Control systems are a central element for managing critical infrastructures, particularly energy supply systems. Historically, they have evolved into monolithic and proprietary systems. Due to the relatively small and largely closed market for control systems, it has consolidated around a few manufacturers in Europe, leading to vendor lock-in. This lock-in prevents timely implementation of cross-sector and cross-stakeholder functional enhancements and makes it difficult for third-party IT service providers to be integrated into these systems. The market situation, combined with a lack of incentives over decades, has hindered necessary innovations in the software landscapes of network operators. As a result, control systems are generally "archaic" in their appearance and operation, requiring significant expertise from operators with long training paths. All of this is problematic, especially in light of the numerous challenges posed by the energy transition.

 

Decentralized generation from small and micro-scale installations, even at lower voltage levels, significantly increases system complexity. Additionally, there is a growing need for coupling different energy sectors, and along with that, IT systems in the background. These factors necessitate high levels of automation and the introduction of new operational management approaches, particularly innovative and potentially AI-based solutions. Consequently, network operators are striving to harmonize and interconnect control systems to improve efficiency and enable the possibility of taking over network operations for other, often smaller, operators at defined times (e.g., night operations). However, this also increases the complexity for operational staff, who are already facing more frequent critical network states and rising threats from cyberattacks.

 

These historically grown control systems are reaching their internal and external limits. Outdated software technologies and concepts present natural performance boundaries, especially concerning real-time capability, as well as the ability to extend and maintain these systems. The same applies to IT security, where these control systems fall short because security was not a priority during their development and now must be implemented awkwardly. The harmonization and interconnection of control systems sought by network operators is largely, if not entirely, made impossible by vendor lock-in, as is the addition of functionalities by third parties. Furthermore, the required expertise to operate these systems is in conflict with a shortage of skilled workers, a problem exacerbated by the use of outdated software concepts. Modernly trained professionals are educated in contemporary software and interaction concepts. As a result, working with outdated software that feels archaic in terms of human-machine interaction is not intuitive and lacks appeal in the job market.

 

In summary, the challenges of the energy transition are becoming increasingly difficult to address with the current antiquated control systems.

The aim of this project is to develop and demonstrate a real-time capable, scalable, open, and modular platform for control systems. The open-source nature and modularity of the platform will particularly enhance the ability of third-party IT service providers in the market, as well as research institutions, to expand and maintain the platform, thereby accelerating the implementation of innovations. The goal of modular customization and flexible combinability of partial solutions will enable, among other things, network operation across multiple grid levels and aggregation layers, which is essential for overcoming the challenges of the energy transition. Specifically, the platform should allow for the operation of lower-level aggregation layers, such as a low-voltage grid or a municipal utility's network, either semi-autonomously or explicitly decoupled (low-voltage cockpit), while also allowing for centralized control when necessary.

 

Another key feature of the platform is its ability to holistically model (coupled) energy and ICT systems, as the interactions between these systems will be crucial for resilient grid operation. The increasing interaction between the control system and external actors and facilities further necessitates interoperability as a central objective, enabling third-party processes and applications to integrate with the control system. This will require defined interfaces that serve as the foundation for modular exchange and extensibility.

 

Based on current work and infrastructure, leading research institutions in the fields of information and communication technology, as well as energy technology, will pool their expertise within the project to address the outlined challenges and achieve the defined goals. A two-phase approach is planned, with the first phase focused on building, demonstrating, and making the Open Energy Twin platform available as open-source, based on the partners' existing, innovative partial solutions. This will be followed by a second phase, where further research and industry partners will be involved to expand the platform with additional functionalities necessary for future-proof monitoring and control of energy systems. Specifically, the first project phase, as described in this proposal, aims to develop a demonstrator that showcases the feasibility and benefits of the platform. In contrast to the current state of the art, the basic functions of the control center are designed as modular microservices. The microservices to be integrated in the first phase are already existing, innovative open-source network operation applications. The primary focus of this phase is on the development and initial provision of a vendor-independent monitoring and control solution for multimodal energy systems, which can be implemented both centrally and in a distributed manner.

 

Particular attention will be given to the design, implementation, and demonstration of service interchangeability (e.g., two different services for state estimation), CIM models, and remote control protocols (e.g., IEC 60870-5-104 and IEC 62056 (COSEM)). If the first phase achieves the intended goal of implementing the Open Energy Twin, the project consortium envisions follow-up funding for a second phase. During the first phase, there will already be active collaboration with leading industrial companies and relevant energy network stakeholders.

 

In the likely subsequent second funding phase, the goal is for these stakeholders to actively contribute to the further development, scaling, and integration of the Open Energy Twin solution, in order to rapidly increase its technology readiness level and achieve commercial viability.

Key technological aspects that are intended to make the platform future-proof include the use of digital twins and event-driven data stream processing. The concept of digital twins is suitable in this context as it goes beyond potentially hierarchical or nested digital replicas and involves the automated adaptation of the physical infrastructure based on changes in the digital twin. The mapping and modification of the physical infrastructure should ideally happen in real-time. This real-time capability is to be achieved in this project through the use of data stream processing, which enables event-driven data to be processed, analyzed, and visualized.

 

Throughout all efforts, the operational personnel remain the focus of the development, aiming to address the increasing complexity of future network operations. This requires a modern, user-centered human-machine interface (HMI) to support increasingly complex processes. Additionally, assistance systems are needed, such as data-driven anomaly detection or automated process optimization, to sustainably relieve the operational personnel. In general, the focus is on providing the best possible support to operational staff through appropriate services and applications with assistance functions.