SHIFT2DC: Should the Energy Transition be made in DC?
Picture a future where electricity is not only reliable and affordable but also environmentally friendly and adaptable to our changing needs. This vision is at the heart of the SHIFT to Direct Current (SHIFT2DC) project, a transformative initiative that aims to revolutionize the way we design, implement, and benefit from direct current (DC) solutions in our power systems.
Running for 42 months and funded with a total close to 9 million € by the Horizon Europe Innovation Action Programme (900K€ of which will fund participation by INESC-ID), and bringing together a group of 28 partners*, SHIFT2DC is a forward-thinking collaboration that seeks to explore and promote the use of DC solutions at both medium and low voltage levels. The goal is to unlock the full potential of DC power, which offers numerous advantages, including greater energy efficiency, reduced transmission losses, and better integration with renewable energy sources.
The consortium also has as associated partners a certification laboratory (Laboratoire National de Metrologie et D´Essais; LNE, France), a system operator (Empresa de Electricidade da Madeira, SA; EEM, Portugal) that will collaborate in the port demonstrator, an engineering office (SETEC BATIMENT, France) that will test the DC design tools, and the two most important DC promotors namely, Stichting Current OS (Netherlands) and ODCA (represented in the project by ZVEI e.v., Germany, since is not yet an independent party).
One of the key aspects of the SHIFT2DC project is conducting in-depth analyses and real-world tests to ensure that the proposed DC solutions are not only feasible and cost-effective but also environmentally sustainable. By carefully examining factors such as life cycle impact and energy efficiency, the project aims to develop smart and scalable DC solutions that can meet the diverse energy needs of our society.
Beyond just developing new technologies, SHIFT2DC is committed to making the adoption of DC solutions easier for everyone. To achieve this, the project is developing user-friendly tools that will help planners, engineers, and decision-makers design, simulate, and assess the effectiveness of DC systems in various applications. These tools will empower communities, businesses, and industries to embrace greener energy alternatives seamlessly.
One of the most exciting prospects of SHIFT2DC is the potential to create a new energy landscape that prioritizes sustainability without sacrificing reliability. By optimizing the use of DC power, we can build resilient microgrids, power our homes and businesses more efficiently, and reduce our overall carbon footprint. Furthermore, the project’s dedication to interoperability, scalability, and security ensures that the proposed solutions will be future-proof and adaptable to evolving energy demands.
As the SHIFT2DC project continues to unfold, it holds the promise of transforming how we generate, distribute, and consume electricity. Through innovation, collaboration, and a commitment to a cleaner energy future, SHIFT2DC is setting the stage for a world where greener and smarter energy solutions benefit both people and the planet alike.
*The full list of partners includes:
- INESC ID – Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores, Investigação e Desenvolvimento em Lisboa (Portugal)
- Électricité de France (France)
- CNET Centre For New Energy Technologies SA (Portugal)
- Fundacion Tecnalia Research & Innovation (Spain)
- Rheinisch-Westfaelische Technische Hochschule Aachen (RWTH Aachen) (Germany)
- Fraunhofer Gesellschaft zur Forderung der Angewandten Forschung EV (Germany)
- Schneider Electric Industries SAS (France)
- DC-Systems B.V. (Netherlands)
- Nexans France (France)
- Nexans Sweden (Sweden)
- Fundacion Circe Centro de Investigacion de recursos Y Consumos Energeticos (Spain)
- Watt & Well (France)
- Tallinna Tehnikaülikool (Estonia)
- Bachmann GmbH (Germany)
- Hiro Microdatacenters B.V. (Netherlands)
- Eaton Industries GmbH (Germany)
- Eaton Elektrotechnika SRO (Czech Republic)
- Eaton Industries (Austria) GmbH (Austria)
- Hitachi Energy Spain SAU (Spain)
- Phoenix Contact Electronics GmbH (Germany)
- Phoenix Contact Power Supplies GmbH (Germany)
- Phoenix Contact GmbH & Co. KG (Germany)
- APRAM – Administração dos Portos da Região Autónoma da Madeira, SA (Portugal)
- IST-ID Associação do Instituto Superior Técnico para a Investigação e Desenvolvimento (Portugal)
- JJ Cooling Innovation Sàrl (Switzerland)
- PCB Design Kutato ES Fejleszto Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag (Hungary)
- European Heat Pump Association (Belgium)
- Fincantieri SI SPA (Italy)
Upcoming Events
INESC-ID Distinguished Lecture: “(Programming Languages) in Agda = Programming (Languages in Agda)” by Professor Philip Wadler
On June 4, Professor Philip Wadler will give an INESC-ID Distinguished Lecture organized in the scope of the BIG ERA Chair Project, titled “(Programming Languages) in Agda = Programming (Languages in Agda)”.
Registration: here (free but mandatory)
Date: June 4, 2024
Time: 15h00-16h15
Where: Anfiteatro Abreu Faro – Complexo Interdisciplinar, Instituto Superior Técnico (Alameda)
Abstract: The most profound connection between logic and computation is a pun. The doctrine of Propositions as Types asserts that propositions correspond to types, proofs to programs, and simplification of proofs to evaluation of programs. Proof by induction is just programming by recursion. Finding a proof becomes as fun as hacking a program. Dependently-typed programming languages, such as Agda, exploit this pun. This talk introduces *Programming Language Foundations in Agda*, a textbook that doubles as an executable Agda script—and also explains the role Agda plays in IOG’s Cardano cryptocurrency.
Short Bio: Philip Wadler is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Edinburgh and a Senior Research Fellow at IOHK. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and an ACM Fellow. He is head of the steering committee for Proceedings of the ACM, past editor-in-chief of PACMPL and JFP, past chair of ACM SIGPLAN, past holder of a Royal Society-Wolfson Research Merit Fellowship, winner of the SIGPLAN Distinguished Service Award, and a winner of the POPL Most Influential Paper Award. Previously, he worked or studied at Stanford, Xerox Parc, CMU, Oxford, Chalmers, Glasgow, Bell Labs, and Avaya Labs, and visited as a guest professor in Copenhagen, Sydney, and Paris. He has an h-index of over 70 with more than 25,000 citations to his work, according to Google Scholar. He contributed to the designs of Haskell, Java, and XQuery, and is co-author of Introduction to Functional Programming (Prentice Hall, 1988), XQuery from the Experts (Addison Wesley, 2004), Generics and Collections in Java (O’Reilly, 2006), and Programming Language Foundations in Agda (2018). He has delivered invited talks in locations ranging from Aizu to Zurich.
Philip Wadler likes to introduce theory into practice, and practice into theory. An example of theory into practice: GJ, the basis for Java with generics, derives from quantifiers in second-order logic. An example of practice into theory: Featherweight Java specifies the core of Java in less than one page of rules. He is a principal designer of the Haskell programming language, contributing to its two main innovations, type classes and monads. The YouTube video of his Strange Loop talk Propositions as Types has over 100,000 views. Wadler is also area leader for programming languages at IOHK (now Input Output Global), the blockchain engineering company developing Cardano. He has contributed to work on Plutus, a Turing-complete smart contract language for Cardano written in Haskell; the UTXO ledger system, native tokens, and System F in Agda.
Educational Workshop on Responsible AI for Peace and Security (UNODA)
On June 6 and 7, The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) are offering a selected group of technical students the opportunity to join a 2-day educational workshop on Responsible AI for peace and security.
The third workshop in the series will be held in Porto Salvo, Portugal, in collaboration with GAIPS, INESC-ID, and Instituto Superior Técnico. The workshop is open to students affiliated with universities in Europe, Central and South America, the Middle East and Africa, Oceania, and Asia.
Date & Time: June 6 a 7
Where: IST – Tagus Park, Porto Salvo
Registration deadline: April 8
Summary: “As with the impacts of Artificial intelligence (AI) on people’s day-to-day lives, the impacts for international peace and security include wide-ranging and significant opportunities and challenges. AI can help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals, but its dual-use nature means that peaceful applications can also be misused for harmful purposes such as political disinformation, cyberattacks, terrorism, or military operations. Meanwhile, those researching and developing AI in the civilian sector remain too often unaware of the risks that the misuse of civilian AI technology may pose to international peace and security and unsure about the role they can play in addressing them. Against this background, UNODA and SIPRI launched, in 2023, a three-year educational initiative on Promoting Responsible Innovation in AI for Peace and Security. The initiative, which is supported by the Council of the European Union, aims to support greater engagement of the civilian AI community in mitigating the unintended consequences of civilian AI research and innovation for peace and security. As part of that initiative, SIPRI and UNODA are organising a series of capacity building workshops for STEM students (at PhD and Master levels). These workshops aim to provide the opportunity for up-and-coming AI practitioners to work together and with experts to learn about a) how peaceful AI research and innovation may generate risks for international peace and security; b) how they could help prevent or mitigate those risks through responsible research and innovation; c) how they could support the promotion of responsible AI for peace and security.”