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SHIFT to Direct Current

Project description

From AC- to DC-powered data centres, ports, industry and buildings

Electricity has been transmitted and distributed through power grids as alternating current (AC) for more than a century. However, most of modern devices are powered by direct current (DC), requiring many AC-to-DC conversions. There are benefits to a large-scale switch to DC, including greater efficiency and lower operating costs, among others. Making this transition that will enable DC-powered data centres and DC distribution in commercial and residential buildings, industry and ports will require in-depth modelling and significant investment in software, hardware and infrastructure. The EU-funded SHIFT2DC project intends to develop and implement a top-down, application-agnostic approach for the design, simulation, testing, validation and application of medium- and low-voltage DC solutions to support this effort.

Objective

SHIFT2DC project aims to propose and implement a top-down application-agnostic approach for the design, simulation, test, validation, and application of both medium (MV) and low voltage (LV) direct current (DC) solutions. Thirty-two partners, including affiliated and associated partners, from twelve countries, will join expertise to develop, test and demonstrate the technical feasibility, cost-benefit, life cycle and environmental impact of the proposed DC solutions in Data centres, Buildings, Industry and Ports across Europe (Germany, France, and Portugal). The field-tests and demonstrators will allow an evaluation of the advanced control methodologies and tools, the definition of the appropriate implementation conditions, and a consolidation of the most promising solutions and corresponding business models for MV and LV DC systems. Beyond the DC solutions that will be tested and demonstrated, SHIFT2DC will also evaluate the consumers´perspective regarding DC solutions and propose new tools that promote the faster adoption of DC solutions. All the solutions and tools that will be developed in the SHIFT2DC project will be case-agnostic allowing the use of its results in most applications. In a second stage of the development, specific libraries for buildings, datacentres, industry and ports will be proposed allowing a better and more detailed simulation of the mentioned environments. The DC solutions proposed and developed in the SHIFT2DC project will be designed taking into consideration the interoperability requirements, the scalability opportunities and the security and privacy needs. In addition, the project results will contribute to the development of standards in compliance with the needs of DC solutions. Finally, a regulatory framework that promotes the adoption of MVDC and LVDC solutions and assures secure and economic power systems management under hybrid AC/DC grids will be proposed.

Keywords

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Funding Scheme

HORIZON-IA - HORIZON Innovation Actions

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Call for proposal

(opens in new window) HORIZON-CL5-2023-D3-01

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Coordinator

INESC ID INSTITUTO DE ENGENHARIADE SISTEMAS E COMPUTADORES INVESTIGACAO E DESENVOLVIMENTO EM LISBOA
Net EU contribution
€ 899 562,50
Total cost
€ 899 562,50

Participants (26)

Partners (8)