SUSTAIN-6G

This use case demonstrates AI-driven coordination between 6G infrastructure and smart grid resources to enable energy-aware and energy-active network operation. Implemented on the PT-6 5G NPN testbed with the WINGS' wi.sense platform, the use case integrates real-time power-system telemetry (power flow, voltage, battery SoC) and network metrics (traffic demand, node utilisation) into a unified optimisation loop.

The solution introduces sustainability-aware SLA extensions, including negotiable parameters such as energy consumption caps, CO₂ intensity thresholds, latency constraints, and optional price signals. A Sustainability Management and Orchestration mechanism dynamically balances renewable energy availability, grid stress signals, and service performance objectives.

During high renewable production, non-critical edge workloads are prioritised to maximise green energy use. Under low production or grid stress, the system selectively shifts or scales non-critical traffic while preserving QoS for critical services.

The PoC validates improvements in renewable energy share, CO₂ reduction (gCO₂/Mbps), energy cost savings, outage resilience, and demand-response participation, while explicitly evaluating the trade-off between energy optimisation and network QoS.