Climate neutrality requires the cost-effective and reliable integration of large amounts of renewable energy sources in the power system, leading to the need of wheeling large amounts of power over long distances. HVDC and DC technologies are the most suitable choice to flexibly integrate remote energy sources in a reliable and cost-effective manner. To boost the development of DC technologies, the SET Plan Implementation Working Group on HVDC and DC technologies (DC IWG) has been established, with the goal of delineating a roadmap for the growth and deployment of HVDC and DC technologies over the coming years, through identifying the research and innovation priorities and enhancing the cooperation, collaboration, and coordination between the SET Plan countries. The current organisational support to the DC IWG is based on voluntary work from the members. DC4EU coordination and support action is designed to facilitate the work of the DC IWG and achieve its outcomes and to ensure the information exchange with the SET Plan. To accomplish this, DC4EU will provide organizational and administrative support to the DC IWG, as well as coordinate and communicate with relevant parties, stakeholders, and initiatives. Moreover, DC4EU aims to disseminate and exploit the outcomes of the DC IWG for wider adoption of the IWG outcomes. Additionally, the project seeks to initiate societal engagement to raise the awareness about the significance of DC technologies. By doing so, DC4EU will results in: (1) updating the implementation plan for HVDC and DC technologies to meet the future requirements/needs, (2) enhancing coordination between DC IWG members and between the DC IWG and the SET Plan office, (3) learning from first movers, which refers to the ability of gaining insights and knowledge from early adopters of DC technologies, (4) coordinating national and European research activities, and (5) communicating research and innovation needs of DC technologies to a wide audience.

Driven by the continued effort to combat the climate change and achieve carbon neutrality, the composition of the energy sources and consumers connected to the electrical grid is rapidly changing. An increasing amount of issues are being experienced by distribution system operators while trying to accommodate new systems like renewable energy sources or electric vehicles charging infrastructure. One of the possible solutions is to develop a DC distribution infrastructure, which is especially interesting as most of the new connections mentioned above are native DC sources and loads, respectively. This requires low cost, very efficient and compact DC/DC converters from LV (10kV). However, currently no commercial solutions exist on the market. The aim of this project is to develop and demonstrate a commercial DC/DC converter prototype which can be introduced to the market within short timescale (<3 years) after completion of the project. To achieve such an ambitious target, the project team has decided to focus on the development of ultra- high voltage (UHV) SiC based switching devices which would allow for a remarkable simplification of the converter topology as well as a very compact design when coupled with high frequency operation. For this purpose, the project aims at the design, fabrication and testing of 15 kV SiC IGBTs modules. The choice of the device technology is based on previous studies, which point towards a break-even voltage between SiC MOSFET and SiC IGBT just above 10 kV. Highly relevant, both cost and environmental impact reduction of the fabrication processes will be targeted, using novel approaches for material growth and semiconductor processing. At the same time, another major target of the project is to understand reliability issues affecting different converter components such as UHV switching devices, passive components, and medium frequency transformer associated with high switching frequency and high voltage environment.

ARCHIVE aims at demonstrating a breakthrough power electronics module technology for 20 kV semiconductor devices. It addresses both electrical insulation performance as well as efficient thermal management. With standard technology, these two aspects rely on the same element: the ceramic substrate which is part of the power module. This results in a trade-off between thermal performance and maximum withstand voltage before breakdown. We estimate that this trade-off becomes unacceptable somewhere between 10 and 20 kV, as thicker and thicker ceramic substrates are necessary to sustain this range of voltages, resulting in a dramatic drop in thermal performances. The technical solutions investigated in ARCHIVE are based on an advanced ceramic substrate, with specific features on the topside, specially designed to limit the reinforcement of electrical field as present in standard substrates, and an innovative cooling approach on the backside, based on a combination of a ceramic material and an insulating cooling fluid, acting together in order to ensure an appropriate electrical field distribution. This architectured ceramic substrate will be designed for 20 kV devices, as these are already available in some research labs. However, the concept can be extended to much higher voltages, because it no longer imposes a trade-off between thermal conductivity and electrical insulation. For demonstration purposes, the outcome of ARCHIVE will be a complete power module integrating this new concept. This will clearly illustrate the advantages of our solution for applications such a High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission, where it would offer dramatic simplification of the global system (moving from hundreds of power modules today to a few tens in the future). This is particularly important, as HVDC technology is expected to play a major role in future energy networks, especially regarding the integration of renewable energy production. Two companies and two academic research groups are involved in the ARCHIVE consortium: - CeramTec designs and manufactures ceramic parts - SuperGrid Institute develops HVDC technologies - Kempten University of Applied Science - Electronic Integration Laboratory is experienced in liquid cooling of power modules - Laplace Laboratory from University Toulouse III Paul Sabatier has a recognized expertise in dielectrics and high voltage insulation. Together, they form a sound consortium and will address the multi-disciplinary aspects of high voltage power module design. ARCHIVE builds on the already existing commitment of France in the development of HVDC technology, and the very strong power electronics eco-system of Germany.

Modern power systems are experiencing a deep transformation motivated by the massive deployment of renewable energy generation, the irruption of electrical mobility and the digitalization of the energy systems. In traditional power systems, power balancing is provided by conventional power plants that are capable of adjusting the power injection. However, the recent massive deployment of variable (non-dispatchable) power-electronics interfaced renewables, mainly solar photovoltaics (PV) and wind power, has brought a very important challenge and demands to rethink how the whole power system needs to be designed, operated and protected. Solar PV and wind have limited flexibility compared to other technologies which store the prime resource. The flexibility can be provided by operating these non-controllable renewables below the point of maximum power generation (with the associated loss of generation), using energy storage or with demand management. In addition to power balancing, it is also required to provide grid services and forming the grid ensuring stability. While this is traditionally provided from the generation side, this project focuses on providing these functionalities from the loads, thus developing the concept of Grid Forming (GF) Loads and allowing renewable generators to operate at the point of maximum power availability. The project objectives include the concept definition, selection of loads, development of controllers, implementation in relevant applications (electrical vehicle chargers, pump drives, railway power systems), systems studies and techno-economic and environmental studies on the impact. The project is structured in seven work packages and includes experimental validation of the concept in selected loads and overall systems studies.

Power Electronics is enabling radical transformation in the power grid and, in particular, it is opening the opportunity for a massive application of DC technology. DC technology will increase the overall flexibility and efficiency of the infrastructure. Nevertheless, this innovation comes with challenges in terms of interoperability when we consider networks with multi-vendors. The concrete case of off-shore wind farms is then the starting point for the transformation. READY4DC will create the right conditions to establish a community of experts that will discuss all the implications of the process both from a technical and a legal perspective. Thanks to the work of a set of working groups with open participation, position papers will be produced to create the proper conditions for consensus paving the way towards changes in the regulation and in the legal framework. The results of this work will impact not only the off-shore use cases but, in principle, all the application of power electronics driven grids and at every voltage level, determining a very important step towards a futuristic infrastructure in which DC will play a central role at every level.