Update on TALENT / October 2021

In the past six months, the work within the TALENT project has progressed notably in all of its Work Packages. Here is a summary of what has been achieved since the last update of April of this year.

WP1: Design of Scalable Hybridised Decentralised Energy Systems Concept

Work Package 1 that deals with the design of scalable hybridised decentralised energy systems concept has been finalised in March 2021. Its tasks are naturally essential for Work Package 6, which focuses on the validation in relevant environments.

WP2: Novel Power Electronics Architectures for Multi-Home Batteries

For Work Package 2, which focuses on the novel power electronics architectures for multi-home batteries, partners are currently working on laboratory tests at the University of Oviedo to construct a TRL5 prototype of battery for multi-home case. This task follows the design and control system that were previously developed. A few of the elements in this work package will be tested in Work Package 6. Regarding the milestones of this work package, the integrated power converter prototype for multi-home level has been delivered in September. The iBatt modules are in the process of being manufactured.

WP3: Novel Power Electronics Architectures for District and Larger Systems Batteries

In Work Package 3, which refers to the novel power electronics architectures for district and large electric storage systems, the construction of the battery for district and larger systems case is in progress.

Two prototypes of integrated power converters for district level have been built up to validate the whole set of a new power module, while the test bench is being built at the moment. One of the prototypes will be working as a PV emulator or as a battery emulator (depending on the case), while the other one will be working at the actual AC/DC stage. The DC/DC stage will be also added to get the whole set.

WP4: High Voltage Battery Storage Systems

In the Work Package 4, which deals with high voltage battery storage systems, the studies of the possibilities of DC/AC converters using high-voltage have been completed, as well as, the design of high voltage converter subsystems. The tasks dealing with the power module characterization, and set up of a 1500V-DC battery pack, which aims to combine two packs of 1500 V (from WP3) in series to achieve output voltage of 3000V are ongoing. The active equalization for 8 iBatt modules will follow the control structure presented in a paper developed by Cegasa & Uniovi. 

WP5: Management Software for Decentralised and Hybridised Energy Systems

The tasks of Work Package 5, which is about the management software for decentralised and hybridised energy systems, are ongoing and most have recently been finalised:

• The modular architecture of the DHEMS has been defined and programmed according to the Unified software architecture for decentralised energy systems.
• The DHEMS (Distributed Hybridised Energy Management System) has been implemented and tested, and is ready for validation in Work Package 6. The battery digital twin has been finalised: it will be integrated in TALENT project Virtual Power Plant, and will provide new services related to electricity market integration.

WP6: Validation in Relevant Environments

In the Work Package 6, which deals with the validation in relevant environments, the work on the design of the validation plan for TALENT solutions is ongoing and expected to be finalised in the coming months. A set of KPIs are being defined to assess the achievement of TALENT objectives and impacts in connection with these solutions.

WP7: Cost Assessment and Exploitation Strategy

Various tasks in Work Package 7, which focuses on the cost assessment and exploitation strategy, are currently ongoing:

• The analysis of the cost benefit of the proposed solutions is in progress, with the development of the calculation model.
• The environmental assessment of the new developments and the exploitation strategy definition are also ongoing.
• An analysis of impacts of various power electronic solutions will be done for three areas on the grid.