Advanced Energy Technology Institute “Nicola Giordano”

Institute

Institute ITAE is committed to the development of smart grids, starting with generation and storage devices and microgrids. In these activities, ITAE develops control and communication systems also using artificial intelligence, monitoring systems, virtual energy systems and planning tools for the integrated energy system.

Finally, ITAE is engaged in the development of demonstrators in the field, characterized by the presence of micro grids that integrate hybrid systems, hybrid storage and hydrogen technology.

Cybersecurity in the smart grids field represents one of the main lines of research to keep the electricity grid, and more generally, the energy system, safe and resilient. ITAE has already identified, together with IIT, as part of the System Research project, joint research activities in the cybersecurity sector for smart grids.

Personnel

The main researchers involved are the followings:

Giovanni Brunaccini

Francesco Sergi

Davide Aloisio

Salvatore Micari

Expertize

The skills acquired therefore concern:

– hardware and software design of energy systems

– modeling of energy systems on different computing environments

– artificial intelligence in control systems

– data analytics and data management

– smart grid emulation through hardware in the loop

Projects 

CNR4Capacity

Objective:

  • Creation of a pilot energy community (extension of the same paradigm in a distributed way, currently on a local scale);
  • Socio-economic-health enhancement of the use of energy;
  • Optimization of the use of renewable energy and common storage resources aimed at the energy market (price driven, energy driven);
  • Encouragement of rational use of energy by the user (internally subsidized tariff bands: animation of the energy community);
  • Development of an energy community model for the implementation of peer-to-peer exchange functions;
  • Distribution within the community of energy storage resources in the event of their shortage (based on the criteria and thresholds established by the community).

Possible implications in the area of ​​telematic security:

  • Exchange of energy availability data (capacity, timing, cost / price) within the energy community;
  • Energy availability data exchange (capacity, timing, cost / price) for distributed joint aggregators of users (or communities)
  • Validation of data for accounting / pricing (energy consumption, concessions / user bonuses, sharing of common charges)
  • Implementation of energy saving strategies by the ESCo Implementation of (iteratively) reduced operating logic in the event of a telematic attack from the outside (detection of the attack and reduction of the extent of damage, up to off-grid survival)

Hybuild (October 2017 – ongoing)

(Grant Agreement No 768824)

Objective:

  • Development and construction of 3 prototypes for experimental sites (Mediterranean and continental climate) of a hybrid system (thermal / electrical) with generation and storage of energy at the service of users and actively connected to the electricity grid
  • Development and characterization of the individual subsystems Definition of objective functions for the optimization (with different criteria, including prioritized ones) of user comfort and use of storage
  • Realization and integration of prototypes and application in demonstration sites (Almatret, Aglantzia and Bordeaux)
  • Creating a model of the hybrid system

Possible implications in the area of ​​telematic security:

  • Data transmission from field sensors (for climatic comfort and regulation of consumption / production / sale / availability of electrical power)
  • Securing from potential attacks on individual intelligent devices (string optimizer, storage controller, supervisor, heat pump)
  • Exposure of data to users (consultation)
  • Confidentiality of collected data

Hybris ( January 2021 – ongoing)

(Grant Agreement No 963652)

Objective:

  • Development, construction and testing of 3 hybrid electric storage prototypes (LTO + AORFB)
  • Supply of energy services in isolated micro-grids: Messina
  • New energy services and regulation strategies in private electricity grids (business park): Den Hague (NL)
  • Load leveling in nodal points (hubs) for e-mobility (e.g. charging stations): Brasschaat (B)

Possible implications in the area of ​​telematic security:

  • Data collection from field sensors (WSN of the BMS);
  • Communication between subsystems on the same site;
  • Authentication of users authorized to check;
  • Protection of power conversion and regulation devices from external intrusions;
  • Transfer of heterogeneous information through the internet (to and from the three demonstration sites)

i-Next (Capo d’Orlando)

Objective:

  • Retrofitting of a microgrid for implementations of advanced energy services
  • Creation of a platform for the optimized use of hydrogen as energy storage
  • Management of storage systems dedicated to the operation of the microgrid with respect to harmful weather-climatic events (resilient mode), including predictive ones
  • Creation of a platform dedicated to energy services for mobility (electric recharge, hydrogen refueling)

Possible implications in the area of ​​telematic security:

  • Protection of data in transit (for the energy market, availability of storage resources, tariffs)
  • Alteration of the market, loss of efficiency authentication of the interlocutor or interlocutors (for profiling production and electrical loads, for resilience against adverse weather events, for resource allocation requests by grid operators)
  • Resources enslaved to unauthorized users or incorrect pricing detection of ongoing attacks on production, accumulation, distribution and prediction infrastructures (and related defense or counter actions)
  • Protection from the interruption of the services offered due to external intrusions