Image courtesy Elia Group
An Innovation Alliance has been formed between eight major European transmission system operators (TSOs) to innovate solutions for the power grid, starting with ‘Weather and Grid Resilience’ as a first area of action.
Terna, RTE, Swissgrid, Elia Group (including Elia in Belgium and 50Hertz in Germany), TenneT, Red Eléctrica and Amprion have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), becoming the founding members of the TSO Innovation Alliance.
Weather and grid resilience will be the first area chosen by the Alliance to work on, with an innovation challenge set to be launched.
Startups will be tasked with finding innovative solutions to overcome the risks posed to the grid by increasingly extreme climate events, while integrating weather-dependent energy sources.
More active TSOs
According to a joint statement from the founding members, the Alliance was established in response to the growing desire for leading European TSOs to assume a more active role in developing the electricity sector.
The Alliance has set itself the goal of pooling knowledge and resources to overcome shared technical and operational challenges, accelerate the implementation of innovative solutions to guarantee greater resilience and reliability for electricity grids across Europe, and to achieve greater stability in the electricity transmission service.
The Alliance, therefore, takes the form of a shared platform to promote open innovation initiatives.
They call it a collaborative environment in which innovative solutions can be identified, pilot projects developed, and perspectives on emerging technologies and methodologies are shared.
Each year, the Alliance will launch an innovation programme focused on scouting new technological solutions for shared challenges, exchanging metrics and good practices, and fostering collaboration across TSOs.
The most promising ideas will be selected through an open call to the European startup ecosystem, to find the best available solutions and test them through joint proof-of-concepts.
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Commenting in a release was TenneT chief executive officer, Manon van Beek: “The pace of the energy transition demands that we go beyond business-as-usual.
“Linear development is no longer an option – we need to leapfrog to match the speed and scale required on our path to energy independence… This Alliance sends a strong signal to the market and policymakers alike: TSOs are ready to lead – and act now – to build Europe’s energy future.”
Said Giuseppina Di Foggia, chief executive officer and general manager of Terna: “Tackling the ambitious challenge of the energy and digital twin transition requires innovative solutions specially created to satisfy the specific needs of our operations.”
Di Foggia said to achieve results, adopting an open innovation approach alongside other TSOs in Europe is essential. He emphasised Terna’s belief that the Alliance represent “a unique opportunity to present a united front on the technological market and gain access to more advanced and effective solutions than would be possible working individually.”
Prioritising system resilience
For the Alliance, weather and grid resilience is identified as the first challenge. They call it a field where climate impacts, operational security and technological innovation converge.
Bernard Gustin, CEO of Elia Group, cited several cases of the weather and resilience challenge for the grid, such as a heavy storm in Belgium that toppled nine pylons in the Mechelen area a year ago.
“It also brought down several conductors, most of which ended up in fields and some of which fell onto around 15 homes. In May 2024, a so-called supercell caused severe damage in Saxony. A total of 17 pylons were bent over by the storm.
“Working on a risk preparedness plan so that we can adapt our infrastructure so it remains resistant to climate change is therefore high on our agenda. Every good plan starts with identifying the risks involved.”
Gusting also referenced their work last year with an association of German researchers, who had specific models that assessed the impact of certain weather phenomena on infrastructure.
“Additionally, we are now working on a risk preparedness plan at the European level. Examples of what this collaboration could work on include a heat wave in Europe or extreme drought that could impact several countries at once.”
Europe has been facing an increase in such extreme weather events, and with power systems shifting towards weather-dependent energy sources, the Alliance’s first challenge will invite startups to address the operational and infrastructural risks posed by increasingly unpredictable weather events.
The results anticipated from this initiative shall give the Alliance’s European TSOs the chance to explore and test innovative solutions of two main types:
- Data pooling tools to share meteorological scenarios and data on extreme climate events at European level.
- Probabilistic models for real-time data analysis and the programming of maintenance operations, including predictive maintenance, on transmission lines that straddle national borders.
Later this year, the Alliance will launch its first call for proposals inviting European start-ups to submit cutting-edge solutions related to this theme.
The most promising ideas will then be selected by the Alliance for testing via joint proofs of concept.
Said Swissgrid CEO Yves Zumwald: “Decarbonisation, digitalisation and decentralisation present significant challenges for stable grid operations. We rely on innovative solutions to meet these challenges.
“Through the TSO Innovation Alliance, we strengthen innovation, joint research and collaboration – to enhance the resilience and efficiency of the electricity grid in Switzerland and all over continental Europe.”
