David Willetts, Minister for Universities and Science

Swindon, U.K. and Beijing, China --- (METERING.COM) --- October 3, 2012 - Researchers in the U.K. and China are joining forces to develop smart grid technologies that will revolutionize the way electricity is distributed via national power grids.

More than £8 million will be invested in the research, provided jointly by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) of the U.K. and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC).

“Science plays an increasingly important role in the transition to a low carbon economy,” said Britain’s minister for Universities and Science David Willetts. “This international collaboration will bring together leading researchers from the U.K. and China to help develop the vital underpinning technology that both our nations need for a greener future.”

The four projects being funded in the U.K. are:

• DC networks with DC/DC converters for integration of large renewable sources, led by Prof. Dragan Jovcic at the University of Aberdeen
• Developing scalable smart grid infrastructure to enable secure transmission system control, led by Dr Gareth Taylor at Brunel University
• Enhanced renewable integration through flexible transmission options, led by Prof. Timothy Green at Imperial College London
• Integrated operation and planning for smart electric distribution networks, led by Prof. Nick Jenkins at Cardiff University.

The project leads in China are Prof. Yonghua Song at Tsinghua University, Prof. Chengshan Wang at Tianjin University, Prof. Xifan Wang at Xi’an Jiao Tong University, and Professor Liangzhong Yao at China Electric Power Research Institute.
 
The projects will get underway early in 2013 and will be of up to three years in duration.

The EPSRC funding is provided through the Research Councils UK Energy Program, which is investing more than £530 million in research and skills to pioneer a low carbon future. Energy research is also a funding priority of NSFC, with an investment of about £73 million in smart grid and renewable energy projects over the past five years.