The development of wide-scale DC grids poses a number of technical challenges: protecting the DC grid against electrical faults, transforming DC voltage, controlling the flow of energy in a meshed system or in a system which incorporates LCC and VSC technologies, among others. The architectural principles must also allow for the coexistence of technologies from different origins, and a step-by-step development process.

Determining the correct technical performance of future DC grids or combined AC-DC power systems is only possible through simulation because:

• Managing the stability of a DC network requires the control systems to be much more dynamic than those used in AC networks. To achieve this, it is necessary to carry out electromagnetic transient simulations with accurate built-in models of power converter control systems.
• Real-time simulation is an important step required to demonstrate the system’s performance when a new technology is integrated into the network (for example, a new protection system).