Decentralised and sustainable energy production is becoming increasingly important in our energy supply. Linking such types of power generation to existing energy networks requires a well thought out working method. VITO's research programme "Smart Systems for Intelligent Energy Networks" responds to the needs created within the concept of Smart Grids.
Energy demand flexibility and production through distributed energy sources (wind turbines, photovoltaic installations, cogeneration, fuel cells...) hereby play a crucial role in combination with thermal (underground energy storage, phase change materials...) as well as electric storage systems (batteries, plug-in hybrid vehicles...).
VITO hereby further extends a unique combination of years of experience with thermal and electric network linked systems, on the user's side as well as on the production and storage side. Thanks to a combination of this knowledge with our core competence "System Integration and Control" VITO profiles itself as a developer and system integrator of smart systems that operate optimally, while taking into account the demands of the building or the user and the energy networks to which they are coupled.
To conduct this research, VITO has a team of specialists with expertise in power electronics, mechanics, thermodynamics, measurement and control technologies and ICT. To assist this team, VITO has simulation models, monitoring and measurement instruments and an extensive smart grid testing infrastructure at its disposal.
Spearheads
VITO focuses on 2 specific key elements:
- Integrated systems for energy storage: aimed at the application and control of thermal and electric energy storage (batteries, ultracaps, PCMs, hydrogen, hybrid vehicles, …) in combination with distributed energy systems (micro cogeneration, solar energy, …) and the intelligent networks they are coupled to.
- Active network interfaces: the focus here lies on the grid connection. Two working areas have been defined: on the one hand the development of control systems for active control of decentralised energy systems (load, production and storage) such as, among other things, embedded software in the appliances themselves and the control hereof at building and neighbourhood level up to the level of virtual power plants; and on the other hand the integration of smart regulators for electronical inverters. Communications technology too plays a very important role.
Relevant contexts
Naturally there are a number of relevant contexts that are taken into account during research.
- The distributed energy systems are always coupled to buildings. The development of active building concepts and the smart integration of systems that can play a role in this, such as, among other things, micro cogeneration on the basis of fuel cells, is carried out within this framework.
- Energy Markets: the boundary conditions necessary for smart systems to function, such as the regulatory and legislative context, network architectures and business cases are constantly taken into consideration when conducting the research.
Smart Systems research at VITO
Recent reports.