Power securitySafeguarding the Power Supply During a Major Outage

Germany’s power supply is one of the most reliable in the world. Yet the growth in renewable energy has introduced a host of unpredictable factors into the power mix. The increasing number of irregular power sources can bring problems for grid stability. Moreover, in the event of a prolonged outage, there is the need to maintain the supply of power to critical infrastructure. In a groundbreaking concept, Fraunhofer research teams are seeking to combine digital twin technology with a fleet of autonomous electric vehicles for precisely this purpose.

Various factors can compromise our supply of electricity. These include natural disasters, cyberattacks and the ongoing transition to a sustainable energy system. A lasting power outage can have dramatic consequences. Our supply of drinking water would fail, for example, as would rail transport, the phone network and street lighting. At present, the emergency response looks like this: when the local grid goes down, diesel generators step in to maintain the power supply. These ensure the safety of the population and provide power for vital systems such as hospital equipment. “This emergency service will cover a period of three days but not a whole week,” explains Jan Reich, an IT researcher at the Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering(IESE). “The fuel reserves would run out before then. Besides, there are a lot of small but critical power consumers, such as water pumps and communication nodes, for which it’s just not economically viable to have generators on standby, as these require substantial maintenance.” Reich and fellow researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Systems and Device Technology(IISB) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Technological Trend Analysis(INT) have been investigating how to safeguard the supply of power to such critical infrastructure in the event of an emergency. In a project known as SmartKRIT, they have been working on alternative solutions that provide a rapid response to an emergency situation and then enable a swift return to normal operation.