Metrological infrastructure for traceable electrical insulation testing for a reliable electricity grid

Transitioning to renewable energy is essential to achieve Europe’s Green Deal aim of being the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. However, the connection of ‘green’ sources of electricity such as solar and wind power along with the use of new technologies, including electric vehicles and LED lighting, are putting a greater and greater stress on the electrical grid. This is reducing the lifetime of the instrumentation and insulation materials found in all grid equipment. Puncture tests to assess the degradation of insulation material and impulse tests which assess the ability of instrumentation to withstand sudden rises in voltages are no longer applicable and improved, traceable tests are urgently required.

Building on the work of the EMPIR project ElPow this project will develop new puncture tests for insulation materials including an improvement on the peak voltage measurements which will be validated by an international intercomparison. New reference standards and traceable methods to characterise current sensors used in high-energy impulse tests will also be generated, delivering services for these alongside ones for puncture testing and produce two good practice guides to disseminate these results. This will lead to a more stable electricity grid capable of providing clean, reliable energy in line with European objectives. It will also benefit European instrument manufacturers, testing laboratories, and transmission and distribution system operators by providing them with advanced measurement systems and new measurement techniques for unambiguously determining the quality of their products.