Europe's HYNET Develops 13 Hybrid AC/DC Grid Tools

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 23, the HYNET project funded by the EU's Horizon Europe announced progress on its hybrid AC/DC grid tool system. The project is developing 13 complementary software tools integrated through a unified HYNET Workbench, covering grid planning, operational control, protection, stability analysis, digital twins, and real-time validation. The HYNET project is coordinated by UBITECH ENERGY, headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, with a project period from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2027, a total budget of approximately EUR 5.9977 million, and an equal amount of EU funding.

The HYNET tool system targets HVDC, MVDC, and LVDC applications in transmission and distribution grids. On the planning side, it includes long-term planning of hybrid AC/DC transmission systems, multi-energy system modeling, offshore renewable energy integration, and investment and security analysis; on the operational side, it covers power dispatch, voltage control, DC grid planning, resilience assessment, protection coordination, islanded operation, service restoration, and system inertia estimation. The project will also establish standardized interfaces and interoperability methods for multi-terminal, multi-vendor MVDC and LVDC systems.

The tools cover planning and investment, operational protection, and grid-forming stability. Planning tools support techno-economic assessment, long-term transmission planning, multi-energy carrier integration, offshore renewable energy integration, and hybrid AC/DC network security analysis; operational tools include power dispatch and voltage control, grid planning for HVDC, MVDC, and LVDC systems, resilience assessment, protection coordination, islanded operation and service restoration, and system inertia estimation; on the grid-forming side, advanced control technologies, inertia estimation, adaptive synthetic inertia provision, and dynamic analysis of MVDC/LVDC networks are being developed.

Demonstration projects validate planning, operation, stability assessment, protection, and validation capabilities in real networks. The French Guadeloupe demonstration studies how grid-forming battery energy storage systems and multi-terminal MVDC architecture can improve frequency stability of weak islanded grids under high renewable energy penetration, and compares advanced converter solutions with conventional synchronous compensation benchmarks, highlighting a cost-effective and scalable approach for resilient islanded power systems.

In the stability control segment, HYNET is developing grid-forming converter control, system inertia estimation, adaptive synthetic inertia, and dynamic analysis tools for MVDC/LVDC networks. The project design also includes AC/DC protection coordination, communication interfaces for equipment from different vendors, and a unified modeling process, allowing tools to share models and simulation workflows through the Workbench and reducing manual model conversion between different software platforms.

The related technologies will be validated in four demonstration scenarios in France, Montenegro, Norway, and Cyprus. The French demonstrations include the Guadeloupe weak grid and the Les Renardières experimental facility, testing grid-forming battery energy storage, multi-terminal MVDC, and LVDC/MVAC hybrid networks; the Montenegro demonstration conducts cross-border grid planning and low-inertia operation analysis around the Montenegro–Italy MonIta HVDC interconnection; the Norwegian demonstration will assess future HVDC transmission corridors and offshore energy hubs, and carry out planning studies combined with offshore wind and hydrogen production facilities.

The Cyprus demonstration will establish a real-time digital twin covering the entire transmission system and combine it with the Great Sea Interconnector HVDC interconnection project. The test system will integrate field phasor measurement unit data to validate stability analysis, inertia monitoring, and frequency support functions in a real-time simulation environment. Another French validation will test LVDC/MVAC hybrid distribution architecture under high-power electric vehicle charging and other large-load connection conditions at the EDF PHIL microgrid laboratory.

HYNET has 16 partners from 9 European countries, including GE Vernova, EDF, SuperGrid Institute, Statnett, the Cyprus transmission system operator, and several universities and research institutions. The project has entered the mid-term R&D and demonstration preparation phase, and subsequent work will continue to advance the integration of the 13 tools and carry out simulation, real-time testing, and system validation in four European demonstration regions.