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HEDoctoral network2024–2028

Inter-oPEn · Interoperability of the Power Electronics dominated grid by openness

Horizon Europe — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2024-01-01 → 2028-06-30
EU contribution
€2,673,569
Participants
21
Scheme
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-DN

Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.

Results in brief

Interoperability of the Power Electronics dominated grid by openness

Power Electronic Converters are essential for integrating more renewables into Europe’s electricity system, yet the present PE dominated grid faces an “interoperability ice age”: Multi vendor HVDC converters are added ad hoc, while proprietary control software, unclear IP regimes and fragmented regulation hinder information exchange. Inter-oPEn addresses these technical, legal and regulatory obstacles by training ten Doctoral Researchers in a joint engineering legal programme that merges electrical engineering, control protection, IP law and energy policy expertise. The project aims to build an open by design ecosystem for safe, reliable and cost effective operation of future multi vendor PE power systems, pursued through three tightly linked strands: 1. Engineering for swift interoperability: Develop partially open control protection architectures and model based tools. 2. Resilient, flexible power system integration: Apply system level MBSE, stability assessment and data driven control to multi terminal HVDC grids. 3. Legal and regulatory enablement: Analyse openness, IP protection, governance models and EU level regulatory pathways. By placing openness at the heart of both technology and policy, Inter-oPEn directly supports the EU Green Deal, the UN SDGs and the EU “Fit for 55” energy transition agenda.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

Power electronic (PE) devices are a key enabler for integrating renewable energy into our power system. However, to achieve interoperability of PE devices, barriers are present in technology but also in intellectual property and regulation. To overcome these barriers, Inter-oPEn offers a unique doctoral training program for 10 researchers that integrates multi-sectorial knowledge, gathering electrical engineering and legal researchers. To achieve the common goal of the interoperable PE-dominated power system, openness will be a pivotal factor across the different doctoral projects, tackling fundamental aspects of modern PE-based electrical systems such as control, protection, interoperability, governance, and intellectual property challenges. In line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and the EU Green deal, Inter-oPEn's research program is divided into three complementary parts, (1) Engineering components for swift interoperability, (2) Integration of a resilient and flexible power system, and (3) Enabling interoperability from a legal and regulatory viewpoint. Inter-oPEn's training program puts a particular emphasis on maneuvering the complex and rapidly growing power system/electronics sector with specific intersectoral trainings on, e.g., change management in critical infrastructure, how to give good recommendations, or simplification approaches for an efficient description of complex contexts to other domains. Comprised of 8 academic partners and 13 industrial associated partners, Inter-oPEn offers a broad industry and transmission system operator expertise for doctoral trainings, research, and secondments. Compared to previous EU projects and doctoral training networks on the interoperable PE-dominated grid, Inter-oPEn is innovative by including two fundamental and new aspects: (1) the interplay of technical and legal perspectives is considered, and (2) openness principles are the heart of engineering and legal research, as well as, training.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

  • RHEINISCH-WESTFAELISCHE TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE AACHEN · AachenCoordinatorGermany
  • 50HERTZ TRANSMISSION GMBH · BerlinGermany
  • AFFARSVERKET SVENSKA KRAFTNAT · SundbybergSweden
  • COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH FOR ENERGY SYSTEM MODELING · BRUSSELSBelgium
  • EIDGENOESSISCHE TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE ZUERICH · ZuerichSwitzerland
  • ELIA ENGINEERING SA · Bruxelles / BrusselBelgium
  • Hubert Göbel GmbH · BonenGermany
  • KARLSRUHER INSTITUT FUER TECHNOLOGIE · KarlsruheGermany
  • KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN · LeuvenBelgium
  • KUNGLIGA TEKNISKA HOEGSKOLAN · StockholmSweden
  • Mosaic Grid Solutions GmbH · KarlsruheGermany
  • NORTHVOLT AB · STOCKHOLMSweden
  • OSTFALIA HOCHSCHULE FUER ANGEWANDTE WISSENSCHAFTEN HOCHSCHULE BRAUNSCHWEIG WOLFENBUTTEL · WOLFENBUTTELGermany
  • PHYSIKALISCH-TECHNISCHE BUNDESANSTALT · BraunschweigGermany
  • RIJKSUNIVERSITEIT GRONINGEN · GroningenNetherlands
  • SCOTTISH HYDRO ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION PLC · PERTHUnited Kingdom
  • SIEMENS ENERGY GLOBAL GMBH & CO. KG · MunchenGermany
  • TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET BRAUNSCHWEIG · BraunschweigGermany
  • TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITEIT DELFT · DelftNetherlands
  • TRANSNETBW GMBH · STUTTGARTGermany
  • UNIVERSITAT POLITECNICA DE CATALUNYA · BARCELONASpain

Links

Data: CORDIS, © European Union