Software-specified autonomous networks: SOFIE research group takes up work

The research group "Software-Specified Autonomous Networks" (SOFIE) headed by Prof. Albrecht Gensior from the Power Electronics and Control Group has been working on issues of energy management and the combination of power electronic systems and electrical machines since the beginning of 2023.

Local energy supply networks ensure access to electrical energy wherever access to the public energy supply network is not available or is interrupted. Services that would otherwise be provided by the public grid, such as the provision of load peaks or short-circuit current to trigger protective devices, must then be provided by the local infrastructure. Power electronic network devices play a special role here, since their behavior can be determined to a large extent by software.

Due to the increasing spread of power electronic systems, for example in the form of power converters for regenerative generation plants or charging stations for electric vehicles, power electronic systems have an increasing influence on the behavior of energy supply networks. This is particularly evident in local grids with very few or no conventional power generators.