Australia’s largest transmission provider Transgrid has put a call out to local innovators to help manage electricity demand, offering up part of its $4.7 million innovation fund.
The NSW power grid owner is putting the funding forward for innovations like virtual power plants, grid integration tools and new ways of modifying network demand usage patterns. The program already has a digital twin project underway.
The call out this week comes after Transgrid forecast scenarios by next decade that will see demand for grid electricity hit zero as renewables surge, creating stability issues.
The company says it wants to work with more researchers, startups and energy technology leaders to explore how electricity demand can be flexibly managed to make the grid cleaner, more reliable and more cost-effective.
It has set aside some of its $4.7 million innovation fund as a Demand Management Innovation Allowance and is seeking expressions of interest in the following areas:
- Research into modifying the drivers of network demand usage patterns
- Flexible load technologies that intelligently manage energy consumption
- Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) to integrate and optimise distributed energy resources
- New control and grid integration tools to better manage electricity flows and enhance system reliability
“These solutions have great potential to improve network reliability, lower cost, and directly benefit consumers,” Transgrid general manager of system resilience Robbie Aherne said.
Proposals need to be at a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 2-6 (proof of concept through prototype testing) and show potential to reduce long-term network costs, including wholesale market impacts.
Last month, Transgrid forecast that demand for electricity from the grid will hit zero on some days by early next decade, amid a surge in home solar and utility scale renewables.
It means more investment will be needed to stabilise the energy system, which the innovation push could help with.
Transgrid is already part of a project with AgenticGrid.ai, , RACE for 2030 and Monash University on AI-driven platform for demand management.
“This project will create an intelligent twin of a segment of the electricity grid to simulate scenarios such as weather events, renewable energy integration, and customer energy resource adoption,” AgenticGrid.ai managing director Jason Clark said.
Do you know more? Contact James Riley via Email.