ELab
Electrification Laboratory
The Electrification Laboratory (ELab) is a national research center for sustainable, affordable, and reliable electricity generation, transmission, conversion, storage and use, including the generation of energy-relevant chemicals via electrochemical processes. The ELab facilitates both fundamental integrated research and development of novel technologies and components as main building blocks of the future intelligent hybrid power grid. It features research infrastructure on all voltage levels (HV, MV, LV), a control room, a digital twin supercomputer, and labs to work on and create the next generation of electric machines, power electronics, photovoltaics, and wind power.
Infrastructure and User Services
The ELab has the following infrastructure available that facilitates different research domains
Domain 1: Power Generation
- Cleanrooms to manufacture photovoltaic cells ranging from classical crystalline silicon to flexible and thin-film multi/heterojunction and perovskite cells
- Characterization lab for optical, thermal, electrical, and mechanical properties of PV materials
- PV module and panel manufacturing equipment
- Photovoltatronics lab for smart PV
- Multi-scale modeling of PV
- Electric machines laboratory
Domain 2: Power conversion and storage
- Power electronics lab for prototyping at all voltage levels
- Power electronics reliability lab
- Battery testing lab
- Electric mobility (automotive, avionics, trams, buses) lab
- DC microgrids
Domain 3: Power Systems
- Power system digital twin with 5 RTDS NovaCor, OPAL-RT, and PLECS, and P-HIL-amplifiers up to 30kW
- Digital substation with 20 RTDS GTNET
- Control Room of the Future
- AI for Energy Lab
- Power System Protection Center
- Power system interoperability testing facility (e.g. offshore multi-terminal HVDC controllers) with RTDS GTFPGA
Domain 4 High voltage technology
- Materials & Components (e.g. SF6 and alternative gases for GIS)
- Monitoring & Diagnostics (e.g. partial discharge)
- Dimensioning & Testing
- Residual life & Asset Management
- Three 500 kV AC transformers, cascadeable to 1500 kV
- 20-stage lightning impulse generator up to 4 MV and 200 kJ
- 600 kV DC power supply
Domain 5 Field Lab
- The Green Village (TGV) field lab for energy technology in the built environment
- It is associated with ELab and can host prototypes that leave the lab for field testing
- 24/7 self-sustainable model house using solar power, batteries, hydrogen, and fuel cells.
Examples/description of the type of research
The Electrification Lab is a unique facility where integral system solutions for the future (electrical) energy system are developed and tested under real operating conditions, e.g. integration of intermittent renewable energy sources and behavior of energy users. The lab is equipped with facilities for research and testing of new materials, technologies and components for energy conversion, transmission, storage, and the electrochemical production of solar fuels and chemicals. The ELab serves as national research center for the future energy system with focus on novel electrification concepts.
The lab facilitates research up to TRL5, and sometimes – if applied in the field lab – up to TRL6.
How to access the infrastructure?
Physical access requires support of a local technician and training/briefing upfront.
Virtual and remote access is provided to computational infrastructure and data, and also to physical training setups that can be used on-line.