Renewable energy industry leader Iberdrola is back with a new start-up challenge! This time, Iberdrola is looking for an innovative way to monitor underground cables across its vast power grid.of Iberdrola Underground Cable Surveillance Startup Challenge Encourage startups and emerging companies to apply and offer attractive benefits to winners.
Iberdrola operates over 400,000 Transformer Centers (TCs) in the USA, Brazil, UK and Spain. The TC houses more than 1.5 million medium and low voltage distribution transformers, built and operated to provide high quality and reliable service to 31 million power delivery points.
Iberdrola typically deploys cables at both transmission level (132kV and above) and distribution level (66kV, 33kV, 11kV, 400V) to meet community expectations, minimize virtual impact and reproducible with customers Reduce time spent connecting resources.
Meeting the challenges of monitoring underground power cables
However, cables have been commissioned from different suppliers and different types over the past decades to support the gradual development of the power grid. Most distribution cables did not have condition monitoring equipment when they were built. Considering that cables are often spliced at different lengths, these cable splices are the weakest points along the entire route.
Iberdrola encourages and welcomes all approaches from other sectors (oil & gas, telecommunications, military, etc.). This topic is getting more and more attention from the industry and has been steadily increasing for some time now.Taking on challenges in a new environment Global Smart Grid Innovation Hub Framework. Through open collaboration and collaboration between i-DE engineers, suppliers, start-ups and various organizations around the world, Iberdrola will make the hub the benchmark for the global grid.
Looking Beyond Partial Discharge-Based Underground Cable Monitoring
Through this challenge Iberdrola aims to enable proactive asset management and reduce the impact of incidents. About supply and customers. To date, the most common condition monitoring systems are based on partial discharge (PD). Although it is expected that most communications may be based on PD, It helps to see the lessons Iberdrola has already learned with this approach:
- PD is a proven technology, but applying it to Iberdrola’s cable network is a daunting task.
- The most accurate cable PD results are typically obtained using offline testing, which requires an outage. This is too expensive for Iberdrola to implement.
- Online PD monitoring is an alternative and Iberdrola has performed BAU tests on SPMs, the conclusion being that the distribution network is too wide and also features multiple diverse loads that introduce noise into the waveform. bottom.
- Without the possibility of burying new optical fibers alongside existing cables, how would we bring the signal from underground?
In this context, Iberdrola PERSEO Startup Programis looking for a solution that allows early detection of underground cable incidents (especially at cable splices) through an advanced, non-intrusive condition monitoring approach.
Iberdrola Monitoring Underground Cable Startup Challenge: Timeline and Key Dates
The application period for this challenge is Closed on July 28, 2023 – Hurry up and apply today!
Iberdrola’s team of network business experts will be responsible for selecting innovative solutions that enable early identification of incidents at substations.
- Application evaluation: August 2023
- Announcement of winners: September 2023
- pilot project Scheduled to start in the second half of 2023
Why participate in Iberdrola’s Underground Cable Monitoring Startup Challenge?
Winners of this startup challenge will receive the following perks:
- Collaboration agreement and pilot test: Prizes for winners consist of collaboration and test contracts with PERSEO or other Iberdrola group companies. The group will help cover the costs of pilot activities.
- Accessible to all areas: Iberdrola will provide the winner with all necessary technical support, a site to test the solution and real data. This includes access to equipment, teams, infrastructure, tech sites and shared work areas.
- extend technology: If the pilot test is satisfactory, Iberdrola may offer the winner the opportunity to scale up the solution by adapting it through a commercial agreement.
- potential investment: Additionally, PERSEO will consider investing in participating companies and/or challenge winners.
Your solution will also be directly included as a collaborator in the Global Smart Grid Innovation Hub registration process to benefit from the services, activities and resources offered by the GSGI Hub.
Expand your innovative underground cable monitoring solution with Iberdrola
Iberdrola is no stranger to working with start-ups and start-ups. Over the past two years, the Group has launched over 22 innovation challenges to address pressing issues in today’s energy networks.
Iberdrola’s start-up program – PERSEO – aims to foster access to the Group’s future technologies while fostering the development of a global ecosystem of start-ups in the power sector with a focus on sustainability. Iberdrola has set aside €200 million for this purpose, through its investment portfolio in startups, the PERSEO Venture Builders unit, pilot projects, the launch of the Iberdrola Startup Challenge and the Andromeda Fund for Investment in Sustainable Technologies. are invested.
Are you ready to develop innovative monitoring solutions with the Iberdrola Monitoring Underground Cable Challenge? Click here to apply!
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