Working on the ‘Energy Internet’

Some scientists at North Carolina State University, with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) are working to create the “Energy Internet.”

Goals of the Energy Internet include:

• A grid that will be more efficient and capable of meeting increased consumer demand without adding infrastructure.
• A grid that will more intelligent, sensing system overloads and rerouting power to prevent or to minimize a potential outage.
• A system that will accept energy from virtually any fuel source and offer improved security and resiliency in case of a natural disaster or threat.
• Infrastructure that will allow real-time communication between the consumer and utility, ushering in a new era of consumer choice.

From its headquarters on NC State's Centennial Campus, FREEDM (short for Future Renewable Electric Energy Delivery and Management) is coming at the challenge on many fronts, from the creation of new devices that will allow energy to flow in more than one direction to the development of the software architecture that will give the smart grid its brainpower.

The facility boasts a 1 MW demonstration hub and real-time digital simulation lab, as well as labs specializing in computer science, power electronics, energy storage and motor drive technology. Under the FREEDM umbrella, researchers and students are tackling more than a dozen research projects in partnership with colleagues at Arizona State University, Florida State University, Florida A&M University and Missouri University of Science and Technology.