TU Ilmenau develops resource-efficient energy distribution network for Germany

The network control center at TU Ilmenau, where research work on innovative energy distribution networks is carried out - In the spirit of the energy transition, TU Ilmenau is developing a resource-efficient power distribution grid for Germany. Such a power grid, based on direct current technology, will be specifically tailored to the increasing use of renewable energy generated in a large number of decentralized plants and will offer significantly higher operational reliability than the current grid. The six-year "Distribution Grid DC Technology (VERNEDCT)" research project, which is being funded by the Carl Zeiss Foundation with almost five million euros as part of the "Breakthroughs" program, will start next July. The distribution of electrical energy is a challenge of the energy transition. The energy distribution grid as we know it feeds electricity in one direction from the power plant to the transmission grid and then to the consumer. In the new distribution grid being developed by TU Ilmenau, electricity from hundreds of thousands of small decentralized plants flows in all directions. Since the photovoltaic or wind power plants feed the electricity into all voltage levels irregularly in terms of time and quantity, the utilization of the distribution networks fluctuates considerably.