It is called TwinEU and is one of the largest consortia to date under the Horizon Europe programme. We’re talking about €20M, and 75 partners from 15 countries, including INESC TEC. The goal? To develop a digital twin of the European electrical system to allow optimal management and planning of the electrical system in scenarios with high integration of renewable production, while designing new business models (e.g., the flexibility of the electrical system) towards achieving the European goals of carbon neutrality.
TwinEU will gather the expertise of different institutions: transmission, distribution, and market network operators, technology providers, and research centres, to create a pan-European digital twin based on local federated digital models.
The project will apply and demonstrate a set of tools in eight pilot projects, distributed across 11 EU countries (including Portugal, Spain, and France) to ensure that the solutions developed can be replicated effectively in various geographic and market contexts. This process aims to implement smart coordinated planning strategies and develop innovative models to increase the physical resilience and cybersecurity of the power grid, enabling advanced forecasts to optimise market actions and improving the observability and controllability of said grid – towards more efficient and adaptable management.
Thus, the project focuses on developing innovative technologies, and to promote the adoption of standard practices among system operators, technology suppliers and market players. Digital twins will be used during the demonstrations on the ground, playing a vital role in reproducing the actual behaviour of the grid and the energy market.
Regarding INESC TEC, the Centre for Power and Energy Systems (CPES) will develop a digital twin for the Iberian system, focused on simulating the impact of new services and grid-forming system and converters, and the High-Assurance Software Laboratory (HASLab) will address interoperability and high-performance computing aspects.
Other national entities participating in the project, involved in the Iberian pilot, are R&D Nester and REN.
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