Building a Vision for DER Interoperability: The CUPID Project in LF Energy
Event Recap: LF Energy Summit Europe 2025
TL;DR
At LF Energy Summit Europe 2025, Antonello Monti (RWTH Aachen University) and Alexandre Lucas (InescTEC) presented CUPID, a project derived from the EU-funded InterStore initiative and later brought to the Linux Foundation as a separate project. CUPID consists of three components: an implementation of IEEE 2030.5 over NATS, a legacy protocol converter, and automated testing tools. The software was deployed in four pilot sites in Italy, Germany, Portugal, and Austria.
Presentation Overview
CUPID, the Controllable Unit Protocol Interface for DER, was developed within the InterStore project, a European Commission–funded initiative focused on hybrid storage systems and flexibility services. The project ran for 36 months and had a budget of more than four million euros.
Monti explained that one of the key innovations of InterStore was the development of an open source implementation of IEEE 2030.5. This implementation was later isolated and brought to Linux Foundation as a separate project.
The objective described during the session was to support higher levels of interoperability among distributed energy resources and energy management systems. The InterStore project also aimed to prepare the European market, particularly inverter manufacturers, for adoption of IEEE 2030.5.
Architecture and Core Components
Monti and Lucas described three primary elements within CUPID.
The first is a client and server implementation of IEEE 2030.5 with native messaging over NATS. Instead of relying solely on synchronous REST-based communication, this implementation uses NATS to enable asynchronous, many-to-many communication. Lucas stated that this allows communication without strict hierarchical structures and supports interaction among multiple distributed resources and platforms.
The second component is a legacy protocol converter. The speakers noted that many deployed devices are not natively compatible with IEEE 2030.5. The converter enables systems using protocols such as Modbus TCP and MQTT to connect to the IEEE 2030.5 data bus, allowing heterogeneous devices to interoperate.
The third component is a compliance and testing framework. Automated tools were developed to verify conformance before connection to the platform. The presenters clarified that while not all possible IEEE 2030.5 scenarios are covered, the test cases reflect the range of validated use cases within the project.
Field Deployment
Monti emphasized that the work was not limited to laboratory development. The software was deployed in four pilot environments in Italy, Germany, Portugal, and Austria.
These pilots included use cases related to storage flexibility, e-mobility integration, grid support services, energy community operation, frequency services, adaptive storage management, and energy management system coordination. In several deployments, both native IEEE 2030.5 devices and legacy systems were integrated using the protocol converter.
Lucas stated that more than 37 distributed energy resources were monitored and controlled during testing, with successful testing across 21 energy management systems. Aggregated hybrid storage capacity was just over four megawatts.
Communication performance was reported at under 100 milliseconds, with laboratory tests in some cases reaching approximately 50 milliseconds. The presenters described this architecture as enabling fast grid service provision.
Standards Context and Future Work
The speakers described IEEE 2030.5 as a control-oriented protocol and contrasted the many-to-many publish–subscribe architecture enabled by NATS with hierarchical communication models.
They also referenced a project white paper comparing IEEE 2030.5 with other standards and protocols, including IEC 61850, IEC 104, MQTT, Modbus, and OpenADR.
With the conclusion of the InterStore project, CUPID now enters LF Energy as a community-driven initiative. The presenters stated that the goal is to continue development of the legacy protocol converter and associated tools, and to support broader adoption of IEEE 2030.5.
Watch the full presentation:
https://youtu.be/jKi9KnJTv4Y?si=8qnmWg6lfDf8q5mn
FAQ
What is CUPID?
CUPID, the Controllable Unit Protocol Interface for DER, is a project derived from the EU-funded InterStore initiative and later brought to Linux Foundation as a separate project. It consists of three components: an implementation of IEEE 2030.5 over NATS, a legacy protocol converter, and automated testing tools.
What standard does CUPID implement?
CUPID includes an open source implementation of IEEE 2030.5 with native messaging over NATS. During the session, the presenters described IEEE 2030.5 as a control-type protocol.
How does CUPID handle legacy devices?
CUPID includes a legacy protocol converter that enables systems using protocols such as Modbus TCP and MQTT to connect to the IEEE 2030.5 data bus. This allows devices that are not natively compatible with IEEE 2030.5 to interoperate.
Where has CUPID been deployed?
The software was deployed in four pilot sites in Italy, Germany, Portugal, and Austria as part of the InterStore project.
What scale was demonstrated during testing?
According to the presenters, more than 37 distributed energy resources were monitored and controlled, with successful testing across 21 energy management systems. Aggregated hybrid storage capacity was just over four megawatts.
What communication performance was reported?
Communication performance was reported at under 100 milliseconds, with laboratory tests in some cases reaching approximately 50 milliseconds. The presenters described the architecture as enabling fast grid service provision.
About LF Energy
LF Energy is an open source foundation within the Linux Foundation focused on advancing collaboration in digital energy infrastructure.
Learn more: https://lfenergy.org
Last updated: February, 12, 2026
