Smart Grid Simulation Centre at the Institute for Energy of the Joint Research Centre

The Institute for Energy (IE) of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) provides support to Community policies related to energy. Several challenges affect the evolving European energy networks while pursuing the objective of a fully functioning, interconnected and integrated internal energy market. A key concern for policy makers and the energy sector is the increasing risk of supply failure. Providing proper answers demands the analysis of different contingencies and scenarios, and the assessment of the vulnerability, reliability and resilience of the energy systems. The IE’s Energy Security Unit is planning to set up a Smart Grid Simulation Centre, as part of a future European Reference Centre for Energy Security, devoting special attention and resources to analyse behaviours and characteristics of the evolving electricity systems. The Smart Grid Simulation Centre will build upon simulation tools and models already developed by the Energy Security Unit and it will host several other tools and resources to thoroughly analyse and quantify features of stronger and smarter electricity systems. The research on smart grids performed by the Institute for Energy (IE) already fits, and will be even more aligned with initiatives launched by the European Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan and the Energy Infrastructure Package.