Next Level Energy Setup

In the next few years, the pace of change in electricity systems will in general be accelerated further globally, but especially in Europe due to the security policy situation, with the call for a green transition and increased energy self-sufficiency. The need for change is driven by global megatrends, such as the need to reduce emissions, increasing energy and cost efficiency, increasing energy self-sufficiency, and critical infrastructure reliability and crisis preparedness requirements. For example, in electricity networks, renewable, decentralized generation, which replaces traditional centralized electricity generation, is more challenging in its characteristics, as it is both more variable (weather-dependent) and more dynamically sensitive due to inverter-based connection of renewable and distributed energy resources. In the future, the growing needs for flexibility and reliability of energy systems will require the rapid development of various new management, control and protection solutions as well as decentralized energy / flexibility resource technologies and concepts (including microgrid solutions). Various energy storages, such as battery technology, as well as cyber-secure ICT solutions and data analytics /optimization will play a key role in enabling future energy systems, both in intelligent and flexible electricity grids and in various transport applications (electric cars, ships and work machines). In order to make the best possible use of the potential of decentralized, flexible energy resources (production, storage, freight, electric cars) and other forms of energy (heat, gas, transport) in the future, integrated, intelligent, active and coordinated management using telecommunications connections is needed.

In this Next Level Energy Setup project, grid simulator and battery will be integrated into the RDI environment built around the real-time simulation equipment of the University of Vaasa's VEBIC (Vaasa Energy Business Innovation Centre) research platform's Future Reliable Electricity & Energy System Integration (FREESI) laboratory. The aim of developing the RDI environment is to create the conditions for RDI activities that meet the increased flexibility and reliability requirements of energy networks and help companies to develop, test and commercialize new innovations, products and solutions faster.

The development project represents 83 401 € of the budget and the investment project 309 575 €.