E-lunch webinar: CERN-HV/MV grid network based project in the Large Hadron Collider
EU project targets better energy efficiency at CERN with improved grid monitoring tools
Particle accelerators are energy-intensive, consuming up to hundreds of gigawatt hours annually, comparable to small- or medium-sized European cities. This, combined with their reliance on non-renewable energy sources and significant raw material requirements, pose environmental challenges.
That is why the Research Facility 2.0 (RF2.0) project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme and the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation, is exploring innovative solutions to make accelerators more sustainable.
The project focuses on four points:
Developing new highly efficient components (permanent magnets and solid-state amplifiers)
- Integrating AI-assisted energy management systems
- Adopting low-carbon technologies (energy storage systems, renewable power-driven computing centers)
- Enhancing power consumption flexibility and network services (power electronics, direct current networks, fast measurement systems)
There are 10 partners, including five of the largest particle accelerator facilities in Europe – ALBA Synchrotron (Spain), CERN, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY in Hamburg, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, and MAX IV Laboratory (Sweden) – supported by four specialised technology companies and with Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) coordinating the consortium.
It is running for three years between 2024 and the end of 2026 and is backed with a total of €5.6 million.
Improving power quality in accelerator electrical power distribution grids
It is still early in the project but there has already been marked progress towards achieving the goal of improving power consumption flexibility and network services at accelerator facilities.
As part of the fast measurement systems developments CERN, together with Swiss smart grid solutions company Zaphiro Technologies, are deploying 24 phasor measurement units (PMUs) in selected locations across CERN’s electrical power grid, as shown in figure 1, significantly enhancing its monitoring capabilities.
By validating these solutions through demonstrator projects, one of which will take place at CERN, RF2.0 seeks to reduce accelerators' environmental impact and benefit other energy-intensive facilities, for example medical centers, data centers and other industrial plants, with innovative, flexible energy management strategies.
Program
11:45 u. - 12:00 u. Call in MS Teams
12:00 u. - 12:05 u. Welcome to KIVI Electrical Engineering
12:05 u. - 12:40 u. Speakers with presentations:
Jacques Busi (Zaphiro) & Jeroen Boekhout (Eleq)
12:40 u. - 13:00 u. Q&A with questions from the chat
13:00 u. - 13:00 u. Close & End