KIOS participating in project to digitise the European energy system

The KIOS Research and Innovation Center of Excellence at the University of Cyprus is participating in a flagship research project, entitled 'TwinEU', funded by the EU under the Horizon Europe research and innovation program, aiming to digitise the European energy system.

According to a press release issued by the University of Cyprus, the TwinEU project aims to create a concept of a Pan-European power system Digital Twin (DT), based on the integration of national power grid Digital Twins, to enable a reliable, resilient, and safe operation of the power infrastructure, whilst facilitating new business models that will accelerate the deployment of renewable energy sources in Europe.

The concept of digitising the European energy infrastructure

Europe's dependance on imported fossil fuels and the consequences caused by climate crisis make the process of energy transition more critical for Europe than ever before, the University notes. To overcome these challenges, a European Action Plan has been launched for digitalising the energy system to increase the penetration of renewables into the grids, and make the infrastructure more resilient, cybersecure, and cost-effective. According to the press release, this can only be fulfilled by a process of virtualisation of the energy infrastructure thanks to the digital twin technology. This effort cannot be performed by a single operator or even a single country but needs to be a European-wide action.

For this reason, TwinEU brings together a unique consortium comprised of 75 partners, including grid and market operators, technology providers, relevant industry players and research centers, from 15 different European countries, to create a pan-European solution that will enable grid and market operators to develop and utilise digital twins through the federated Digital Twin work bench. TwinEU will deliver a set of tools that will be demonstrated in 8 pilots across 11 EU countries including Cyprus, aiming to ensure the replicability of the developed solutions in different geographical and market set ups testing a wide variety of use cases.

Eastern Mediterranean region pilot

The KIOS CoE will play a crucial role in the Eastern Mediterranean region pilot project, which focuses on integrating the digital twins of power systems across mainland Greece, Crete, and Cyprus, the University says. Within this initiative, KIOS will be responsible for creating the digital twin of the power system interconnecting Cyprus with Crete, as well as for developing real-time monitoring and control methodologies for this interconnected system. Additionally, KIOS will lead the efforts to evaluate the resilience of the power grid within the project against cyber-physical threats.

The project’s outcomes will contribute to the effective and efficient operation of the grid, whilst facilitating a higher penetration of renewables in support of a greater resiliency and energy independence of the European energy infrastructure. Most importantly, the project will contribute towards decarbonisation of the energy system with also the possibility to better improve energy costs scenarios thanks to energy independency.

The KIOS CoE research team at the University of Cyprus participating in this project consists of Professor Christos Panayiotou and Research Lecturers Markos Asprou and Lenos Hadjidemetriou.

(Source: CNA)