How Jacobs is teaming with a DC microgrids disruptor to meet surging electricity demand

“The energy transition of heat and transport from fossil fuels to electricity is creating the largest expansion of electrification seen in history,” according to Jacobs built environment systems & sustainability director Adam Selvey.

Jacobs recently began working with not-for-profit foundation Current/OS, which supports DC microgrids. Outlining the importance of DC microgrids in the energy transition, Selvey told NCE that in the UK, if each of the 22M homes had a heat pump installed, we could need an electrical grid 150-200% its current size.

Selvey indicated Current/OS was an important part of the response to the challenge of “breaking conventional thinking” to support net zero.

“It is easy to stay in the business-as-usual mode, however this will result in ever larger electrical networks and hamper net zero progress,” he said. “We need to skill the complete supply chain and raise awareness of DC and microgrids so that engineers, contractors and electricians understand how to deliver this emerging technology. This is where Current/OS can support advancement and development.”

DC microgrids and Current/OS

DC microgrids offer benefits including improved reliability, resilience, enhanced energy efficiency, integration of renewable energy sources, and the ability to operate autonomously.

Storage and retrieval of electrical energy in DC form can be more efficient than alternating current (AC) due to the absence of conversion losses between AC and DC, which would be necessary when storing AC power. DC microgrids also support the integration of renewable energy sources like solar panels because they manage the DC output from these sources efficiently.

Headquartered in Aalsmeer near Amsterdam, Current/OS Foundation is an independent, not-for-profit organisation promoting the adoption of DC microgrids. It was established in 2021 to ensure the availability and consistency of “a Current/OS set of rules that can be applied in a world where electrical demand is rising fast”.

Current/OS believes buildings can be designed with DC power distribution, along with upgrading existing infrastructure to distribute DC power. DC can be stored, while also enabling bi-directional energy exchange.

The organisation’s aim is to accelerate the adoption of DC at a local level and enable the electricity grid to respond effectively to changes in demand, ensure greater resilience and allow a smoother integration of renewable energy in electricity generation and transmission.

“Current/OS brings together major industrial players in the firm belief that DC use must be governed by well-defined standards and rules to address the challenges of the energy transition, and to respond to the surge in electricity demand expected over the coming years,” Current/OS said in a statement.

To date, the foundation has over 40 industrial partners such as Swedish automation company ABB, power management company Eaton, power supply manufacturer MeanWell, Schneider Electric, vehicle inspection specialist Dekra and electrical installation supplier Hager. It is also supported by universities and research institutions.

Jacobs’ collaboration

Selvey told NCE: “Current/OS brings together expertise from diverse backgrounds to develop standards, provide solutions and spread ideas throughout the industry. We participate to help advance standards and demystify the world of DC networks in buildings. This knowledge and expertise sharing through organisations like Current/OS is vital to helping address the challenges of climate change and deliver true net zero solutions for society and our clients.

“If society is to solve the challenges around climate response and energy transition, collaboration on a new scale, and across all sectors, is needed to rapidly develop and deploy solutions to ensure we decarbonise at an exponential rate. A key challenge is how to connect ever increasing electrical demand in a way that doesn’t require more and more capacity.”

“We’re seeing growing interest in DC power due to the introduction of ever more consumer electronics, the expansion of renewable generation and more recent battery storage technology improvements.

Jacobs is currently assisting global clients “with assessing how they transition their buildings and assets from an AC (alternating current) world to the DC future, so that they can understand how this technology impacts on their day-to-day business,” Selvey said.

“DC has the potential to deliver operational efficiency in their electrical network of between 20 to 40% and significant carbon reduction,” he said.

“We see DC electrical networks and the microgrids they connect to as a huge opportunity to decouple buildings and assets from the utility infrastructure they are served by. This removes the restrictions of slower changing infrastructure and creates rapid decarbonisation opportunities that unlock clients’ net zero ambitions.”

Current/OS’ vision

Current/OS president Yannick Neyret told NCE: “Current/OS has three main objectives. One is to build an ecosystem of manufacturers of products and integrators, installers and the different stakeholders like laboratories and universities. Direct current is a bit new; there is not a lot of product on the market, so we need this community first to build that product.

“Secondly, we lack technical specifications, so we provide a reference to all these companies, so that they can build compatible products.

“Thirdly, we need to improve the standards for DC, because the electrical standards are focused on AC and there are also gaps in the standards, so we are trying to help the standardisation bodies to complete these.”

Neyret said that this is relevant in construction because the availability of power is decreasing.

“Buildings need to be constructed, developers would like to construct the building, they have the funding for the building, but they don't have the power from the grid,” he said.

As well as buildings, microgrids could also be applicable to infrastructure such as tunnels or bridges as well as renewable energy infrastructure like solar panels, according to Neyret.

“When you have a tunnel or a road, in both cases you need street lighting and you need ventilation,” he said. “This uses a lot of energy, and you need a public grid nearby, available with the sufficient power to make this happen; you cannot make a tunnel if you don't have lighting inside.

“Additionally, more and more we will have electric vehicles on the roads. So, gas stations will need charging solutions and it’s not always easy to connect to the public grid because there is no public grid nearby. So, we need a solution at the gas station to produce locally with solar panels.”

Current/OS member Schneider Electric EU direct current project manager Ahmad Makkieh, who has been looking at the UK market, indicated power supply constraints were also impacting urban and infrastructure development.

“In the UK market we have a challenge now around the supply and demand crunch,” he said. “To solve or mitigate this challenge most of our renewable energy sources by nature is DC. We need a smarter grid to face the peaks and the valleys in consumption.”

He cited the Netherlands’ challenges in power supply, also being echoed in the UK. “A heat map of the whole of Amsterdam shows that in certain areas they don't have a good connection to build houses,” he explained. “If you need to build houses in this area, it's impossible. In the UK, the London area is now getting to a point of great constraint. There is no capacity to install EV charging for example.”

Neyret said that Current/OS is actively working with engineering consultants such as Jacobs “to grow our capabilities with a few of them that are already educated”.

“They then need to educate their colleagues in the industry,” he added.

He further explained that as a liaison member of the International Electrical Committee (IEC), Current/OS is already working on key products and solutions including an electronic circuit breaker, which would be “a key milestone” for DC microgrids.

“We expect this standard to be ready next year,” he said. “We are also working on the installation rules for an entire system, not only just one breaker, and we believe that this addition would be ready by 2026.”

Current/OS’ objective is to have an international DC microgrid “ecosystem” ready within the next 10 years, Neyret said.

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