Our news
Phd Juan PAEZ “HVDC Converters for the interconnection of HVDC grids”
In order to include large-scale renewable sources into the electrical system and to transport high amounts of energy through long distances, the actual AC grid must be upgraded. HVDC transmission grids appear as a promising solution to upgrade the system and answer correctly the future needs and requirements. The development of such grids can be done following two different approaches. For one side, a DC system designed totally from zero following a standardization of HVDC technology, and for the other side, an incremental evolution using the existing HVDC lines. The second approach seems more reasonable due to the reutilization of infrastructure, the inconvenient is that the technology used on each existing line is different. Thus, their interconnection will require DC¬DC converters as interface elements. These structures allow the interconnection of different HVDC schemes and offer more functionalities than only DC voltage adaptation like power flow control and protection.
SuperGrid Institute’s “Technical days”: an event dedicated to our industrial shareholders
SuperGrid Institute has held its first ever ‘Technical days’ event! Dedicated to our industrial shareholders, this event was organised to facilitate exchange and to allow us to better adapt our roadmap to the industry’s tangible needs. These two exciting days of workshops, discussions and networking have bolstered our belief in the importance of our mission to shape tomorrow’s HV & MV power transmission grids.
A DC voltage source for long term GIS testing designed by SuperGrid Institute
As part of its research, SuperGrid Institute studies the phenomena of partial discharge under DC voltage. Environmental issues emphasised in the European project PROMOTioN encourage the exploration for possible replacement of SF6 gas and remains a strong component of the study at SuperGrid Institute.
The renewables integration via HVDC grids
The large-scale integration of renewable electricity generation poses both structural, economic and management challenges. Among the major challenges, one can note the grid integration and the routing of this energy from the production units to the consumption poles. Major issues have to be faced like insufficient transmission capability, inertia reduction, stability margins mitigation. The HVDC is not a new idea but it can provide some interesting answers to these challenges. The keynote will list the locks and how they can be addressed by the HVDC grid. Finally, the underlying scientific issues will be discussed.
Phd Guilherme DANTAS DE FREITAS “Development of a methodology for DC grid protection strategies comparison”
High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) grids are considered a promising solution for problems faced by nowadays power system such as: lines congestion, integration of large amounts of renewable power and enhancement of AC system stability. Among the challenges in the deployment of a HVDC meshed grid, the protection of these grids is regarded as one of the most critical. The protection of HVDC grid is challenging not only because the swift transients and fault currents without zero-crossing, but also due to the impact a DC faults can have on the AC system. Several propositions for HVDC grids protection strategies can be found in literature...
Ahmed Zama honored with the IEEE “Doctorate Laureate” for his thesis work
Every year the French chapter of IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES), in collaboration with SEE (Society of Electricity, Electronics and Information and Communication Technologies), recognises outstanding PhD theses and hands out the “outstanding engineer of the year” prize at an annual evening ceremony. This Wednesday the 9th of October, Ahmed Zama was honoured with the IEEE “Doctorate Award” for his thesis work on “Modeling and Control of Modular Multilevel Converters (MMCs) for HVDC applications”.
Stage dating is back at SuperGrid Institute!
Stage dating is back at SuperGrid Institute! Get your CV ready and come along to apply for one, or several, of our internships on Thursday the 24th October at our premises in Villeurbanne (69). Our internship tutors will be available for a whole afternoon, seeking new talents to help us shape the power transmission system of tomorrow!
SuperGrid Institute PhD student awarded Fulbright scholarship to work at Virginia Tech
SuperGrid Institute is going global! Next week, Arthur Boutry will be crossing the Atlantic to collaborate with the Center for Power Electronics Systems (CPES), a laboratory at Virginia Tech (listed by The Times as one of the top 300 universities in the world in 2019!). During his time in the USA, Arthur will continue his work on designing MMC sub-modules for HVDC applications as part of his PhD which he began in 2018 at SuperGrid Institute, in collaboration with the Laboratoire Ampère. Arthur received a grant from the American government for his exchange year in the form of a Fulbright scholarship, one of the most prestigious and competitive fellowship programs in the world. An impressive accomplishment!
SuperGrid Institute hosts the 11th Quarterly review of NanocompEIM 2
Since October 2016, SuperGrid Institute has been involved in the NanocompEIM 2 project. The goal of the project is to develop nanocomposites (Nanocomp) for electrical insulation materials (EIM) in order to reduce CO2 emissions and improve system reliability and availability. Financed at 50% by Innovate UK, a government organisation dedicated to research and innovation in the United Kingdom, the overall budget of the project is around 1M£ (1.1M€).
SuperGrid Institute collaborates with Edouard Branly School’s undergraduate students for their end of year project!
Last year, SuperGrid Institute signed a framework agreement with the Digital Department of Edouard Branly School with the aim of developing educational modules in the field of electrical engineering. This year for their final project the undergraduate students from the Digital Department worked on an interactive learning application based on High Voltage Direct Current cable systems and junctions. The final project counts for a significant proportion of the students’ overall credits for the year.
