New project spotlight: Grid virtualisation and automation with InterSCADA and ESTELAR

As the grid becomes more complex with more connected resources and bidirectional flows, automation and visualisation are key requirements for its management.

This integration of renewable energies such as solar and wind is bringing with it the growing use of power electronic converters for grid connections, while also DC lines and subnetworks are being built to reduce power conversion losses and achieve cost-efficient network strengthening.

Amid these changes, power systems are increasingly becoming hybrid AC/DC systems with system operators struggling to maintain grid stability and situational awareness.

In this context, the InterSCADA (Interoperable, Scalable and seCure Ac-Dc modular Automation system) project is developing an open source, vendor independent SCADA system, with the aim to enable operators to quickly adapt to sudden system perturbations, implement new monitoring and control functions and maintain situational awareness.

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The InterSCADA platform will implement a set of relevant functions as microservices, creating a modular SCADA system for system operators. Deployment and testing is planned in demonstrations involving both DSOs and TSOs in four different countries, France, Greece, Italy and Spain.

Furthermore, InterSCADA will provide recommendations to grid codes and standards for hybrid AC/DC systems, aiming to facilitate the transformation of the power grid while ensuring the maintenance of stability and reliability.,

The InterSCADA project was launched in October 2024 with €6 million (US$7 million) in Horizon Europe funding and runs for 36 months to September 2027 involving 18 partners from nine EU countries and Taiwan under the coordination of the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft zur Forderung der Angewandten Forschung.

Substation virtualisation technologies

The ESTELAR (Effective Substation TEchnoLogies for Advanced virtualisation) project is dedicated to modernising power grids to accommodate renewable energy sources and enhance energy efficiency, focusing specifically on the virtualisation of substations.

By redefining the operation and concept of substations’ key components within the power grid infrastructure, ESTELAR aims to facilitate the energy transition towards carbon neutrality.

ESTELAR is based on three pillars. These are advanced communication strategies to facilitate seamless real-time integration of the physical and virtual components, a robust computational framework to boost the processing and data handling capabilities of substations across both cloud and edge computing platforms, and the digital substation of the future architecture, which is centred on developing a modular and scalable architecture that incorporates advanced monitoring, protection and control through digital twinning.

To ensure the efficacy and readiness of these technologies prior to widespread implementation, ESTELAR will conduct rigorous validations in two virtualisation testing laboratories located in Spain and The Netherlands.

ESTELAR is being coordinated by the CIRCE Foundation Technology Research Centre in Spain with eight partners from four EU countries. The project was started on 1 January 2025 and runs for 36 months with a €2.5 million budget fully funded by the Horizon Europe programme.