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The Centre of Technological Innovation in Power Electronics and Drives (CITCEA) of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC) is leading a European project that redesigns the current energy system to stabilise the power grid in the face of high renewable energy penetration. The proposed solutions involve using the loads that consume energy to help balance the grid.
With the increase in solar and wind energy, which have variable and less controllable output, maintaining power grid stability is an increasingly complex challenge in the current context of the energy transition. Traditional solutions, such as batteries or the temporary reduction of renewable generation, are costly and not always efficient.
The European project ‘Grid Forming Loads to provide maximum flexibility and enable future power systems with very high renewable generation penetration’ (GridForLoads) proposes an innovative alternative to address the new power grid challenges arising from the penetration of renewable energy: grid-forming loads.
The project aims to leverage energy-consuming devices on the grid, such as electric vehicle chargers or pump drives, which, thanks to advanced control, can actively help maintain grid balance. This allows renewables to operate at full capacity, without the need to reduce generation or compromise system reliability.
The grid-forming loads developed within the project allow the responsibility for forming and stabilising the grid to shift from generators to consumers, reversing the traditional operation of the power grid, where generators have historically been responsible for stabilising the network. The research team will test this technology through experimental tests and system-scale simulations.
Impact
GridForLoads will lay the foundations for a more reliable, efficient power system, prepared for a future based on clean energy.
UPC has filed the patent 'Method and system for controlling a voltage source converter as a grid forming load' and is promoting the development of the concept and its commercial exploitation and application.
Partners, budget and funding
Led by CITCEA-UPC, the project is funded with €2.5 million under the Horizon Europe programme (HORIZON-101192350-GridForLoads) and involves six European research centres and companies. In addition to CITCEA-UPC, the project team includes the collaboration with the UPC’s Hydrogen Specific Research Centre (CER-H2). GridForLoads has a duration of 42 months (January 2025 – June 2028).
Related Projects
- A joint UPC research team, integrated by the CommSensLab-UPC, and the ICM-CSIC, is participating in the EO4TIP project, which is developing new Earth observation methodologies to detect tipping points and sudden changes at local and regional scale on Earth using high-resolution satellite data.
- A team from the e-PLASCOM and eb-POLICOM research groups, alongside the Barcelona Research Center in Multiscale Science and Engineering (CCEM) at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC), is involved in the EcoPolyRub project in partnership with the Centre Català del Plàstic (CCP). The initiative aims to create innovative elastomeric materials based on recycled tyre rubber, enhanced recycled plastics, and natural rubber for high-performance mechanical and thermal applications.
- Un equip de recerca de la UPC, integrat pel CommSensLab-UPC i el Remote Sensing Lab (RSLAB) de la Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC), juntament amb l’Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC), ha participat en el projecte AI4EO, amb l’objectiu d’impulsar solucions i posar en pràctica eines d’intel·ligència artificial aplicades a dades d’observació de la Terra en diversos casos d’ús sobre el territori català.
- The e-PLASCOM research group at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC) is developing a solution based on biodegradable sodium alginate and gelatin aerogels for the purification of non-potable water and desalination using solar energy.
