EASY-RES · Project

Making Renewable Energy Sources Stabilize the Grid Like Traditional Power Plants

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Imagine your power grid is like a highway — traditional power plants are the heavy trucks that keep traffic flowing steadily, while solar panels and wind turbines are like motorcycles that zip in and out unpredictably. When too many trucks get replaced by motorcycles, the whole highway gets jittery. EASY-RES figured out how to make those motorcycles behave more like trucks — giving renewable energy sources smart control software so they can keep voltage and frequency stable, just like the old coal and gas plants did. They even built working converter prototypes and designed new business models so grid operators can actually buy these services from renewable producers.

By the numbers

consortium partners developing grid-stabilizing renewable controls

European countries represented in the consortium

industrial partners with direct market access

total project deliverables produced

42%

industry participation ratio in the consortium

The business problem

What needed solving

As countries push toward 100% renewable energy, grid operators face a growing crisis: solar and wind sources don't naturally provide the stability services (frequency control, voltage regulation, fault handling) that traditional power plants deliver automatically. Without these services, grids become unstable, blackout risks increase, and operators must spend heavily on backup spinning reserves or massive battery banks. The energy industry needs a way to make renewables themselves provide these critical grid services — without building expensive centralized infrastructure.

The solution

What was built

The project built converter prototypes with new control algorithms that let renewable energy sources mimic the stabilizing behavior of traditional synchronous generators (documented in D6.1). Across 57 deliverables, the team also produced ICT coordination infrastructure designs, cost-benefit analyses, viable business models for ancillary service markets, and proposed grid code modifications.

Audience

Who needs this

Transmission system operators (TSOs) managing grids with rising renewable penetrationDistribution system operators (DSOs) dealing with local voltage and frequency issuesWind and solar farm operators seeking ancillary service revenue streamsPower electronics and inverter manufacturers building next-generation productsEnergy storage integrators designing hybrid renewable-plus-storage systems

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Power Grid Operations

enterprise

Target: Transmission and distribution system operators (TSOs/DSOs)

If you are a grid operator dealing with frequency deviations and voltage instability as renewable penetration grows — this project developed control algorithms and converter prototypes that let distributed renewables provide ancillary services like inertia, reactive power, and fault ride-through. The 12-partner consortium across 6 countries tested these across different grid conditions, with viable business models designed specifically for TSO/DSO procurement.

Renewable Energy Development

any

Target: Wind and solar farm operators and independent power producers

If you are a renewable energy producer looking for new revenue streams beyond selling kilowatt-hours — this project created a way for your converter-interfaced generation assets to sell grid stabilization services (ancillary services) to system operators. The bottom-up approach means even smaller producers and prosumers can participate, and the project delivered concrete business models for these new market arrangements.

Power Electronics & Energy Storage

mid-size

Target: Manufacturers of inverters, converters, and battery storage systems

If you are a power electronics manufacturer needing to differentiate your products — this project developed and prototyped new converter control algorithms that add grid-forming capability, inertia emulation, and fault-clearing to standard renewable energy converters. With 57 deliverables including implemented converter prototypes, the technical specifications are well-documented for product integration.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to implement these grid-stabilizing controls in our renewable installations?

The project did not publish specific per-unit implementation costs. However, the approach is software-based — new control algorithms running on existing or upgraded power converters — which typically means lower capital expenditure than hardware-heavy alternatives like spinning reserves or centralized storage. The project developed cost-benefit evaluations and viable business models to help quantify the economics.

Can this scale to a national or regional grid, not just a lab demo?

The EASY-RES approach was specifically designed for scalability through a bottom-up architecture: the distribution network is segmented into Individual Control Areas where renewables and storage are coordinated via ICT infrastructure. This means services aggregate from prosumer level to DSOs, then from DSOs to TSOs, making it inherently scalable across voltage levels.

What is the IP situation — can we license this technology?

As a publicly funded Research and Innovation Action (RIA), the intellectual property belongs to the 12 consortium partners. Licensing arrangements would need to be negotiated with the coordinator (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) and relevant industrial partners. The consortium includes 5 industry partners across 6 countries who may already hold commercialization rights for specific components.

Does this comply with current European grid codes?

The project explicitly addressed regulatory alignment — one of its outputs includes suggested modifications to existing grid codes to enable the ancillary services developed. This means the technology was designed with current regulations in mind and the consortium has mapped the regulatory changes needed for full deployment.

How long before this can be deployed in a real grid environment?

Converter prototypes were built and documented (Deliverable D6.1), putting this past the lab stage. The project ran from 2018 to 2021 and is now closed. Moving to commercial deployment would require engineering partnerships with converter manufacturers and grid operator pilot programs, which the 5 industrial partners in the consortium are positioned to support.

How does this integrate with our existing SCADA and grid management systems?

The project designed ICT infrastructure for coordinating distributed renewables within Individual Control Areas. Based on available project data, the control algorithms operate at the converter level and communicate upward through the distribution hierarchy. Integration specifics with existing SCADA systems would need to be discussed with the consortium's technical partners.

Consortium

Who built it

The EASY-RES consortium brings together 12 partners from 6 European countries (Germany, Greece, Spain, Netherlands, Slovenia, UK), with a healthy 42% industry ratio — 5 industrial partners alongside 5 universities and 1 research organization. The project is coordinated by Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, a major Greek research institution. Having 2 SMEs in the mix suggests some agility alongside the larger players. For a business looking to adopt this technology, the multi-country spread means the solutions were tested against different grid conditions and regulatory environments, while the strong industrial participation indicates the research was grounded in real market needs rather than pure academia.

ARISTOTELIO PANEPISTIMIO THESSALONIKISCoordinator · EL
BAYERN INNOVATIV GMBHparticipant · DE
ELEKTRO GORENJSKA PODJETJE ZA DISTRIBUCIJO ELEKTRICNE ENERGIJE DDparticipant · SI
STADTWERK HASSFURT GMBHparticipant · DE
UNIVERSITY OF LANCASTERparticipant · UK
STADT LANDAU A.D. ISARparticipant · DE
UNIVERSITAT PASSAUparticipant · DE
INDEPENDENT POWER TRANSMISSION OPERATOR SAparticipant · EL
TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITEIT DELFTparticipant · NL
UNIVERSIDAD DE SEVILLAparticipant · ES

How to reach the team

The coordinator is Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece). SciTransfer can facilitate an introduction to the research team.

Order a report on this consortium See ARISTOTELIO PANEPISTIMIO THESSALONIKIS profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore how EASY-RES grid-stabilizing technology could fit your renewable energy operations? Contact SciTransfer for a detailed technology brief and facilitated introduction to the research team.

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