The INESC ID Energy Dream LAB

Location & Host Organization
Led by INESC ID, the LAB is based at Instituto Superior Técnico headquarters in Lisbon, Portugal.

Primary Scope
The Energy Dream Lab is an advanced research and testing infrastructure dedicated to the integration of distributed energy resources and new energy end-uses within active power systems, combining expertise in power systems, power electronics, artificial intelligence, energy management and telecommunications.  

Designed as a system-of-systems platform, it enables realistic simulation and validation of smart grid solutions involving renewable energy sources, electric mobility, battery storage systems, AC/DC hybrid microgrids, and power electronic interfaces, while also addressing communication and interoperability challenges.  

Key Assets
The laboratory integrates simulation tools with real-world demonstrators, allowing the validation of algorithms and methodologies under realistic operating conditions.  

Value to Shift2DC
The Energy Dream LAB is being developed in parallel with the Shift2DC project to support the implementation of both the Port Demonstrator and its corresponding Digital Twin. The integration of this laboratory infrastructure enables the expansion of the Port of Funchal’s Digital Twin from a purely software-based simulation to an advanced Power Hardware-in-the-Loop (PHIL) simulation environment. 

Within the LAB, a complete high-fidelity replication of the Port’s physical demonstrator is being established, allowing researchers to validate system behavior under extreme operating conditions and evaluate ancillary service responses that cannot be safely tested during normal operations. 

Furthermore, the laboratory environment offers the flexibility to virtually scale the electrical grid by integrating additional generation capacity, energy storage systems, diverse load profiles, and multiple DC fast-charging stations. 

Real-World Impact & Collaborative Ecosystem 

• Multiproject Synergies: Beyond Shift2DC, the lab supports major national and EU initiatives – including EV4EU, AHEAD, U2Demo, PVSmile, SOLAR-MOVE, and ATE – representing a combined IST/INESC-ID research portfolio of approximately €6 million.
• National Research Network: Serves as a key node in the national laboratory network under the ATE Association, focusing on strategic energy vectors: offshore wind, solar power, green hydrogen, electric transportation, DC systems, and grid integration.
• Educational Excellence: Modernizes academic training for more than 250 students annually through hands-on experimentation, real-time simulation, and remote laboratory access, cultivating the next generation of power systems engineers. 

Value to the DC Clean Energy Transition: 

• Risk-Free Innovation: Provides a safe, controlled environment to push DC hardware and software components to their absolute operational limits before site installation.
• Port Decarbonization: Directs advanced simulation tools toward optimizing shore-to-ship DC power connections and high-power EV charging infrastructure for zero-emission maritime hubs.
• Scalable DC Architectures: Delivers validated testing models that accelerate the rollout of efficient, flexible direct-current microgrids across Europe. 

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