Exclusive: Rolf Bienert discusses OpenADR Alliance's growth amid electrification shift

The rise in electric vehicle (EV) charging and the shift to electrified appliances are transforming how utilities manage energy – and the OpenADR Alliance is emerging as a key player in that change.

OpenADR  is a communications protocol that helps utilities and energy service providers automatically send price and event signals to devices at the customer end.

Originally developed in California in response to energy crises in the early 2000s - the standard has evolved into a global tool for managing load on power grids.

"EV charging was certainly a catalyst," said Rolf Bienert, managing and technical director of the OpenADR Alliance. "It drove utilities to speed things up. Before, it was nice to have, but now it's essential."

"Back then, it was really just about peak load management," Bienert explained. "You had times when energy demand exceeded production, and you needed urgent load reduction. But that happened maybe five or six times a year."

Now, however, the stakes are much higher and the use cases more widespread. "We've seen a huge uptick in electrification," he said. "You've got homes producing energy through rooftop solar, then turning around and consuming heavily via chargers. That's a big thing to juggle."

The Alliance recently marked a milestone with the first certified products using its 3.0 standard – an upgrade from version 2.0 that Bienert says was necessary to modernise the system's technical backbone.

"OpenADR 2.0 leaned heavily on XML, which is clunky for today's programmers," he said.

"With 3.0, we moved to a more contemporary system using RESTful APIs and web services. That makes it much more flexible and easier to implement."

The launch of certified 3.0 products helped shift perception from theory to reality. "When you have a new standard, the industry often leans back and waits," Bienert said. "But once a real product is out there, others pay attention. Suddenly, it's not just a document – it's working, it's deployed, and competitors are taking note."

Among the companies adopting 3.0 is Evoke Energy Services Exchange, which uses a multi-tiered OpenADR architecture that Bienert described as unusually advanced.

"They didn't just connect to the utility. They created a hierarchy within their own system," he said. "It's server-client, then new server, more clients. It allows fully interchangeable nodes – they can plug in any system that supports OpenADR, anywhere."

The flexibility of 3.0 also allows for tailored implementations. "It can be as simple or as complex as you need," Bienert said. "In some cases, all you need is to send the current price – that's a few lines of code. But we also support more complex exchanges and new signal types for things like dynamic operating envelopes in Australia."

Another major development is the Alliance's work with Matter, the home automation standard backed by major tech firms.

"Matter brings a whole ecosystem of devices into the fold," Bienert said. "It lets utilities manage entire homes as one unit, rather than creating separate programmes for each device."

In the UK, OpenADR is gaining traction through its collaboration with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on PAS 1878 – a government-backed framework for demand-side flexibility.

"That was the first time a government agency really unravelled the entire use case," Bienert said. "From utility to device type, clearly defining objectives, signals and pathways. It helps the industry understand how this should work."

Looking ahead, Bienert believes OpenADR has a central role to play in the global future of demand response and dynamic pricing.

"Some experts in our working group say everything will just be dynamic pricing eventually," he said. "I can't say if that's true, but it does make some sense."

The protocol offers advantages beyond pricing. It enables utilities to send emergency messages or load reduction requests without directly controlling customer equipment.

"It's about security and simplicity," Bienert explained. "You don't want your control network reaching into customers' homes – that creates cyber risk and customer confusion. If something goes wrong, they'll call the utility, even if it's their own device."

OpenADR can support a range of systems, from water heaters and EV chargers to building energy management. "The key is to let companies innovate for their customers," he said. "OpenADR provides the signals and leaves the implementation to them."

Still, challenges remain. The biggest threat to adoption, according to Bienert, isn't competing standards – it's proprietary systems.

"Companies say, 'Yeah, there are standards, but we'll just build our own API.' That fragments the market," he said. "It might help them own a segment briefly, but it can't grow."

The Alliance is trying to overcome this by working closely with both utilities and manufacturers. "We want utilities to require OpenADR. We want manufacturers to see the flexibility of 3.0," Bienert said.

As the energy sector navigates a historic transformation, OpenADR's goal is to be the backbone of intelligent, automated load management.

"It's all about helping the grid, and the customers, keep pace with change."