New Open Source Testbed Platform for Smart Grid and Microgrid Research: Now Go from Paper to Prototype Deployment in Days

To address the demanding needs of industry and university research groups pursuing critical innovations in Smart Grid and Microgrid technologies, National Instruments has joined forces with other industry leaders to create a new research testbed architecture. Join us for an introduction and live demonstration of the new open source, commercially available platform spans from a low cost MyRIO Bidirectional Microgrid Inverter that enables students to form a desktop Microgrid, up to a full power 480 VAC, 100 kVA Semikron back-to-back inverter cabinet. 

A core element are new low voltage Semikron grid tied inverter cabinets with NI CompactRIO Ethernet TSN Sync Inverter control systems and embedded Opal-RT real-time digital twin HIL simulators. Design teams now can go from a research paper to working, grid tied prototype in just days. Using open source reference design frameworks, new control algorithms are developed in a co-simulation environment and then rapidly deployed to physical hardware. Teams can move back and forth between deployment and simulation multiple times in a day, and easily compare measured and simulated results.