Electric energy and supply reliability

The EU, supported by the Green Deal and European Climate Law, aims to become carbon neutral by 2050.  To achieve this requires both the increased use of renewable energy and a reduction in electricity losses, presently equivalent to 150 million tons of CO₂ emissions per year. However, sources such as wind, solar and battery power require converters and other instrumentation for interfacing the generated electricity into the grid. This causes harmonics which can damage network power quality and increases losses in high voltage alternating current (HVAC) powerlines and cables. Older types of power transformers are especially vulnerable as they are not designed to transmit harmonics, leading to excess energy losses and overloading. High voltage AC also accumulates at the surface of conducting materials (‘skin-effect’), leading to an increase in resistance which can cause losses of 50% or more in underground or overhead cabling.

This project will establish new onsite calibrations for substation current transformers and their response to harmonics up to 2 kHz.
For the magnetic core materials of power transformers, AI models and improved instrumentation will be developed, paving the way for a fast, accurate estimations of energy loss in these instruments. New measurement and monitoring methods will also be developed to measure skin-effect and partial discharge - an electrical fault that occurs on HVAC cables with sudden voltage changes.  

The knowledge gained, and the onsite testing and calibration services, will support the future stability of electrical grids against adverse harmonics caused by the integration of essential, renewable sources.