Open-MS: digital tools for local congestion management
The energy transition is placing increasing pressure on the power grids. Energy management can offer some respite at low-voltage level, but it is proving difficult to get to grips with network congestion at medium-voltage level. Technolution, TU Delft, and The Green Village have partnered up in the pilot project Open-MS to find a solution for medium-voltage substations: an open, cybersecure edge platform that offers grid operators a wider range of options for local energy systems.
Digitization of medium-voltage substations
The Open-MS pilot concentrates on medium-voltage substations. Digitizing medium-voltage substations and facilitating local smart control opens the door to a more granular type of congestion management at neighborhood level. This makes the grid more robust, more resilient, and better attuned to local energy generation, storage, and consumption.
The pilot is running at The Green Village in Delft, where a medium-voltage substation is connected to university buildings and student dwellings that each have their own energy management system (EMS). In this realistic testing ground, Open-MS is studying how an open edge platform might work in practice, how various parties can connect to it, and how security and reliability can be safeguarded.
Cooperation between grid operator and local energy management
FlexCore, Technolution’s open edge platform, plays an important role in Open-MS. FlexCore is installed in the medium-voltage substation and functions there as a digital ‘hub’. The platform collects data from a wide range of sensors and uses this to measure specific grid parameters. In addition, FlexCore can operate actuators within the substation. In this way, the platform not only provides data but also actual options to adjust operation. In addition, it has been designed with security in mind – an aspect that was recently tested during a ‘hackathon’.
The unique aspect of Open-MS is that the FlexCore gives grid operators something akin to their own EMS within the medium-voltage substation. This digital representation allows operators to share relevant grid information with the local EMSs, which can actively respond to it. The local end user always retains ultimate control, so that their privacy is never compromised. This enables a new type of cooperation, in which local energy systems and grid operators effectively mutually reinforce each other.
Tools for future-proof power grids
With Open-MS, the partners are showcasing how openness, interoperability, and security by design can converge in critical energy infrastructure. The project is thus not only producing new technical insights, but also concrete tools for grid operators, EMS parties, and other professionals who are working on a future-proof power grid.
This project is funded by the Top Sector Energy Subsidy of the Dutch Ministry of Climate and Green Growth.
