About the project
The Distributed Energy System and Security Infrastructure (DESSI) was established in 2023 to increase the understanding of the participatory transition in energy systems, and includes physical components such as
- PV panels, small wind turbine, hydrogen generation, for decentralised installation
- Hydrogen compression and storage units, fuel cells, batteries for peer-to-peer and autonomous operations;
- inverters, power switches, IoT, for monitoring and control of micro-grids and power systems.
- Scada architecture with PLC and other nodes, to simulate and emulate small industrial systems, including cybersecurity vulnerability analysis
- Cyber physical system simulator for simulation and cyber vulnerability analysis
- Power Grid emulator (OPAL-RT) to get hands-on experience on system effects
With the specific focus on participation, DESSI will generate an independent research database from the high-frequency monitoring of 80-100 households.
Goals
DESSI has three main goals
- Establish a cyber-physical infrastructure for the future grid, focussing on the transition at the edge of the grid.
- Foster understanding of the transition of the electricity grid through simulations and emulations, including the cyber- and societal-security aspects.
- Establish the scientific research database on high-resolution readings from households, and empower households in their participation in the transition.
Background
The worldwide commitment to stay within 1.5oC temperature increase requires a massive transitive from energy to electrical systems.
- For Norway, it means creating roughly 70 TWh of new electric energy in the upcoming years, which is about half of the yearly usage of 150 TWh.
- Regulations such as the electrification of building places (mandatory in 2023 for Trondheim, in 2024 for Oslo), has resulted in start-ups like UiO’s collaboration partner Nordic Booster to provide battery containers for building sites.
- Increased production (“prosumer”) from private households and industrial buildings (mainly PV) and industrial
- Lack of independent high-resolution electrical data, measuring on fuse level in individual households/buildings
- Islands like Utsira are already test-arenas for micro-grids, though lack the detailed modelling including buildings
- Vulnerability of electrical cyber-physical systems against cyber-attacks
- Empower customers with insight, privacy-aware and decentralised energy control solutions.
- Use the leading position of Norwegian SMEs in power systems to expand worldwide
Financing
DESSI is financed by UiO internal infrastructure funds
Cooperation
DESSI invites households to participate in the transition by increasing their understanding of the energy consumption in the home. See more information in the contact.
Besides private households, we have collaborations
- with schools, contributing to energy analysis;
- municipalities to increase the participation of private households in the energy transition;
- researchers to increase the knowledge of the participatory transition;
- companies and industry to analyse new possibilities through the transition; and
- authorities to contribute with laws & regulations enhancing the participatory transition.