«Fisterra» Project second annuality

Norvento Enerxía, the Automotive Technology Centre of Galicia (CTAG) and the Applied Power Electronics Technology research group of the University of Vigo will work on the FISTERRA research project (Intelligent and Sustainable Factory through Advanced Power Electronics and Augmented Reality). This Galician public-private R&D collaboration project is endowed with 2,659,287.76 euros by the Galician Innovation Agency and is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) within the framework of the Galicia ERDF 2021-2027 Programme.

The Fisterra Project aims to create a power electronics converter that will drastically reduce the consumption of fossil fuels on ships during their arrival, docking and departure from ports. With this commitment to innovation, Galician work teams will provide a solution to the challenge of decarbonising maritime transport. In fact, 80% of freight transport takes place by sea and accounts for 15% of annual nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions and 13% of sulphur oxide (SOx) emissions.

The project will be divided into four phases that will be developed between 2024 and 2026, giving rise to different milestones within an iterative process. Firstly, the state of the art in multi-megawatt converters will be investigated, in order to reach a common consensus among the partners on the expected final prototype. In the second stage, a digital twin will be created and the first test converter will be designed, while in the third phase, the use cases created in the second milestone will be evaluated and the digital twin created in the second milestone will be implemented. Finally, the prototype will be validated in a controlled environment and the converters will be manufactured using smart factory techniques.

Although this advance is intended for use in maritime transport, its benefits can revert to other sectors. The energy sector will be able to achieve greater autonomy in the supply and manufacture of critical elements in the development of energy projects. In particular, in the port sector, in the production of green hydrogen and the use of the catenary network for the deployment of ultra-fast vehicle charging infrastructure.

FEATURES OF THE INNOVATIVE MULTI-MEGAWATT CONVERTER

This converter will offer features that have not been detected in the market to date, innovating in power electronics and manufacturing to transform the maritime and port sector, with an emphasis on sustainability and energy efficiency. In terms of competition, the main novelty of the new nGM series will be:

An ultra-efficient design based on a converter cooling system, which will improve the dynamic response to offer around double what is currently on the market.

Incorporation of cutting-edge algorithms for converter control and communications that will reduce response times.

Additional functionalities that will allow the following advantages in any electrical ecosystem: the integration of renewables, reactive compensation and increased reliability and stability of the network on both sides of the converter.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT OF FISTERRA

Sustainability is central to FISTERRA, through the following five objectives, of which the first two have a direct impact on maritime transport and the rest involve all electro-intensive sectors:

Decarbonisation of maritime traffic.

Reduce dependence on fossil fuels in port operations through electrification.

Minimising the environmental footprint throughout the entire life cycle of the products developed, from manufacturing to deployment and operation.

Increasing the contribution of renewable energies and alternative fuels, such as green hydrogen, in electricity production.

Developing sustainable and inclusive industrialisation thanks to the cost reduction provided by this type of multi-megawatt converters, also guaranteeing global electricity access.

The European Commission identified 319 seaports (out of more than 1,200 commercial ports in Europe) that are essential for the proper functioning of the internal market and the European economy. Assuming that only 10% of these ports are reached, FISTERRA would mean the decarbonisation of approximately 32 ports, a reduction of more than 583,000 kg of SO2 annually, equivalent to what more than 47.8 million cars would emit in one year.

FISTERRA will have a significant impact on the competitiveness of the Galician production model, integrating innovative industrial technologies, such as advanced and intelligent manufacturing in the value chains, through the use of artificial intelligence, additive manufacturing and blockchain, and the implementation of enabling technologies, such as automation, robotics, artificial vision, machine learning, deep learning or iOT.

The results of FISTERRA can be commercially exploited internationally, which reduces economic dependence on the outside. FISTERRA will also promote the creation of qualified employment in Galicia. Seven new hires are expected to be made, all of them technical research and manufacturing profiles, with preference for women with previous experience.

Over the course of these two years of research, FISTERRA will produce more precise results and estimates of the final impact that the innovative multi-megawatt converter will have on the environment, the national and international economy and society.

FISTERRA PROJECT SECOND ANNUALITY

During this second year, building on the requirements defined in the first work package and on the initial steps taken in the converter design and the research into control and communication algorithms, Norvento Tecnología has deepened its work in both areas, reaching the definition of both the converter design and its control and communication algorithms. As a result, the first version of the converter design has been completed, and the refinement and optimization phase has begun. In addition, the suitability of the algorithms developed in collaboration with UVigo has been assessed by evaluating critical control blocks and simulating different use cases, verifying their validity and identifying areas for improvement to be addressed in the next year. In parallel, Norvento Tecnología has begun defining the prototype testing plan, which will be used for validation once manufacturing is completed.

For its part, Norvento nED Factory has progressed in defining the manufacturing process, delving into the assembly stages and factory layout. Together with CTAG, it has worked on defining and implementing analysis and manufacturing methodologies. In parallel, this second year also marked the start of defining and implementing the testing environment for converter validation, including preparing the facilities where the tests will take place. Finally, manufacturing of the first non-commercial prototype of the converter has begun.

With the aim of providing scalability, traceability, flexibility and digitalisation to the converter manufacturing process, CTAG has continued research on the digital twin and the augmented reality-based system. In this regard, the process stages and workstations have been defined, updating the task sequence and the layout for the virtual model. The virtual model has been adjusted and refined until reaching the optimal design, allowing the necessary resources to be dimensioned and ensuring the plant’s capacity. The design of the augmented-reality application has also been carried out; this tool enables the generation of the successive steps of the control workflow and the updating of information from tablets used by operators as support. The application also generates a QR code corresponding to each workflow created, which links the workstation with the specific control process in each case.

UVigo has focused on the study, definition and simulation of the converter’s control and communication algorithms. Simulations have been carried out on alternating-current control for grid-forming converters (GFM), as well as on the analysis of shore-to-ship electrical grid stability supported by parallel-connected GFM converters under different impedance scenarios. Research has also covered the implementation of power-control algorithms and the evaluation of their performance by comparing different power-control methods under identical droop conditions, along with the study of matching control as an alternative methodology.

Therefore, after the second year of the FISTERRA project, the design of the first prototype has been completed and the control and communication system has been validated through simulation. Based on this, manufacturing of the first multi-megawatt converter prototype has begun, and both the testing environment and the validation plan for the coming months have started to be defined.