Simulation-based virtual testbed for energy flexibility in manufacturing

The increasing reliance on renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, is essential for reducing emissions, but their volatility challenges grid stability and requires flexible demand-side solutions. While load shifting is already applied in private households, production systems are more complex and less adaptable. Therefore, methods are needed to develop and evaluate energy-flexibility strategies for industrial contexts. This paper presents a virtual testbed for evaluating energy-flexibility strategies in manufacturing systems. The main methodological contribution is a requirements-driven and ontology-based development approach for a modular simulation environment that integrates production processes, renewable generation, battery storage, and external grid interaction. The testbed supports the structured representation and experimental analysis of coupled production and energy flows, including load shifting and storage-based flexibility measures. A physically implemented, scaled learning factory is used for model validation, while simulation-based experiments are used to assess operational flexibility measures under controlled conditions. The results indicate that production timing, load-profile adaptation, and storage conditions influence grid import, self-sufficiency, and the utilization of photovoltaic energy. The proposed testbed provides a modular and extensible environment for analysing energy-flexibility strategies and supports the methodological evaluation of coupled production and energy systems.