TECH

Nvidia Partners to Build Digital Network in the US

Utilidata, a provider of digital power grid monitoring solutions, announced that it will partner with NVIDIA to develop a software-defined chip(figure on the side) that, along with the NVIDIA Jetson platform, will form the backbone of Smart Grid solutions. First, the chip will be used in “smart” electricity metering devices and then introduced into other network components – transformers, substations and power lines.

The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) plans to test the development to assess the scalability and commercialization of real-time optimal energy flow (RT-OPF) technology

The penetration of renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar farms, into the grid creates problems for the stable operation of the grids, as the capacity of these sources is not constant, while operators must respond quickly to any changes in the grid. The RT-OPF is designed to provide highly localized load management, which is difficult with standard equipment running on the edge, which is much more volatile than the rest of the system.

Smart Grid equipment must be optimized for this specificity. The use of the Utilidata chip in meters will allow monitoring the variation of voltage and network load with very high resolution. And the integrated Nvidia Jetson Xavier NX module will enable local processing of incoming data using machine learning and real-time physical calculations – this is necessary to detect dangerous anomalies, optimize power flows, balance loads and avoid outages.

Utilidata expects to present a prototype chip in the first quarter of 2022, with the first real tests scheduled for the end of 2022. The new software-defined platform is expected to simplify the path to decrabonization for network operators and “reduce the redundancy in existing solutions and systems”. The chips will be able to work with meters already installed, and the company hopes that in the future they will be in demand in other peripherals such as smart inverters, electric vehicles and charging stations. 

Image: Utilidata