With the increased use of energy from renewable sources, electricity will be generated in a distributed way and the current power grid will transform to a Smart Grid. This creates new demands on the supply networks and the ICT infrastructure.

In VirtueGrid, a new project at the research center, Armin Veichtlbauer, Oliver Langthaler and Ulrich Pache examine how far the ICT infrastructure can support current and future requirements through virtualization.

“The focus of VirtueGrid is the question how we can create a reliable, efficient and secure infrastructure that best fulfills all technical and legal aspects. Subsequent adaptations in the Smart Grid should be possible flexibly via software configuration,” explains project manager Armin Veichtlbauer.

Therefore, in the VirtueGrid project, different scenarios are defined and solution concepts are developed using network virtualization techniques. The concepts are evaluated together with the project partners in three stages with simulations, laboratory tests, and field tests.