How to digitize a substation – another project funded by Horizon Europe through EURAMET
21NRM02 Digital-IT Metrology for digital substation instrumentation
is an international project within the framework of the European Partnership on Metrology Work Program, (Call 2021 Selected Research Topics SRT-n01), which aims to digitize substations. The consortium consists of 13 European metrology organizations, including Poland’s Lukasiewicz Research Network – Tele and Radio Research Institute and the Central Office of Weights and Measures.
The overall goal of this project is to develop a metrology infrastructure for tracking measurements and calibrating digital substation instrumentation.
Consortium composition:
| no. | Short Name | Organisation legal full name | Country |
| 1 | VTT | Teknologian tutkimuskeskus VTT Oy | Finland |
| 2 | CMI | Cesky Metrologicky Institut | Bohemia |
| 3 | GUM | Central Office of Measures | Poland |
| 4 | JV | Justervesenet | Norway |
| 5 | Metrosert | AS Metrosert | Estonia |
| 6 | RISE | RISE Research Institutes of Sweden AB | Sweden |
| 7 | SIQ | Slovenski Institut za Kakovost in Meroslovje | Slovenia |
| 8 | VSL | VSL B.V. | Netherlands |
| 9 | CIRCE | Fundación Circe Centro de investigación de recursos y consumos energéticos | Spain |
| 10 | LeftRight | Left Right, razvoj naprednih rešitev, Rado Lapuh s.p. | Slovenia |
| 11 | Lukasiewicz-ITR | LUKASIEWICZ Research Network – Tele and Radio Research Institute | Poland |
| 12 | OMICRON | OMICRON electronics GmbH | Austria |
| 13 | Statnett | Statnett SF | Norway |
The decarbonization of energy systems is leading directly to an increase in the share of distributed renewable energy sources in Europe’s overall energy mix. The increased number of energy suppliers is forcing significant changes in power grids to ensure the stability of the entire energy system. Power grids need metering, control and monitoring systems capable of real-time operation. Such a system is expected to ensure the protection of the grid, as well as the correct billing of prosumers for electricity supplied and used.
Digital substation instrumentation solutions compliant with IEC 61850 and IEC 61869 are increasingly replacing analog instrumentation, which is nearing the end of its useful life.
The overall goal of this project is to develop a metrology infrastructure for measurement tracking and calibration of digital substation instrumentation (i.e., SV (Sampled Values) supporting equipment such as Stand Alone Merging Units (SAMUs), digital transformers and transformer measurement bridges).
To support the European electric power industry, the project will provide currently missing solutions for calibration and synchronization of new types of digital substation instrumentation. It will contribute to the development of devices that support SV sampled values, such as stand-alone SAMUs (which are digitizers for analog transformers), digital transformers and transformer measurement bridges with the provision of digital communication between them.
The project will also support the IEC TC 38 “Instrument Transformers” organization in its work to revise related standards to propose solutions for more precise measurements of digital substation instrumentation.
The results of the project are expected to fill the gap at the metrology level to test and validate the performance of smart electronic devices. In addition, solutions are to be developed for the higher sampling rates and time stamping using the PTP protocol required by the new standards (for digital substation instrumentation).
The importance of this topic and its need is highlighted in the new 2020-2030 Research, Development and Innovation Guidelines of the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E). The European Metrology Network for Smart Grids EURAMET (EMN SEG) has identified digital substations as one of the key priorities in its strategic research program.
Specific objectives of the project:
- Develop and calibrate reference systems for calibrating SV-enabled equipment, covering the new requirements of recently issued IEC standards. Develop new hardware for traceable measurement of new data rates of up to 96,000 samples per second, for an associated measurement bandwidth of up to 40 kHz.
- Developing software to control the settings and handling of SV data streams, and developing new methods for data processing and uncertainty estimation for new data rates.
- Developing a communication and time synchronization network in participating laboratories by creating Ethernet networks to transmit SV data and timing based on the Precision Time Protocol (PTP).
- Provide data, methods, guidelines, and recommendations, which are necessary for the calibration of SV-enabled equipment, to IEC Technical Committee TC 38. Integrate plans for future research activities into the European Metrology Network for Smart Energy Networks (EMN SEG) .
- Contribute to the IEC TC 38 technical committee standards The results will be in a form that can be incorporated into future standards when updated will be communicated to users (equipment manufacturers, transmission system operators (TSOs), distribution system operators (DSOs) and customers).
More information about the project, will provide:
MSc Eng. Jerzy Chudorlinski
Chief Specialist
Lukasiewicz – Tele and Radio Research Institute
Internet of Things and Smart Grids Research Group
jerzy.chudorliński@itr.lukasiewicz.gov.pl
PhD Sc. Eng. Aleksander Lisowiec
Leader of the Internet of Things and Smart Grids Research Group/Area Leader
Łukasiewicz – Tele and Radio Research Institute