Mission
The evolution of the European energy system poses major challenges to electrical grids such as becoming more resilient to climate change, coping with the growing energy demand of modern societies and integrating an increasing share of variable RES.
In particular, the EU aims to become climate-neutral by 2050 – an economy with net-zero GHG with an interconnection target of at least 15% by 2030 to encourage EU countries to interconnect their installed electricity production capacity.
To achieve such objectives, the proliferation of DC grids is considered a promising solution due to their numerous benefits regarding the integration, transport, and distribution of renewable energies. In this context, hybrid alternative current and direct current (AC/DC) grids offer enhanced flexibility and efficiency by combining the strengths of AC and DC systems, facilitating seamless integration of diverse energy sources and improving grid resilience. However, the integration of DC systems into existing AC systems poses significant challenges related to interoperability, operation, and stability, among others.
THEUS aims to demonstrate a range of advanced methodologies, tools, models, and technologies that support the implementation and operation of hybrid grids across HV, MV and LV levels. These solutions will foster and pave the way for the future development of a pan-European AC/DC hybrid system, ensuring a reliable energy supply and an interoperable electrical network.
Objectives
THEUS aims to showcase advanced methodologies and tools supporting hybrid grids implementation across High Voltage (HV), Medium Voltage (MV), and Low Voltage (LV) levels.
The effectiveness of these solutions will be substantiated by their validation in five (5) use cases building on data from five (5) real planned and operational networks, fostering collaboration with key actors and contributing to the evolution towards a pan-European AC/DC hybrid system architecture.
THEUS’s main objectives are:
To establish methodologies for an improved planning and design of DC and AC/DC hybrid systems across various voltage levels, incorporating Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA).
To define the functional requirements and develop innovative grid forming technologies and controls for enhanced operation of hybrid grids.
To foster resilience and seamless interoperability of grids in the European Network System through advanced protection systems.
To carry out the validation of THEUS solutions up to TRL5 to obtain reliable results of their performance and applicability in different environments and voltage levels.
To promote the exploitation and replication of THEUS solutions through dissemination and knowledge transfer of the project’s main outcomes towards the targeted stakeholders, fostering synergies ongoing projects.
To successfully achieve its objectives, the project will develop a set of six planning and six operation solutions, that will be validated in five use cases addressing the most representative challenges faced by European grids.
These use cases will rely on accurate models and will be fed with data from five real grids representing different project stages and voltage levels:
An existing MVAC/MVDC/LVDC microgrid in Spain.
An existing distribution hybrid grid in Italy.
An existing HVAC/HVDC link between Attica-Crete.
A planned transnational HVAC/HVDC transmission interconnector connecting Crete-Cyprus-Israel.
A planned MVDC distribution grid in Turkey
The validation will be conducted on six test benches that will allow to reach TRL 5 by the end of the project.
Impacts
THEUS will have a direct impact on the orchestration of future pan-European AC/DC hybrid electricity systems.
During the validation campaign, two networks currently in the planning stage will be designed, and three existing networks will be enhanced in terms of management and operation. Through the validation of technologies and use cases, THEUS aims to achieve reductions in energy losses of 10-30% and in O&M costs by 15-20%, while maintaining the safe operation of hybrid grids with higher RES penetration. Consequently, the strategy for defining the path to market will focus on replicating these results in the analyzed grids and across the entire EU power system.