| **Case study** |
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## **Reducing energy costs and boosting resilience while supporting the grid**
It takes deep-rooted know-how and a shared vision for sustainability to turn an agri-industry site into a flexible energy powerhouse.
This is exactly what Tomatomasters and Veolia have achieved together - valorising 28 MW across greenhouses in Deinze, Flanders.
| **Valorized assets** • 3 Combined Heat and Power (CHP) units • 4 Electric boilers • High-efficiency LED lighting **Services provided by Flexcity offer** *aFRR, mFRR, Imbalance* ***Location*** *Deinze, Belgium* ***Start of the partnership*** *September 2024* |
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## **Customer Challenge**
**Tomatomasters is a family-owned greenhouse grower producing premium tomatoes since 1966. With 21 hectares of advanced greenhouses and operations built around sustainability and innovation, it is today one of Belgium’s largest and most forward-thinking agricultural producers.**
Producing tomatoes at this scale requires significant amounts of energy. Tomatomasters had already invested in CHPs, electric boilers, and intelligent LED systems - but the full potential of these assets remained untapped.
With energy costs rising and grid flexibility becoming increasingly important, the team wanted to do more with their infrastructure. Their goal: generate revenue from flexibility while maintaining uninterrupted, high-quality tomato production.
**The site now delivers flexibility to several market mechanisms:**
- CHPs are modulated to respond to grid needs while maintaining heat supply
- Electric boilers act as fast, controllable loads
- LED lighting provides additional responsiveness when needed
**Veolia's Flexcity offer valorises these assets in:**
- aFRR
- mFRR
- Imbalance markets
All activations are automated and integrated via Flexcity’s advanced control platform. Veolia ensures grid participation while protecting the operational integrity of the greenhouses at all times.
## **Solution**
**Veolia, through its Flexcity offer, collaborated with Tomatomasters to identify and activate the site's flexibility potential, focusing on secure integration, real-time control, and minimal operational impact.**
|  **Tom Vlaemynck** *CEO of Tomatomasters* | > ***Working with Veolia's Flexcity offer helped us unlock the full potential of our greenhouses' flexibility. It’s a smart and seamless way to contribute to sustainability, without changing how we grow.*** |
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- **Valorisation of 28 MW of flexibility** without impacting operations
- **Integration with the most valuable ancillary** and imbalance markets
- **Secure, seamless setup** using Veolia’s control infrastructure
- **New long-term revenue streams** to strengthen the business model
- **Alignment with sustainability goals** and preparation for battery storage
## **―**
**Benefits**
|  **Arnout Aertgeerts** *Former CEO, Veolia's Flexcity offer* | > ***This partnership shows that flexibility isn’t just for heavy industry or utilities. Innovators in agri-industry like Tomatomasters are playing a growing role in the energy transition by becoming energy companies.*** |
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## **Working with Veolia**
Our Flexcity Offer helps energy-intensive companies turn existing infrastructure into new value - optimizing flexible capacity across ancillary services, imbalance markets, and more. Whether you're in industry, agriculture, or logistics, we make flexibility work without complexity.
**Want to know what’s possible at your site?**
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