In response to ecological and energy challenges, we urgently need to integrate renewable energies and new uses into our energy model. As a pioneer in this field, ESTP has developed a smart grid test bench on its Cachan campus, to teach students and to support researchers and industry players in the handling and optimisation of this key instrument for the energy transition.
The war in Ukraine, the price of raw materials, the desire to protect the environment and our sovereignty – everything is pointing towards renewable energy. But how to manage and store the decentralised and intermittent energy generated? An effective solution to the quandary is yet to be found, slowing down the development of renewable energies. The smart grid, an intelligent management system for various energy flows, addresses this problem. It integrates all the stages of an energy system, from production to distribution, including storage and communication. In other words, it offers optimised energy management by integrating a complex set of constraints.
NEW USES, NEW MODELS
In terms of energy production, a paradigm shift is underway. Thermal and nuclear power stations, and hydroelectric dams, which allow precise control of production, are no longer the only sources of energy. Photovoltaic panels and wind turbines will continue to be set up throughout the country, leading to an increasing production of energy that is often intermittent as it is weather-dependent. In this respect, defining and regulating the amount of energy produced at any given time is a real conundrum.
At the other end of the chain, there are two major developments concerning consumers. On the one hand, there are an increasing number of stakeholders with a dual consumer/ producer role, linked to local and individual production of renewable energy becoming widespread. This new configuration entails a reorganisation of the technical infrastructure, as energy flows in a more complex way than when it was unidirectional (from power stations to consumers). This reorganisation also considerably affects operators’ business models. Moreover, the smart grid incorporates the issue of prices. The consumer-producer must be able to know, at any given time, whether it is better to sell, consume or store their energy.
On the other hand, the increase in the number of electric vehicles and the development of heat pumps will have a significant impact. If special measures are not taken, these new needs, and in particular the recharging of electric vehicles, may considerably increase instantaneous energy consumption! However, current electricity grids have a well-defined capacity. With a view to phasing out combustion engine cars (ban on sales in the European Union from 2035), solutions to this problem must be found. But electric vehicles are not only energy-using; they are also a valuable resource, thanks to the storage possibilities of their batteries.
PURPOSE: ENERGY OPTIMISATION
All these factors, and many more, are compiled and analysed by the smart grid, thanks to the development of predictive models. The result is a supervision and hypervision system that makes it possible to control the electricity grid (production, storage and restoration) with the objective of optimising energy.
This technology makes sense at the neighbourhood, block, city and community level, and also at the regional, interregional and international level. To date, some forty smart grids exist in France. Cities such as Grenoble and Issy-les-Moulineaux are developing prototypes. In our opinion, over the next two to three years, the smart grid will spread widely and massively in operating infrastructures, due in particular to the increase in electric vehicles and the legal recognition of renewable energy communities.
TEACHING, RESEARCH AND INNOVATION
At ESTP, we have a 100 kW smart grid test bench which reproduces the same energy constraints as a 19-storey urban building. It includes an emulator of renewable photovoltaic energy production, electrical storage batteries, electrical charging stations, and a load emulator of the real consumption of a city block. In other words, it is a real physical facility (architecture, equipment, etc.) connected to the conventional electricity grid, but free of the constraints linked to operation, so that different usage scenarios can be tested. This device is designed to meet teaching, research and innovation objectives.
This piece of equipment, which is as close to reality as possible, enables our students to become familiar with the context they will encounter in their professional lives and to acquire expertise in these tools. This is an opportunity not only for the students in Cachan, where the smart grid test bench is located, but also for our students in Dijon, Troyes, Paris, and soon Orléans, as the smart grid can be remotely controlled via the internet. This educational tool is also available to companies wishing to train their employees.
In the field of research, the test bench allows theoretical approaches to be validated by practical experiments, an essential step in developing pilots to be put in real-life situations. As such, innovation is rapidly applied in practice. Finally, the smart grid test bench is an opportunity for industry players. They can take advantage of an expensive piece of equipment (worth around a million euros) to carry out experiments as part of their own research. In addition to the equipment, ESTP provides its expertise, as our teams of lecturers and researchers can support companies in the development of their innovations.
APPLIED AND CONCRETE RESEARCH, SERVING THE ECOLOGICAL TRANSITION
In short, the smart grid test bench reflects the research and innovation activities that we are developing at ESTP. In other words, applied, concrete research, conducted hand in hand with companies, and also research that covers the entire value chain, from initial training to final operation.
We are convinced that this vision, combined with smart grid technology, can really boost the decarbonisation of our society. The smart grid will change the way we use energy and open the way to new innovations. It has already established itself as the essential tool for the energy organisation of the city of tomorrow. By multiplying resources, it reduces our vulnerability and is thus a formidable tool for resilience, an undeniable asset in view of current and future crises.
By BILAL AMGHAR, lecturer and researcher, head of the ESTP electricity laboratory and GILLES BETIS, development and Innovation Manager at ESTP’s Research Institute