A Unique Smart Grid Lab and Energy Storage Bed at Newcastle University

The Company

Newcastle University’s Smart Grid Lab and Energy Storage Test Bed are unique facilities that enable research into future energy systems. They are funded through a combined grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Newcastle University and industrial partners Northern Powergrid and Siemens. These key facilities, part of Newcastle’s flagship project Science Central, bring together academia, the public sector, communities, business and industry to create a global centre for urban innovation and sustainability.

The Challenges

• Power System and Hardware Integration: Researchers needed to link real-time power system simulation with physical hardware, including power converters, electric vehicles, battery systems, and smart appliances.
• Real-Time Data Utilization: The laboratory required the ability to use both live streamed data and large volumes of stored smart grid data for real-time studies and hardware-in-the-loop experiments.
• Safe High-Voltage Investigation: Researchers needed to study high-voltage networks and power flows while maintaining a safe laboratory environment operating below 400V.

The OPAL-RT Solution

• Real-Time Simulation Platform: OPAL-RT enabled accurate real-time modeling of power systems and the capture of key parameters such as voltages, currents, and power flows.
• PHIL Testing Capability: The Smart Grid Lab combined an OP5600 real-time simulator with a Triphase power amplifier to support Power-Hardware-in-the-Loop testing and interaction between simulated and physical networks.
• Scalable Smart Grid Research: The platform supports live data integration, network scalability, energy storage technologies, and configurable smart grid studies.

The Results

• Real-Time Network Simulation: Researchers can simulate complex electrical networks and study interactions between physical and simulated systems in real time.
• Improved Scalability: The platform allows the modeling of larger and more complex networks than previously possible.
• Safe High-Voltage Emulation: Higher voltages and power flows can be simulated and scaled down to laboratory-safe operating levels.
• Future Grid Research: The Smart Grid Lab supports investigations involving low-carbon technologies, load emulation, electric vehicles, energy storage, and Power-Hardware-in-the-Loop applications.

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