New lab replicates electricity grid: DER Lab launch

Andrew Barr, Chief Minister for the ACT, will officially open a new facility at ANU, heralding in a new age in the energy transition.

Australia is undertaking an energy transition of a scale and complexity never before witnessed in our history. Record numbers of rooftop solar PV, residential battery storage and other new energy technologies (collectively referred to as Distributed Energy Resources) are supplying energy to the electricity grid, bringing new challenges and opportunities.

The Distributed Energy Resources Laboratory (DER Lab) is a state-of-the-art facility that mirrors the electricity grid. The lab will provide a failsafe environment in which to rapidly, efficiently, and securely develop and test technologies and systems before deploying them into the live grid.

What: Distributed Energy Resources Laboratory launch

When: 12 - 1 pm, Tuesday 13 July 2021 (refreshments, sponsored by ITP Renewables, available from 11.30am)

Where: Online and in-person, Cinema Theatre, Kambri, Australian National University

The DER Lab launch will take place in- person at Kambri, ANU and online, via live streaming. Both attendance options require registration. Please ensure you are registering for the correct attendance option (in-person or online) when booking your ticket.

Program of events

• Welcome by Professor Lachlan Blackhall, Entrepreneurial Fellow and Head, Battery Storage and Grid Integration Program, ANU.
• Official opening of the DER Lab by Andrew Barr, Chief Minister, Australian Capital Territory.
• Remarks by Professor Brian Schmidt, Vice-Chancellor, ANU.
• The Industry perspective by Simon Franklin, Managing Director, ITP Renewables.
• The DER Lab - capabilities and possibilities, Dr Bjorn Sturmberg, Research Leader, Battery Storage and Grid Integration Program discusses the DER Lab.
• Panel discussion and audience Q&A.

The DER Lab will include an electrically equivalent distribution network, transformers, batteries, solar generation as well as high speed, monitoring, control and optimisation capabilities. The DER Lab represents an important national facility for collaborative development and testing of new capabilities to support the operation of 21st century electricity systems.

The lab will open to industry and researchers in July 2021.

The DER Lab has been made possible by the investment of $1.5 million from the ACT Government's Priority Investment Program. Partners include ITP Renewables, evoenergy and UNSW Canberra.