Eindhoven Grid Laboratory

With the increasing amount of renewable energy being generated, and the concurrent transition from fossil fuels based to electrified transport, research into energy conversion is key to ensure reliable, robust and stable performance of our electricity grid. With the Eindhoven Grid Laboratory, TU/e is currently building a cross departmental facility to strengthen this research.

Research questions that can be addressed in the lab range from deciding when, where and how to convert from high voltage to medium voltage in different points of service in the grid and the development of fast, energy efficient power elements, such as converters, solid state switches and transformers; to how to introduce hydrogen electrolysers to the grid for balancing peak loads and demands. ‘Our initial mission is to cover electrical grid connected power electronic converters. In addition to that, we have a branch focusing on green hydrogen, where we will study electricity-to gas-to-electricity systems, in which hydrogen is used for temporary energy storage. Later on, we plan to also include other topics, like High Precision High Voltage,’ lab manager Paulo Torri from the Department of Electrical Engineering explains.

Medium voltage grid
The primary focus of the Eindhoven Grid Laboratory will be on the medium voltage level of the power grid, Torri says. ‘In our current electricity grid, high voltage power lines are used to transport energy over large distances with minimal losses. The medium voltage level, ranging from about 10 to 35 kilovolts, is used to deliver electricity inside and from city to city. For this power range, the energy conversion and control are mainly based on conventional equipment. But with the introduction of intermittent solar and wind energy and the increasing amount of electric vehicles that need to be charged, there is an urgent need to rethink the design of this MV power grid,’ Torri states. Simulations alone are not sufficient for this, he says. ‘To make sure novel concepts and systems will be embraced and eventually implemented by utility companies, we need to be able to do actual experiments in a lab.’

The lab is planned to open its doors for the first users by the end of this year. These first users have already been identified: they are researchers involved in recently awarded projects, such as FlexH2, NEON and ASSTRA. These projects nicely illustrate the broad range of possible topics the lab can be of use for, Torri says. ‘ In the FlexH2 project for example, we need to figure out how to convert the high voltage and high power provided by wind parks at sea to the low voltage power needed for the electrolysers that convert excess energy into hydrogen for later use. And in NEON, the idea is to directly charge electric cars from the medium voltage network. New high frequency DC-DC transformers at MV are needed to be able to do that.’

Grow and evolve
The ideas for this lab have been developed over several years. The decisive push was given when about a year ago professor Georgios Papafotiou was appointed at the Electromechanics and Power Electronics (EPE) group, according to Torri. The modest Greek professor himself immediately downplays his role: ‘When I came aboard, there already was a shopping list and a floor plan, drafted by colleagues in the Department of Electrical Engineering. All I had to do was to put all of that together with a motivation of why TU/e should turn this idea into reality.’ He emphasizes the fact that the lab is a rather unique, joint initiative. ‘It all started with the EPE, EES and CS groups at Electrical Engineering, which decided to collocate their set-ups instead of each building their own facility. And when Richard van de Sanden heard about the plans, he urged us to go and have a talk with Fausto Gallucci and John van der Schaaf at Chemical Engineering as well, to see if it would be possible to also integrate their research into electrolysers in our plans. As a result, the Eindhoven Grid Laboratory will be among the first end to end chemistry to electricity labs, which will be located in the Chemical Engineering part of the Matrix building.’

Both Papafotiou and Torri hope that the Eindhoven Grid Laboratory will grow and evolve organically, making it an interdepartmental facility where academics and industry can jointly develop and test power systems, highly efficient energy conversion and grid concepts. Papafotiou: ‘This lab enables a systems approach, where we can study power conversion technologies on the entire chain from controlling electrolysis to hydrogen powered electric propulsion.’ Torri concludes: ‘Especially in renewables, the market is still hesitant to embrace novel concepts. With this lab we aim to demonstrate their full potential to convince utilities to jump on this train.’