On September 23rd, the Shift2DC team at EDF presented at the biweekly Current/OS Partner Forum. Current/OS is an open EU foundation promoting the adoption of active Direct Current (DC) solutions and a member of the Shift2DC consortium.
This online meeting provided an opportunity to further strengthen project collaboration within the Foundation’s ecosystem. Represented by Amel Jullien, César Slongo, and Ange Leonetti, the team presented the “EDF Living Lab” to Current/OS members, including industry partners, manufacturers, and key stakeholders.
The Current/OS Partner Forum’s core mission is to promote understanding of the Current/OS Set of Rules, standardize DC frameworks, and build a robust network of manufacturers and supporters to unlock new business opportunities in DC applications.
By participating in this forum, the Shift2DC team contributed by sharing the work being developed at the lab under the project, helping bridge cutting-edge research with practical market implementation.
Highlights from the Presentation: EDF Living Lab by Shift2DC
The EDF Living Lab in Paris, Saclay, serves as a high-tech testing environment where researchers and industrial partners validate advanced electrical systems under real-world conditions.
During the forum session, the Shift2DC team presented the setup and findings of the EDF Low-Voltage Direct Current (LVDC) Living Lab facilities, designed to assess the stability, flexibility, and interoperability of DC microgrids.
Key takeaways from the presentation included:
- Motivation & Drivers: Unstandardized control systems, emerging protection devices, and complex equipment interoperability drove EDF to construct a dedicated lab environment to rigorously test DC architectures.
- Core Testing Scope: Testing focuses on system stability, droop control behaviour, Energy Management System (EMS) performance, communication compatibility, and protection schemes for both equipment and users safety.
- Infrastructure Capabilities: The lab integrates a 700V main DC bus connected to an Active Front End (AFE) converter, lower voltage stages (350V and 48V), real-time digital simulators, bidirectional battery energy storage systems simulator (BESS), solar PV simulators, EV chargers, DC heat pump, and modified DC household/office appliances.
Real-World Integration Scenarios:
- Islanding & Stability: Experiments validated grid stability when islanding the local DC grid from the main AC grid, testing droop control adjustments during step changes in solar PV generation.
- Degraded Mode & EMS Control: Tests simulated future grid code constraints (e.g., blocking energy export from the AFE), demonstrating how dynamic load adjustments – such as EV charging power variations – successfully restore grid balance during instability.
Through ongoing engagement in Current/OS initiatives and hands-on validation in living labs, Shift2DC continues committed to transitioning toward smarter, safer, and more efficient direct current infrastructures.
Learn More:
- Current/OS: https://currentos.org/
- EDF Living Lab: https://shift2dc.eu/portfolio-item/the-edf-living-lab
