Expanding microgrid testing capabilities with real-time simulation

The company

ENGIE Laborelec, based in Linkebeek near Brussels, Belgium, is a leading research and expertise center in electrical power technology. Founded in 1962, the cooperative company, —owned by ENGIE and independent grid operators, —supports electricity companies worldwide with services in generation, transmission, distribution, storage, and end use.

With operations in more than 60 countries, ENGIE Laborelec plays a key role in the energy transition, focusing on decentralization, decarbonization, and digitalization. Its Power Networks Lab is equipped with OPAL-RT’s real-time simulation systems to test microgrid controllers, relays, and complete systems.

The challenges

As energy systems grow more decentralized, ENGIE Laborelec needed a way to validate complex microgrid controllers and protection systems efficiently before field deployment. This required a versatile hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) platform capable of accurately simulating distributed networks, integrating with MATLAB/Simulink models, and supporting automated testing.

The OPAL-RT solution

ENGIE Laborelec adopted OPAL-RT’s RT-LAB, ARTEMiS, and OP5650 to enhance its testing environment.

With these tools, the team can:

• Simulate complete microgrid systems with real-time accuracy
• Interface with real protection relays, inverters, and controllers
• Use Python scripting for automated, repeatable tests
• Seamlessly integrate Simulink^TM models for rapid development

OPAL-RT’s responsive technical support and knowledge base also helped Laborelec reduce troubleshooting time and accelerate validation cycles.

The results

Using OPAL-RT’s platform, ENGIE Laborelec successfully expanded its microgrid testing and validation capabilities, achieving faster, more flexible system development.

Key applications include:

• Distributed frequency reserve testing – Studying communication delays and stability across islanded microgrids.
• Protection relay validation – Testing relay behavior in renewable-dominated grids.
• Inverter test bench – Evaluating inverter performance and protection up to 50 kW.

Thanks to OPAL-RT’s real-time simulation technology, ENGIE Laborelec can now deliver reliable, efficient validation for advanced microgrid systems, accelerating innovation in sustainable energy.

Read the full story