Next Kraftwerke Virtual Power Plant

Next Kraftwerke operates a virtual power plant from Cologne, Germany. It aggregates distributed energy resources such as producers, consumers and storage units, controls their feed-in and consumption, and sells their flexibility on several markets so that thousands of units behave like one power plant.

The offering covers market access to major European power exchanges through power trading, balancing energy and power scheduling, plus battery storage solutions and wind power purchase agreements for post-subsidy plants. Participants are grouped in the Next Pool, and the company develops its own Next Box connection hardware, now in version 4.0.

• Power trading: market access to major European power exchanges.
• Balancing energy: aggregated flexibility offered to balancing markets.
• Power scheduling: scheduling of aggregated generation and consumption.
• BESS solutions: marketing and optimisation of battery storage, including tolling.
• Wind PPA: power purchase agreements for post-subsidy wind farms.
• Next Pool and Next Box: VPP participant pool and in-house connection hardware.

Reference for Vietnamese renewable and BESS developers on how to commercialise flexibility. Technology and know-how partnership for local aggregators preparing VPP pilots. Training and study tours for utilities designing balancing and ancillary markets.

Gives owners of wind, solar and storage assets market access without running a trading desk. Flexibility from many small units is bundled and sold in balancing and power markets. Battery storage can be marketed through tolling agreements, such as a 300 MW agreement with ECO STOR announced in 2026.

Growing shares of wind, solar and batteries make aggregation and market access a core business in Europe. Vietnam's renewable-heavy grid and plans for a spot and ancillary services market make European VPP operating practice a useful reference for local developers and regulators.

Address on the website: Lichtstr. 43g, 50825 Cologne, Germany. 2026 news: ju:niz Energy cooperation (2026-09), marketing of a 173 MWp solar park (2026-09), Ecowende 760 MW offshore wind marketing (2026-07), 300 MW tolling with ECO STOR (2026-06), change in core management (2026-06).