Grid Operation

In the smart grid, grid operators have a considerably broader range of tasks than in conventional power grids. Energy generators and additional consumers must be integrated into the grid operation. Due to the current transitions in the energy, transport and heat sectors, large amounts of power exist at the low voltage levels. These must also be managed in order to maintain grid stability. In this case, the control and regulation of the grid requires an intelligent infrastructure of components. Our control room in the Digital Grid Lab allows us to evaluate new operating concepts.

Our R&D services in the field of "Grid Operation" include:

Operational Management and Optimization

Visualization of the load and switching states in the grid
© Fraunhofer ISE
Visualization of the load and switching states in the grid.

With a steadily increasing share of renewable energy in the power grid, the building services of the future must begin to adapt to a power supply which is dominated by fluctuating renewable energy sources. Here the focus must be placed on the energy system as a whole, which includes all generators. At Fraunhofer ISE, we develop and test adapted control and operation management concepts that enable increased local load management. With the help of powerful tools developed for this purpose, we can monitor energy supply systems in detail and map the results in our Digital Grid Lab. 

Digital Twin

Control room for controlling the Hardware-in-the-Loop system with digital twin
© Fraunhofer ISE
Control room for controlling the Hardware-in-the-Loop system with digital twin.

In our Digital Grid Lab, we have a digital twin tool which can make a model which replicates your existing network. Through the connection to our control room, new control concepts for the distribution grid can be evaluated and tested. Meanwhile the real grid operation is not at all affected. 

Estimates of Grid Status

Visualization of the estimated network state as heat map
© Fraunhofer ISE
Visualization of the estimated network state as heat map.

An essential component in control technology is the availability of reliable measurements. Even with the rollout of IMSys, there will be no complete observability of the distribution grids in particular. Therefore, we come to your aid, offering you methods to estimate the grid status and calculate the unknown nodes.

Operational Management and Optimization

Operation of the emergency power system 2.0, showing here the disconnection from the public grid
© Fraunhofer ISE
Operation of the emergency power system 2.0, showing here the disconnection from the public grid.

With a steadily increasing share of renewable energy in the power grid, the building services of the future must begin to adapt to a power supply which is dominated by fluctuating renewable energy sources. Here the focus must be placed on the energy system as a whole, which includes all generators. At Fraunhofer ISE, we develop and test adapted control and operation management concepts that enable increased local load management. With the help of powerful tools developed for this purpose, we can monitor energy supply systems in detail and map the results in our Digital Grid Lab. 

Our services include:

  • Development of powerful tools for visualization and monitoring of the energy supply system
  • Tools and concepts for the quality assurance of control and operational management of energy supply systems
  • Consulting and development of energy and cost-optimized operational management concepts
  • Stakeholder involvement and acceptance studies
  • elink -Web service for decentralized energy management systems:
    • SynPRO: synthetic time-resolved profiles for electricity and heat
    • schedSOL: forecast-based operation optimization

Further information on this research topic:

R&D Infrastructure

Digital Grid Lab

in our Center for Power Electronics and Sustainable Grids