Subproject: Reliable and Secure Communication

Motivation

Due to renewable energies, the power grid topology is facing a radical change. In conventional power grids, a relatively low number of power plants generates energy regulated upon current needs. However, the integration of decentralized energy resources (DER), e.g., solar cells or wind power, creates new feed-in points at the transmission grid level, and their produced energy is highly volatile as it depends on outer influences, e.g., the weather. Hence, DERs can cause back-feeding into the superordinate grid level whenever energy production and consumption in subparts of the grid are unbalanced. As a result, network topology changes are already necessary several times a day and are expected to be required even more often in the future. If uncontrollable conditions for the existing protection concept are detected in the course of these topology changes, immediate action must be taken and the DER must be disconnected.

Project Objective

The objective of the VeN²uS research project is to develop and implement an adaptive and networked grid protection system that adapts the protection parameters in the event of power flow shifts and topology changes and ensures safe operation. For this purpose, an adaptive grid protection algorithm is first developed and verified. In parallel, resilient and reliable communication and protection test concepts are developed. Subsequently, the development paths are merged, i.e., the adaptive and interconnected network protection system is verified by demonstration in the laboratory and (for the first time in Germany) also in field trials.

COMSYS' Objective

COMSYS aims to research communication mechanisms that achieve high resilience against failures and meet the latency requirements of adaptive network protection. In addition, COMSYS explores how to simultaneously achieve high-level hardware-based communication security necessary for critical network protection functionality. As a result, we target reliable and secure communication for the exchange of network protection data.

See VeN2uS online

- Project Overview in EnArgus (in German) 
- Press Release from HanseWerk (in German)

Consortium

The VeN2uS Consortium consists of several German partners with expertise in various areas of smart grids and secure communication.

• Schleswig-Holstein Netz AG
• LEW Verteilnetz GmbH
• Siemens AG
• SAE IT-systems GmbH & Co. KG
• PSI Software AG
• OMICRON electronics Deutschland GmbH
• amperias GmbH
• IAEW – RWTH Aachen University
• COMSYS – RWTH Aachen University
• EES – Friedrich-Alexander Universität (FAU) Erlangen-Nürnberg
• IEET – Technische Universität Hamburg (TUHH)

Funding

Contact

For questions and inquiries regarding the VeN2uS project, please contact:     Markus Dahlmanns     E-Mail: markus.dahlmanns[[at]]comsys.rwth-aachen.de