Integrating renewable and distributed energy resources, such as photovoltaics (PV) and energy storage devices, into the electric distribution system requires advanced power electronics, or smart inverters, that can provide grid services such as voltage and frequency regulation, ride-through capabilities, dynamic current injection, and anti-islanding functionality. To enable this integration, designing novel smart inverter technologies, developing robust control algorithms for better inverter functionality, determining interactions between multiple smart inverters and between inverters and utility distribution systems, supporting standards development for smart inverter functionalities, and analysing the impacts of smart inverters on distribution systems is necessary.

Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• Energy yield improvement of PV systems based on smart digitalisation;
• Optimal utilisation of generated energy, energy savings, and enhanced overall energy efficiency;
• Enhanced flexibility services and interoperability;
• The execution of the solar energy joint research and innovation agenda^[1].

Proposals are expected to:

• Demonstrate new inverter technologies with increased power density and reliability at lower cost (e.g., allowing for medium voltage PV systems), that integrate new power device technologies based on wide bandgap semiconductors (e.g., GaN, SiC) that could supply synthetic inertia and a range of grid services;
• Design of smart (e.g., integrating condition and health monitoring), and with improved capabilities, inverter hardware and firmware;
• Ensure inverters’ electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) proposing optimal mitigation techniques for the causes and propagation pathways of electromagnetic interference (EMI), and conformity with current and under development standards;
• Use of control and power hardware-in-the-loop techniques to determine interactions between multiple inverters at multiple points of common coupling;
• Demonstrate integrated communication connection between inverters and other components (e.g., battery, PV modules, grid, etc.) to automatically gather their information (serial number, geolocalisation, etc.) and support the creation of Digital Twins and PV data models, towards a real predictive monitoring of electricity production;
• Evaluate system integration and cybersecurity, while providing guidance for future developments (e.g., recyclability) in both hardware and software.

This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership for Innovation in Photovoltaics (EUPI-PV). As such, projects resulting from this topic will be expected to report on the results to the European Partnership for Innovation in Photovoltaics (EUPI-PV) in support of the monitoring of its KPIs.

[1] Commission Staff Working Document "Solar energy joint research and innovation agenda with Member States in the context of the European Research Area (ERA)"