LF Energy 101 at OSS Japan 2025
How open source is powering the digital energy transition
Summary Signal
LF Energy 101 at OSS Japan 2025 presented how open source is powering the digital energy transition, highlighting why modern energy systems require software-defined, community-driven approaches to remain reliable, scalable, and secure.
Event Overview
LF Energy 101 at OSS Japan 2025
How open source is powering the digital energy transition
At Open Source Summit Japan 2025, a growing reality was made clear: the energy sector can no longer rely on rigid, hardware-bound control systems. Electrification, renewable integration, data center growth, and AI-driven operations are pushing grids beyond what legacy architectures were designed to handle.
In their session LF Energy 101: How Open Source Is Powering the Digital Energy Transition, Darshan Chawda and Nao Nishijima from Hitachi offered a practical introduction to LF Energy and the role community-driven open source plays in modern energy systems.
Key Highlights
Why digital transformation is no longer optional
The presentation grounded digital transformation in operational reality. Grid operators face aging infrastructure, rising demand, extreme weather risk, regulatory fragmentation, and growing cybersecurity exposure. At the same time, renewables and distributed energy resources introduce variability that cannot be managed without software-defined control, real-time data, and automation.
Unlike pure IT systems, energy infrastructure is safety-critical and deeply tied to physical assets. This makes large-scale change slower and riskier. The speakers emphasized that transformation must happen without sacrificing reliability, determinism, or trust.
Open source as an enabler, not an abstraction
LF Energy was presented as a response to these constraints. For more than seven years, the community has brought utilities, vendors, researchers, and regulators together to build industrial-grade open source projects that address shared problems across the grid lifecycle.
Rather than replacing operational technology, LF Energy projects focus on IT/OT convergence. They enable interoperability through open standards, reduce vendor lock-in, and allow utilities to adopt virtualization and redundancy incrementally.
From forecasting to digital substations
The session walked through concrete examples, including:
- OpenSTEF, which applies machine learning to short-term load and generation forecasting using weather, calendar, and historical data.
- SEAPATH, a virtualization platform designed for IEC 61850 digital substations, enabling virtualized protection, automation, and control while meeting strict real-time and cybersecurity requirements.
- CoMPAS, which simplifies configuration and lifecycle management for substation automation systems using standardized, vendor-neutral data models.
These projects demonstrate that open source is already operating in production environments, supporting grid safety, resilience, and operational efficiency.
What Is Next
A collaborative path forward
The key takeaway from the talk was not that open source is experimental, but that it is becoming a strategic requirement. As grids become more digital and interconnected, no single organization can solve these challenges alone. Shared development, transparent architectures, and community validation are increasingly essential to building systems that scale.
For newcomers, LF Energy 101 served as a starting point. For experienced practitioners, it reinforced a clear message, the future of reliable, intelligent energy infrastructure depends on collaboration as much as technology.
FAQ
What was the focus of LF Energy 101 at Open Source Summit Japan 2025?
The session focused on how community-driven open source enables digital transformation across modern energy systems.
Why is digital transformation critical for grid operators?
Grid operators face aging infrastructure, rising demand, renewable variability, cybersecurity exposure, and regulatory complexity that require software-defined and automated solutions.
How does LF Energy support IT and OT convergence?
LF Energy projects enable interoperability through open standards while allowing incremental adoption without replacing existing operational technology.
Are LF Energy projects used in production environments?
Yes, the session highlighted projects already supporting grid safety, resilience, and operational efficiency in real-world deployments.
About LF Energy
LF Energy is the community for technologists to co-develop open, industrial-grade technology, standards, and data to deliver affordable, reliable, safe and clean energy. Strategic Members include Alliander, Google, Hydro-Quebec, Microsoft, RTE and Shell, in addition to over 60 General and Associate Members from across the energy industry, technology, academia, and government. Find further information here: https://www.lfenergy.org.
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LF Energy, OSS Japan 2025, digital energy transition, open source energy, IT OT convergence, digital substations, grid modernization, energy software, community collaboration
About The Linux Foundation
The Linux Foundation is the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source. It provides a neutral, trusted hub for developers and organizations to build and scale open technology ecosystems.
Last updated
January 21, 2026
