Yokogawa has joined Friends of the Supergrid (FOSG), a group of companies and organisations with a mutual interest in promoting and influencing policy and establishing a regulatory framework that will enable the large-scale interconnection of renewable energy systems in Europe. A supergrid is a large-scale electricity transmission system that utilises a high-voltage DC (HVDC) infrastructure to link renewable energy sources in remote locations with cities and other centres of consumption.
Its implementation will involve the creation of “supernodes” to collect and integrate renewable energy, and route it to the best available markets.
FOSG comprises transmission system operators; power utilities; manufacturers of cables, turbines, and transmission and distribution systems; and project design and development organisations. FOSG has identified seven innovation trajectories which are required to deliver the supergrids in Europe. These call for the development of bigger wind turbines, HVDC transmission cables, supernodes, next-generation civil engineering, bigger construction vessels, bigger ports, and better information & communication technology (ICT). It is within the last category of ICT development that Yokogawa will contribute its expertise, in areas including high-speed wireless communications, embedded systems engineering, wind-turbine control systems, and remote operations management.
Harry Hauptmeijer, President of Yokogawa Europe B.V., comments as follows on Yokogawa joining the FOSG: “As a global leader in automation, control and information systems, Yokogawa is looking forward to working collaboratively with the Friends of the Supergrid. Yokogawa will provide expertise in the areas of remote plant operations and asset management for distributed renewable power generation, which will ensure the future of European energy supply through the HVDC Supergrid. The delivery of the Supergrid will require organisations to engage in collaborative R&D to implement innovative solutions that address future renewable energy technological requirements. Being a Friend of the Supergrid will enable Yokogawa to bring its core values of innovation, quality, and foresight to the organisation which will contribute to a sustainable future for the European energy market.”
Also commenting on this development was FOSG’s CEO Ana Aguado: “With its 97-year experience and its position of leading manufacturer in the fields of measurement, control, and information, Yokogawa will bring a unique technical expertise and knowhow to the FOSG: in particular, in relation to automation and control and ITC development. We are proud to count on a company whose cutting edge research & development department has secured more than 7,000 patents and registrations. Having a Japanese-owned company as a member shows the worldwide concept of our project.”