ITE works on a project to avoid failures in the electrical networks "of the future"

VALENCIA, 22 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Technological Institute of Energy (ITE) is working on the Resain project, financed by IVACE, to avoid possible failures in the electrical networks "of the future", analyzing their systems in order to improve their efficiency, reliability and safety, with special attention to the degradation of components, thermal management and its impact on the electrical network.

The energy transition establishes the reduction of CO2 emissions, for example, in aspects as important as the production of renewable electrical energy and sustainable mobility. "In the networks of the future, power electronic systems will be essential to generate, transport and distribute energy," the technology center explained in a statement.

These systems are being integrated into electricity distribution networks, both to consume energy (electric vehicle charging) and to generate energy (photovoltaic installations). However, a failure of this equipment can cause a drop in the electricity supply or the deterioration of the infrastructure itself.

In this context, "the massive integration of charging stations for electric vehicles and photovoltaic generation present some challenges that must be analyzed to avoid phenomena such as network overload or loss of quality of supply", detailed the ITE. To make this integration more reliable and safe, one of the technological solutions can be converters with independent voltage control in three-phase networks or active management of energy demand.

According to Resain's technical coordinator, José Vicente Rocamonde: "For the integration of power electronics in low voltage networks to be effective, it is important to ensure that their presence in the network does not cause supply failures and allows for an increase in their flexibility and ability to react to failures.For this reason, it is not only important to ensure that the existing protections in the network act in coordination with the power electronics, but also that this equipment does not interfere with the various technologies with which it coexists ".

The "networks of the future", also called smart networks, are one of ITE's strategic lines. Although the central objective of the project is to develop tools to improve the reliability and safety of the operation of power electronic systems, as well as to favor their integration into the low voltage alternating current network, Resain pursues other goals.

"We also seek to define a methodology to evaluate the reliability of electronic components, characterize the effect caused by the integration of power electronics on the safety and operation of the low voltage alternating current network, improve the quality of supply of the network using electronic power converters, develop tools that allow the interoperability of said systems, and establish operating thresholds for the protections and power converters present in the network in urgent situations on the network", concludes Rocamonde.