Within the ongoing energy revolution towards smart grids and renewables, advanced technologies are required to ensure the safety and reliability of power distribution protection and control. Evolving 5G technology provides a foundation for new grid applications and services to be developed. By interconnecting devices through secure, reliable, and low-latency wireless communication infrastructure, the design and operation of smart grids will reach a new dimension.
Safe transition towards utilization of modern wireless communication technologies in critical power systems require years of studies, prototyping, and testing. In Otaniemi, we have built a pilot environment for testing 5G networks in power system protection and control.
5GVIIMA project is a part of the Finnish 5G Test Network Ecosystem and aims to develop Industry 4.0 relevant 5G technologies and services for indoor and outdoor use. 5G VIIMA uses the IntelligentEnergy testbed infrastructure and equipment at VTT as a test site for practical experiments in an electrical network.
