Getting smart with electricity networks – Information Centre – Research & Innovation

An EU-funded venture has aided to generate the advancement and use of clever grid methods across Europe. It has also furnished exterior engineering teams with free of charge obtain to point out-of-the-art services to enable them to carry out their personal investigation.


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© income_image #260010677, source:inventory.adobe.com 2020

Europe is on the lookout to maximize its use of renewable strength sources as a way of lessening emissions and to tackle world warming. Even so, integrating the likes of photo voltaic and wind electric power into electrical energy grids remains a problem owing to fluctuations in offer and confined storage potential. This is an problem for electric power program operators who have to have to sustain protection of electrical energy materials to properties and business.

Smart grids could offer an answer. They embrace a selection of technologies, programs and infrastructures that can support control electric power distribution techniques much more efficiently and intelligently. Although much of the investigation in this place has centered on particular aspects of clever grids, the EU-funded ERIGRID venture took a much more holistic tactic, drawing together the work of scientists from across Europe.

‘Our venture supports the technological advancement and roll-out of clever grid methods, methods and concepts in Europe by addressing program validation for clever grids,’ states venture coordinator Thomas Strasser from the AIT Austrian Institute of Technological innovation. ‘We are acquiring widespread procedures, concepts and techniques by bringing together eighteen European investigation centres and institutions with superb investigation infrastructures.’

True-time simulations

ERIGRID’s Trans-national Activity (TA) programme offered exterior teams free of charge obtain to some of Europe’s finest services. By venture close in April 2020, close to 70 teams of engineers and scientists experienced taken edge of the programme. They worked on a selection of topics relating to clever grids and strength distribution networks, which includes ICT, automation technologies, electric power handle components and output of new parts. The TA-backed projects have been also ready to take a look at methods by authentic-time simulations.

Across six phone calls for proposals, the TA sent benefits that will support to create smart strength networks. For example, the ECOSMIC venture drew up an financial assessment framework for micro-grids. The results furnished a pathway for the successful use of decentralised electric power generation for urban household electrical energy networks.

Meanwhile, the LCA venture designed a technological remedy that could reduce the electric power industry’s reliance on an environmentally damaging artificial fuel. Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) is commonly utilised to avert limited circuits but is regarded to be the most potent of all greenhouse gases. LCA’s remedy merged ground breaking sensor technologies and dry air to insulate circuits as an alternative of using SF6.

Open up obtain equipment

To complement the TA programme, ERIGRID worked to offer scientists and engineers with new awareness and equipment in this relatively young subject place. ‘We are providing training and educational components that tackle a full selection of troubles and satisfy important requirements in the area of electric power and strength techniques,’ states Strasser. ‘And we are increasing consciousness of the have to have to validate clever grids by a broad collaboration with stakeholders.’

The venture ran normal webinars, workshops and seasonal faculties to share knowledge and finest practice on topics this kind of as electric power generation choices for clever towns and setting up trusted and secure digitalised strength techniques. Several open up obtain and open up source equipment have been also designed, which are now accessible by the ERIGRID web page.

The provision of obtain to superb clever grid and clever strength techniques investigation infrastructures will keep on in the ERIGrid two. venture over the future 4 yrs.