Real proven solutions to enable active demand and distributed generation flexible integration, through a fully controllable LOW Voltage and medium voltage distribution grid

Project Information

UPGRID

Grant agreement ID: 646531

DOI

10.3030/646531

Project closed

EC signature date 15 December 2014

Start date 1 January 2015

End date 31 December 2017

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Secure, clean and efficient energy

Total cost

€ 15 614 856,28

EU contribution

€ 11 937 258,00

Coordinated by

I-DE REDES ELECTRICAS INTELIGENTESSA
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - UPGRID (Real proven solutions to enable active demand and distributed generation flexible integration, through a fully controllable LOW Voltage and medium voltage distribution grid)

Reporting period: 2016-07-01 to 2017-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The UPGRID project was launched at the beginning of 2015 under the HORIZON 2020 EU programme. It included four relevant smart grid demonstrators in Spain, Portugal, Sweden and Poland which main scope was the low-voltage (LV) electricity distribution network. It had a budget of 15,7 M€, with 11,9 M€ financed by the European Commission.
[FIGURE 1 UPGRID MOTIVATION]

The project goal has been to provide the electrical system with new products and services to enhance the management and operation of distribution networks improving the response to Consumer needs (e.g. reduce power supply restoration time, more accurate and immediate information, increase Consumer participation in the market, etc…). The main project objectives have been:
[FIGURE 2 UPGRID OBJECTIVES]

The four UPGRID demonstrators have performed an intense activity on the analysis and evaluation of relevant domains of LV networks. This has facilitated conclusions and valuable criteria to improve future deployments and shared with other stakeholders. As a result, this has ensured the effective success in achieving a quality, efficient and Consumer oriented truly integrated smart LV/MV grid able to generate profitability and business opportunities to all the actors involved.
The most relevant topics across the demonstrators have been: “Monitoring and control of LV networks”, “Smart metering data utilization”, “Network management methodologies for network operations”, and “Novel approaches to asset management”, which have been aligned with the objectives and main thematic areas of the project. However, there have been particularities among demonstrators mainly due to countries distinctions in terms of automation capacity, end-users engagement, regulatory issues, etc. This fact has brought diversity to the faced challenges and consequently to the solutions that become more easily scalable and replicable.
[FIGURE 3 DEMO LOCATIONS AND RELEVANT TOPICS COVERED IN UPGRID]
[FIGURE 4 SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE DEMO DETAILS]
[FIGURE 5 SWEDISH AND POLISH DEMO DETAILS]

Other information of interest
The UPGRID Consortium was formed by the following partners:
[FIGURE 6 UPGRID CONSORTIUM PARTNERS (DSOS, TECHNOLOGICAL PROVIDERS, UNIVERSITIES & RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS AND ENERGY AGENCY)]

The UPGRID started in January 2015 and concluded in December 2017.
More information about UPGRID project can be found on the website: http://upgrid.eu/ or through contact at: [e-mail] being:
-Roberto González Sainz-Maza, Project Coordinator
-Ángel Díaz Gallo, Technical Director

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The project has developed integrated solutions for the LV grid based on existing technologies, such sound LV network representation and management systems, field crew mobility tools, LV control over the advanced PRIME metering infrastructure, new smart grid devices, and HEMS for active demand management. The solutions improve the analytics, monitoring & control and visualisation of the grid, at the same time connecting it to intelligent devices via secure communication channels.
One of the main milestones of UPGRID, achieved during the second project period, was to get the four demonstrators in operation what allowed their detailed evaluation. As result, outputs to finish supportive transversal assessments (e.g. data analysis, business models, social research, etc.) were also provided. It is worth mentioning that the work developed during the first period has been decisive to achieve this (e.g. frame demo concepts, KPIs defined, non-technical issues analysis that potentially impacted the demos, applications and functions defined for those innovative technical components common to several demos, and demos implementation plan defined).
Then, the UPGRID Consortium spent the last year and a half on fulfilling mainly the following goals:
-Performing demonstrator evaluations.
-Conducting impact assessment.
-Identifying market barriers and incentives for investment in UPGRID solutions.
-Characterising a medium-term reference business model for market participants within UPGRID.
-Carrying out societal research (Consumer workshops, questionnaires, animated video).
-Disseminating project results (events, papers, website content, project newsletters, institutional video, UPGRID final brochure, etc.).

[FIGURE 7 UPGRID PROGRESS AT THE END OF THE 2ND PROJECT PERIOD. (P = PROJECT PERIOD)]

In summary, all together have resulted in qualitative and quantitative enhancements in different, but interrelated, electricity distribution areas: monitoring and control of LV networks, smart metering data utilization, network management methodologies for network operation and novel approaches for market design. Figure 8 shows the relative impact of UPGRID contribution on relevant smart grid topics.

[FIGURE 8 UPGRID CONTRIBUTION TO EEGI CLUSTERS AND FUNCTION OBJECTIVES (UPGRID HAS CHOSEN THE EEGI ROADMAP STRUCTURE AS THE FRAMEWORK TO CLASSIFY THE UPGRID CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE RESEARCH AND INNOVATION ACTIVITIES)]

UPGRID has paid a special attention on the social dimension developing the needed activities for boosting, analysing and evaluating the social impact of the UPGRID results. With that aim, an accurate social-oriented research has been carried out to get evidence and to analyse this impact. This analysis has been completed with a set of conclusions, lessons learnt and recommendations.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

As referred previously the project has developed and validated solutions to enable the implementation of advanced functionalities over existing technology, to form a truly integrated intelligent system. With UPGRID, an improvement in the monitoring and controllability of Low Voltage and Medium Voltage grids has been achieved, as a way to anticipate technical challenges associated with the integration of DER, as Consumers get closer to the energy system (e.g. conscious behaviour of efficient electricity use).
In this way, the following key exploitable results are identified as main UPGRID contributions for the progress beyond the state of the art:
- Low Voltage Network Management System (LV NMS).
- Equipment for LV/MV networks.
- LV software tools.
- New Generation Home Gateway and Home Energy Management application:.
- PRIME Network Management System.

The potential impact of the above mentioned keystones are summarised as follows:
-Replicability: Possibilities of future implementations in other DSO systems by respecting the necessary standards and the application of artificial intelligence and data analytics techniques.
-Socio-economics: Positive effects in a more active participation of market players and to realise the socio-economic benefits that smart grids are envisaged to bring with new business opportunities.
-Market transformation and policy: Identification of various market design and policy recommendations important in promoting the large scale adoption of UPGRID innovations.
-Capital and operational costs mitigation of the grid modernization.

FIGURE 1 UPGRID MOTIVATION

FIGURE 7 UPGRID PROGRESS AT THE END OF THE 2ND PROJECT PERIOD. (P = PROJECT PERIOD)

FIGURE 6 UPGRID CONSORTIUM PARTNERS

FIGURE 5 SWEDISH AND POLISH DEMO DETAILS

FIGURE 4 SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE DEMO DETAILS

FIGURE 2 UPGRID OBJECTIVES

FIGURE 3 DEMO LOCATIONS AND RELEVANT TOPICS COVERED IN UPGRID

FIGURE 8 UPGRID CONTRIBUTION TO EEGI CLUSTERS AND FUNCTION OBJECTIVES