Software integration key to future-proof grids – Siemens’ Sabine Erlinghagen

With the ever-increasing number and complexity of distributed energy resources (DERs) requiring integration comes the question of how best to manage the grid to avoid shortage and inertia while sustaining its stability.

Yusuf Latief spoke to the CEO of Grid Software at Siemens Smart Infrastructure, Sabine Erlinghagen, who is adamant that software integration is the answer, but speed is required.

With the IPCC’s latest report, a sharp reminder has been sent to all about the inevitability of integrating DERs onto the grid.

Now more than ever utilities and corporations are seeking ways to achieve pathways to net zero to avoid an ever-looming climate catastrophe.

As per the report released by the United Nations, by 2030 there will be a sevenfold growth in DERs. And although this bodes well for our ability to tackle climate change, the fact is that our grids – which have been intermittent and inverter-based – have a serious challenge to overcome.

Sabine Erlinghagen is confident that the way forward for grid managers is to look to software solutions.

In an attempt to tackle this challenge, Erlinghagen and her team at Siemens developed a new software suite that was launched this week, which enables users to run grid protection simulations up to six times faster than the current speed of execution and increase grid management efficiency by up to 85%.

How would you advise grid operators to prepare and account for the challenges posed by DERs?

It comes down to managing complexities that we’ve not seen before. We’re talking about thousands and millions of devices and many big power plants.

It’s also about doing that in an efficient way. So operating grids closer to their limits.

We will get to a stage where we go from diagnostic grid management over to assisted and then autonomous. That can only be done via software.

How can software assist with integration?

The first step is integrating planning activities, grid operations, maintenance activities and optimisation activities. Software has to be integrated between those different tasks.

That can be done, for example, by having them all operate on the same grid model – on the same foundational data. This data can then be used in all the different processes and different systems. This then expedites reaction time. It also allows decisions to be considered based on the data itself and not on human interpretation of data.

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As data becomes more autonomous, are there any exciting outcomes that you see happening in the future?

AI.

It’s a lot like in cars, right? Normal driving evolves into assisted driving and then autonomous driving. The same will happen with grid management and grid operations.

The way grid operators do their job will be much more guided and assisted by AI – by data – and much less by them adding screens and adding information, which in the increasingly complex world just doesn’t add up.

From a consumer perspective, it will also be a very different relationship to the grid operator.

Consumers will then become prosumers in the grid. They will be producing electricity, adding generation assets to the grid and thus will have a lot more interactions.

They will feel and touch and interact with grid operators in totally new ways.

How do you think this interaction might evolve?

In the end, it depends on the societal change that we are all undergoing. How the consciousness about energy supply or energy and CO₂ savings will be weaving into our day-to-day much more.

For that, grid operators will need to interact in a different way, have a higher level of transparency and really look at things from a CRM (client relationship management) and consumer engagement perspective.

With more transparency and the use of AI, what are some of the policy implications?

It differs a lot depending on geography.

In the US, policy has already paved the way for software investments, allowing grid operators to translate network fees and secure an efficient way of reimbursing or having investors get their returns.

In Europe, we still favour investments in hardware over software, which is one of the very big changes that we must see.

If we really want to advance the energy transition in a smart and fast way, there’s no doubt that software needs to be factored in.

What keeps you up at night when thinking about the energy transition?

Speed. How to win speed and how to get ready to embark on a new collaboration momentum. Certain things are still happening too slowly.

At Siemens, our software releases have been accelerating drastically and one of my priorities is to make sure it doesn’t become sequential – as in we build something and then we release it and then eventually somebody buys it.

We have to do this in an agile way, which provides value faster, builds momentum and gets us to a trusted relationship to embark on the net zero journey.

Speed is top of my mind.