BULGARSKA NEZAVISIMA ENERGIJNA BORSA EAD

Their core work

IBEX (Independent Bulgarian Energy Exchange) is Bulgaria's national power exchange, operating the organized electricity market where producers and traders buy and sell power. In H2020 projects, they contribute real-world market operator expertise — providing live data, testing new trading mechanisms, and validating cross-border market coupling solutions on an actual exchange platform. Their involvement ensures that research on pan-European electricity markets and grid services is grounded in operational market reality, not just simulation.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

IBEX entered H2020 in 2017 with FLEXITRANSTORE, focused on market coupling and grid flexibility with storage — a relatively broad entry into smart grid research. From 2019 onward, all three subsequent projects zeroed in on cross-border electricity trading, TSO-NEMO coordination, and regional market integration, reflecting Bulgaria's growing role as a connector between Southeast European electricity markets. The shift from general market coupling to specific cross-border and TSO-DSO interface work signals a deepening specialization in pan-European market architecture.

IBEX is positioning itself as a key Southeast European testbed for cross-border market integration and TSO-DSO interface solutions, making them increasingly relevant as EU electricity market harmonization accelerates.

How they like to work

IBEX participates exclusively as a partner, never as coordinator — consistent with their role as an infrastructure provider that contributes operational market access rather than research leadership. With 106 unique partners across 26 countries in just four projects, they operate in very large Innovation Action consortia (25+ partners each), which means they are well-connected but not deeply tied to any single research group. Working with IBEX means gaining access to a real, operating power exchange for validation and piloting.

Through four large-scale Innovation Actions, IBEX has built connections with 106 partners across 26 countries — an exceptionally wide network for a national exchange operator. Their reach spans most of the EU, with particular relevance to Southeast European and Central European energy networks.

What sets them apart

IBEX is not a research lab or consultancy — it is the actual operator of Bulgaria's organized electricity market. This gives consortium builders something rare: a live, regulated power exchange willing to test and validate new market designs, trading algorithms, and cross-border coupling mechanisms in real operational conditions. For any project targeting Southeast European electricity market integration, IBEX provides both infrastructure access and regulatory-market insight that academic partners cannot replicate.

Highlights from their portfolio

• TRINITY
  Largest funding (EUR 282,005) and focused on intelligent market technology for regional transmission borders — directly aligned with IBEX's core business as a power exchange.
• INTERRFACE
  Addressed the full TSO-DSO-Consumer interface chain with pan-EU market ambitions, positioning IBEX in the architecture of future European grid services.
• FARCROSS
  Tackled cross-border electricity transmission innovation with concrete technologies like power flow controllers and dynamic line rating — hardware-adjacent work unusual for a market operator.