Breakthrough software technology to maximize usage of power inverters used in Smart Grids

Due to the high intermittence of renewable energy sources, standard inverter-based renewable power units like PhotoVoltaic and wind plants exhibit a very low usage rate of the embedded computing power and the electrical components of the inverter. More than 80% of the time, the solar and wind power plants are not operating at their maximum power (not running at all in most cases). In Europe, more than 50 GW installed capacities are therefore underused. A research institute in Luxembourg offers a software solution that will increase the usage rate of grid-tied power inverters by: - ensuring a decoupled watt-var control for a more stable magnitude and frequency control - mitigating the harmonics at the point of common coupling (PCC) - making power inverters electrical components (capacitors bank) available to the grid for reactive power supply the solution is highly flexible and need minor changes or upgrades of existing hardware. A lab-tested prototype has been developed to the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 and now needs further validation on real scale installation. Therefore, an industrial partner is sough from any sector related to electrical energy production and distribution or grid's ancillary service like balancing services (frequency response services, reactive power services). The best matched partner will help developing, validating the industrial prototype and foster the go-to-market phase and scale up. The patented technology is offered for license agreements or transfer of rights. This would be suitable, when the industrial partner intends further in-house development of the technology based on the available prototype for its commercialization. The research institute is open to discuss a research cooperation agreement with industrial partners in order to further develop the competitive industrial prototype technology together and reach a higher TRL. The goal of such a collaboration could be to generate application specific results based on the available prototype for assessment of the commercial feasibility. The research institute offers its academic expertise in analysis and control of electrical power supply grids.