FME SecurEL - Secure, resilient, and sustainable electricity distribution grids

SecurEL facilitates a secure, resilient, and sustainable electricity distribution grid that ensures both the security of electricity supply and a path to a net-zero emissions society. Accelerating large-scale electrification to replace fossil fuels is one of the most effective strategies for reducing our CO2 emissions and combatting climate change. Electricity distribution grids play a crucial role in electrification; they connect new renewable resources, like solar and wind, with new consumption, such as electrical transport and industry processes. The role of the distribution grids and the grid companies will change due to increased electrification, sector coupling, and interplay with new actors, such as flexibility providers and local energy communities (LECs). Digitalisation and distributed energy resources (DER) changes the distribution system into an active system. SecurEL addresses this increased unpredictability, complexity and uncertainty, and investigates suitable regulations and practices to actively manage these challenges. During its first year, SecurEL has, among other things, worked on mapping different scenarios for how electrification may affect the power grid and the security of electricity supply in the future. The topics in SecurEL are: - Security of electricity supply - Grid operation and development - Utilisation of the power system and components and the related risks - Societal aspects and regulatory policies. Testing of technology and solutions is carried out in the laboratory and through pilot projects, and the first four pilot projects have been launched.

FME SecurEL will enable the transition to a net-zero emissions society by developing sustainable electricity distribution grids that foster value creation in businesses, public administration, and society. The primary objective of SecurEL is to facilitate a secure, resilient, and sustainable electricity distribution grid, that ensures both the security of electricity supply (SoS) and a path to a net-zero emissions society. The research will focus on the new needs for knowledge, innovation, and solutions arising from the fundamental changes in the distribution system up to 2030-2050. These changes are driven by the electrification of society to reach climate targets for 2030 and 2050. Through research performed by leading national research institutes and universities, in cooperation and co-creation with highly-reputed international research network and innovative user partners from the electricity business sector, the centre will develop new solutions for increasing the grid capacity at a reasonable cost, including new concepts for handling the SoS in the energy transition A key enabler of this is comprehensive monitoring of the distribution grid, including its components and any SoS-related risks, and utilisation of flexibility in renewable distributed energy resources, including consumption, and new opportunities in digitalisation. The research will revolve around these research topics: 1) Security of electricity supply (SoS) and resilience; 2) Increased utilisation of the grid, and interaction between grids-users, DSOs and TSO, and with other energy carriers, 3) Power system components’ utilisation and technologies, and 4) The role of the distribution grid in reaching climate goals while considering SoS. Pilot projects will be an important arena for user partner involvement, for testing and verification of technologies and solutions, ensuring the relevance of the research, and facilitating innovation.