
The energy transition and the increasing decentralization of power generation necessitate the involvement of distribution networks in addressing the challenges of planning and controlling the electricity system. This requires the adoption of suitable monitoring and control mechanisms and is closely linked to the ongoing digitalization of the energy sector. The integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) has led to a cyber-physical energy systems (CPES).
A CPES combines the physical components of the energy system with computational technologies and networks. Within such a system, sensors, actuators, and control systems are deployed to capture, transmit, and analyse data regarding the state and operation of the energy system. This data serves as the foundation for providing functionalities and services at the distribution network level, which contribute to improved system management and enhanced ancillary services. These services, often referred to as grid service, include, for instance, state estimation, protection functions, voltage regulation, and redispatch measures.
Traditional local substations within distribution networks require manual interventions and offer limited data and control capabilities. In contrast, modern digital substations enable more precise and automated system management through real-time data transmission and remote monitoring. The increased flexibility and adaptability of digital technologies support more efficient operations and the optimization of grid services. Paradigms such as edge, cloud, and fog computing have become integral components of modern digital systems. These paradigms address the required flexibility and adaptability through concepts such as virtualization, orchestration, and process management. Figure 1 provides a schematic representation of a CPES with virtualized Services (VF) at the edge of the energy system.
i-Automate and i-Autonomous
The projects i-Automate and i-Autonomous addresses the virtualized provision, orchestration, and management of services at the substation level. The project used core technologies such as containerization using Docker or CRI-O, along with Kubernetes as orchestration software, and tests these on industrial hardware within a "hardware-in-the-loop" approach.
Additionally, applications of existing engineering processes, such as IEC 61850, challenged to perform automated approaches to them. This includes extending the IEC 61850 standard description language with new elements and experimenting with automated approaches for fully automated service selection, configuration, parameterization, and execution on distributed devices.
The overarching goal is to enhance transparency, controllability, and resilience in smart grids through the flexible deployment of virtualized services. Current and future work focuses on adapting digital paradigms to the needs of smart grids.
E-Mail: sharaf.aldin.alsharif(at)offis.de, Phone: +49 441 9722-748, Room: Flx-E
E-Mail: jirapa.kamsamrong(at)offis.de, Phone: +49 441 9722-233, Room: E85
Matteo Barsanti and Jan Sören Schwarz and Faten Ghali and Selin Yilmaz and Sebastian Lehnhoff and Claudia R. Binder; Energy Research & Social Science; 01 / 2025
Otte, Marcel and Kamsamrong, Jirapa and Lehnhoff, Sebastian; ISGAN 2024; July / 2024
Schwarz, Jan Sören and Perez, Leonard Enrique Ramos and Pham, Minh Cong and Heussen, Kai and Tran, Quoc Tuan; 2024 Open Source Modelling and Simulation of Energy Systems (OSMSES); 09 / 2024
Clausen, Christian Skafte Beck and Lehnhoff, Sebastian and Schwarz, Jan Sören and Jørgensen, Bo Nørregaard and Ma, Zheng Grace; Energy Informatics; 2024
Pirta-Dreimane, Rūta, Andrejs Romanovs, Jana Bikovska, Jānis Pekša, Tero Vartiainen, Maria Valliou, Jirapa Kamsamrong, and Bahaa Eltahawy; Energies; April / 2024
Otte, Marcel and Krüger, Carsten and Das, Pratyush and Rohjans, Sebastian and Lehnhoff, Sebastian; Energy Informatics Academy Conference; October / 2024
Otte, Marcel; DACH+ Conference on Energy Informatics 2024; October / 2024
Otte, Marcel and Krüger, Carsten and Das, Pratyush and Rohjans, Sebastian and Lehnhoff, Sebastian; DACH+ Conference on Energy Informatics 2024; October / 2024
Schwarz, Jan Soeren and Pham, Minh Cong and Tran, Quoc Tuan and Heussen, Kai; 2023 Asia Meeting on Environment and Electrical Engineering (EEE-AM); 01 / 2024
Raczka, Sebastian and Puhe, Frederik and Krueger, Carsten and Arph, Jan and Rehtanz, Christian; ETG Congress 2023; Juli / 2023