Guest: Robert Tusveld (LinkedIn)
Company: Alliander (Twitter)
Show: State of Energy

Alliander is no stranger to open source having started on their open source journey over 10 years ago. Grid eXchange Fabric (GXF), a generic communication network for field devices, was their first open-source initiative that was a complete platform. GXF is helping not only Alliander but others in the larger ecosystem manage and control devices in the field.

In this episode of State of Energy, Robert Tusveld, Solution Architect, GXF at Alliander while at the LF Energy Summit in Paris, talks about the GXF project and Alliander’s journey with the project and open source in general. He goes on to discuss the benefits of the GXF platform and why companies should get involved with the project.

Key highlights from this video interview:

• Tusveld gives us an overview of GXF saying that it is an open source communication platform that enables them to communicate with devices in the field and it includes lifecycle management functionality. He talks about the evolution of the platform from the first initiatives to develop the platform in 2012 to today.
• Tusveld talks about some of the core components of the project: a layered architecture that consists of industrial protocols that are supported by the different types of devices that they support, a core functionality layer, and specific domains within the platform, such as a smart metering domain and a distribution automation domain.
• This was the first initiative where Alliander went open source with a complete platform. Tusveld discusses the reasons why they were keen to open source it including that they wanted more innovation, faster time to market, and having all parties that are part of the community collaborating on the platform.
• Alliander has been doing open source for around 10 years now, and Tusveld talks about how they have cultivated a culture in the company that supports their open-source efforts.
• Tusveld believes that other players should do open source in this space to share knowledge and problems to help speed up development as they all tackle the large tasks they have in the energy transition.
• One of the key takeaways from the Summit for Tusveld has been that many of the companies attending the summit have the same problems. He talks about how the event provides an opportunity for them to talk to each other and see if they can find a solution.
• Tusveld discusses what is in the pipeline for Alliander saying that they now have three live projects, one around public lighting, one around smart metering, and a low voltage measurements project. He goes on to talk about the future extension of functionality and technology updates they are working on.
• Within the larger ecosystem, Tusveld feels that DSOs could leverage the project since the main functions they need to offer are similar. He talks about what areas the project will help the DSOs.
• Tusveld tells us why organizations should use GXF saying it is a proven technology that is available on GitHub, and is flexible and modular. He encourages companies to join them in the development and use of GXF.

This summary was written by Emily Nicholls.