Aggregation & Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) (EUAMAJAC)
Keywords
Flexiblepower Alliance Network - FAN business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | One time/ perpetual license | FLEXCON 2026 conference tickets with Early Bird discount |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | FLEXCON 2020 was free to attend |
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels6 records
Flexiblepower Alliance Network - FAN product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Flexiblepower Alliance Network (FAN) is an independent Dutch non-profit foundation that develops and promotes open communication standards—primarily the S2 Standard (EN 50491-12-2) and the Energy Flexibility Interface (EFI) protocol—to enable interoperability between energy management systems and flexible end-devices such as heat pumps, EV chargers, solar inverters, and home batteries. The foundation also publishes the FlexMonitor research series and organizes the annual FLEXCON conference to convene the European energy flexibility ecosystem.
Product overview
Flexiblepower Alliance Network (FAN) is an open standards organization rather than a traditional product company. FAN's core offerings consist of the S2 Standard (EN 50491-12-2) for energy flexibility communication, the Energy Flexibility Interface (EFI) protocol, and the FlexMonitor research report series. FAN organizes the annual FLEXCON conference and hosts the Smart Energy Community for knowledge exchange. The organization focuses on enabling interoperability between smart energy devices (heat pumps, EV chargers, solar inverters, home batteries) through open standards.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- S2 Standard (EN 50491-12-2) An open European communication standard (EN 50491-12-2) developed by FAN with TNO that simplifies the use of energy flexibility in homes and buildings by enabling devices (heat pumps, EV chargers, solar inverters, home batteries) to optimize energy usage through external information and incentives. It is freely available to grid operators, device manufacturers, energy suppliers, and software developers.
- Energy Flexibility Interface (EFI) Protocol An open communication protocol developed by FAN for the control of flexible equipment by energy management software, forming the basis for accessing flexibility at the source in homes and buildings.
- FlexMonitor Research Series A periodic research publication that assesses the state of energy flexibility readiness of connected devices (heat pumps, EV chargers, solar inverters, home batteries, and home energy management systems) in the Netherlands, providing market intelligence for utilities, manufacturers, and policymakers.
- FLEXCON Annual Conference Europe's leading annual conference on energy flexibility, co-organized by FAN and smartEn, convening market players, policymakers, researchers, and innovators across Europe to discuss smart energy, interoperability, and demand-side flexibility. Editions have been held in Amsterdam (2022, 2024), Brussels (2023), and a digital format in 2020, attracting 250-500+ professional energy participants.
- Smart Energy Community A community initiative run jointly with TKI Urban Energy that brings together stakeholders involved in energy flexibility for homes and commercial buildings, hosting monthly webinars on topics such as smart buildings, flexibility markets, cybersecurity, and home energy management systems (HEMS).
Quantifiable outcome
- FLEXCON events attract 250-500+ European energy flexibility experts annually
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Flexiblepower Alliance Network - FAN
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Flexiblepower Alliance Network - FAN technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Flexiblepower Alliance Network - FAN partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Flexiblepower Alliance Network - FAN competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- EnergyHub: Commercial DER management platform that aggregates residential and commercial flexible assets (EVs, batteries, thermostats) for utilities. Comparable commercial outcome to what FAN's standards enable — turning distributed device flexibility into grid services — but delivered as a vendor product rather than an open standard.
- OpenADR Alliance: Non-profit industry alliance that develops and promotes the OpenADR standard for automated demand response. Highly comparable to FAN: open-standard mandate, membership-funded foundation model, and focus on enabling grid flexibility through standardized communication between devices and operators.
- AutoGrid (Schneider Electric): VPP/DER aggregation platform acquired by Schneider Electric; aggregates flexible distributed assets into dispatchable grid resources. Operates downstream of standards like S2 and targets the same flexibility-market use cases (residential and commercial DER orchestration).
- Voltus: Commercial demand-response and VPP aggregator monetizing distributed flexibility for grid services. Comparable in that it commercializes the flexibility value that FAN's S2 standard enables, but as a for-profit intermediary rather than a non-profit alliance.
- EEBus Initiative e.V. European non-profit developing cross-industry communication standards (including EEBus for smart home/energy). Direct overlap with S2's residential flexibility scope; competes for the same OEM and utility mindshare across European energy-flexibility programs.
- Open Charge Alliance (OCPP): Non-profit foundation governing the OCPP standard for EV charger-to-backend communication. Closely mirrors FAN's foundation-based, open-standard model and shares the European EV-flexibility ecosystem where S2 also operates (smart EV charging).
Others
- ElaadNL: Dutch knowledge center for smart charging infrastructure, co-hosting the 2026 Residential Flexibility Interoperability Test Event with FAN and TNO. Adjacent in the EV-flexibility value chain and a frequent collaboration partner rather than a competitor.
- smartEn — Smart Energy Europe: European business association representing the smart-energy value chain; co-organizes FLEXCON with FAN. Adjacent ecosystem peer rather than competitor — shares target members (utilities, OEMs, aggregators) but focuses on policy advocacy rather than a specific communication standard.
Emerging players
- Kiwigrid (EnBW): German energy-management platform for connecting distributed devices (PV, batteries, EV chargers, heat pumps) to utilities and aggregators. Directly comparable to what S2 aims to standardize at the protocol level; now owned by EnBW, giving it commercial scale FAN does not have.
- Sunverge Energy: Provider of integrated DER hardware-and-software platforms for residential storage and VPP participation. Targets the same residential-flexibility outcome (battery + PV + load flexibility) that the S2 standard is designed to unlock at the device-to-EMS layer.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Flexiblepower Alliance Network - FAN social profiles
Digital presenceFlexiblepower Alliance Network - FAN financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Flexiblepower Alliance Network - FAN leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Flexiblepower Alliance Network - FAN funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Flexiblepower Alliance Network - FAN M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Flexiblepower Alliance Network - FAN
What does Flexiblepower Alliance Network - FAN do?
Flexiblepower Alliance Network (FAN) is an independent Dutch non-profit foundation that develops and promotes open communication standards—primarily the S2 Standard (EN 50491-12-2) and the Energy Flexibility Interface (EFI) protocol—to enable interoperability between energy management systems and flexible end-devices such as heat pumps, EV chargers, solar inverters, and home batteries. The foundation also publishes the FlexMonitor research series and organizes the annual FLEXCON conference to convene the European energy flexibility ecosystem.
Is Flexiblepower Alliance Network - FAN a public or private company?
Flexiblepower Alliance Network - FAN is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Flexiblepower Alliance Network - FAN founded?
Flexiblepower Alliance Network - FAN was founded in 2013. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Who are Flexiblepower Alliance Network - FAN's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are EnergyHub, OpenADR Alliance, AutoGrid (Schneider Electric), Voltus, EEBus Initiative e.V. and Open Charge Alliance (OCPP). Others are ElaadNL and smartEn — Smart Energy Europe. Emerging players are Kiwigrid (EnBW) and Sunverge Energy.
Does Flexiblepower Alliance Network - FAN have an API?
No public API is recorded for Flexiblepower Alliance Network - FAN.
What industry is Flexiblepower Alliance Network - FAN in?
Flexiblepower Alliance Network - FAN's product category is Energy Standards & Smart Grid Research. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUADAIAB, Field Area Networks (FAN) for Distribution Automation (RF Mesh, Wi-SUN, Private LTE/5G), with a secondary code of EUADAFAE, Field Area Network (FAN) & Backhaul for AMI. Its SIC code is 4931.