APG and Smart Wires Sign Cooperation Agreement for Innovation Projects to Optimize the Load Flow in the Transmission Grid

January 27, 2022

APG is the first enterprise that has tested the new rapidly deployable mobile solution with SmartValve™ technology in a pilot project.

Wien (OTS) – The Austrian transmission system operator Austrian Power Grid (APG) has signed a cooperation agreement with Smart Wires. 

Smart Wires’ innovative technology will be used to evaluate how the grid availability and operation reliability in Austria can be improved with modular power flow control elements –another component for ensuring the security of electricity supply.

“We are the first enterprise that has tested the new rapidly deployable mobile solution with SmartValve technology in a pilot project and is now considering its permanent use. Joint studies have shown that with the product our transmission grids can be even better used to capacity. The technology has the potential to relieve the Austrian electricity grid and to make it more stable especially during the transformation of the energy system,” explains APG’s company spokesperson Christoph Schuh. Not least due to its geographic location Austria is playing a central role in the European electricity system. “If we want to achieve the goal of 100 percent electricity from renewables in the electricity mix until 2030, we have to avail ourselves of every opportunity that can help to use the grid capacities in an even more optimized way. In addition to the physical expansion of our line capacities according to plan we need new state-of-the-art technologies to facilitate the successful electrification of the economy, industry and society without jeopardizing the security of supply. Electricity is the energy of the future. By using the most modern technologies we hope to increase the share of renewables in the power system and to reduce the threat of congestions as much as possible. The first results of the pilot project are very promising. Together with Smart Wires and the TU Graz University of Technology we will now evaluate potential applications in the next few years“, says Schuh. 

Smart Wires’ General Manager Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Susanne Nies is also delighted about the cooperation and states: “Our technology is a very good match for APG and we consider the company as very innovative player in the European power industry. We are looking forward to undertaking the next joint steps in developing flexible solutions which will address European requirements and be important also from a pan-European perspective. Our most recent projects have been implemented in the United Kingdom, where we were able to increase capacity by 500 MW. We are proud to now break new ground also in Austria together with APG, the company that is responsible for ensuring the security of supply in this country.”

The TU Graz University of Technology will contribute its scientific expertise to the project and currently examines the advantages of the SmartValve Technology for the APG grid regarding the technical aspects of the power flow control devices.

SmartValve is a modular Static Synchronous Series Compensator (SSSC) that can relieve constrained lines by actively increasing or decreasing power flows on a circuit and perform dynamic services. This makes it possible to better control the transmission grid and to reduce the number of redispatch measures that are necessary because of grid congestions.

“The technology has the potential to relieve the Austrian electricity grid and to make it more stable especially during the transformation of the energy system"

Christoph Schuh

APG's company spokesperson

The mobile deployment option of SmartValve can be delivered within a few months and installed within a few hours. In addition, all Smart Wires solutions can be easily dismounted and reinstalled elsewhere – as and when required, e.g. in case of a massive disturbance, planned renovation measures or delays of new construction projects. It is thus a flexible and effective solution. The new technology complements other grid optimization technologies and supports the system from a stability perspective.

The solution has drawn the interest of transmission system operators in Europe, the United States, Australia and Latin America and has already been implemented in many places. APG in Austria is now one of the companies on the list and thus shows once more its innovative mindset and commitment to the Austrian climate and energy strategy.

About Austrian Power Grid (APG)

Austrian Power Grid (APG) is Austria’s independent transmission system operator in charge of monitoring and managing the nationwide transmission network. Its infrastructure ensures the electricity supply in Austria and is thus the lifeline of the country, its population and its businesses. The APG network totals a length of about 3,400 km and is operated, maintained and continuously adapted to the increasing challenges of economy and society by a team of more than 600 specialists. The capacities of the APG grid are the precondition for a sustainable and secure power supply in Austria, for reaching the climate and energy targets and for the increasing electrification of our society, businesses and industry. APG’s staff develop suitable market products, have an excellent knowledge of physics and ensure the security and efficiency of supply for Austria. With an investment volume of 370 million euros in 2022 for the expansion and modernization of the grid infrastructure, APG provides an important impulse for the domestic economy. Until 2032 APG will invest a total of approximately 3.5 billion euros in grid expansion and renovation projects, which amounts to approximately 19 percent of the total of 18 billion euros which the energy industry will invest in the grid infrastructure over the next ten years. In the Sustainable Brand Rating 2021 APG has been voted number one in the category ‘public utility infrastructure’ for the second consecutive time.

www.apg.at 

 

For press related purposes, please contact us at marketing@smartwires.com.

Dive deeper into related content

Explore our products and services

Talk to our experts

Talk to our experts