EXPERT INTERVIEW
Wolfgang Hribernik, Head of Competence Unit Electric Energy Systems, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology

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DI Dr. Wolfgang Hribernik, Head of Competence Unit Electric Energy Systems, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology
(Video in german: Waldhör KG)

AIT‘s SmartEST laboratory is a front-runner worldwide in researching smart grids. Will the lab make Austria a pioneer internationally in this research field?
AIT‘s SmartEST laboratory is a unique development platform for smart grid technologies and system architecture: both solutions and products developed by partners in industry and AIT inhouse developments that will reach the market later. In this way AIT assists development processes within Austrian stakeholders, thus providing a competitive advantage, while also making AIT technologies more visible internationally.

What were the highlights so far among the poineering technologies tested here?
Power storage systems and their current and future jobs in the overall energy system are the dominant issues at the moment. With the aid of Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) methods, AIT supports system operators and manufacturers in virtually all the significant demonstration projects for utility-scale battery systems. Among the technologies developed by AIT, the AIT Smart Grid Converter (ASGC) is the centrepiece of power electronics systems. 

The AIT Center for Energy collaborates with other top European laboratories in international networks. What specific goals are involved here?
For many years AIT has been an internationally active hub in smart grid research. It is a founding member of DERlab (European Distributed Energy Resources Laboratories), is active in the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) and in the technology platforms involved in implementing the SET Plan. Going beyond Europe, AIT plays an active part in Implementing Agreement ISGAN (International Smart Grid Action Network), in which we also handle the operative business. The goals of these activities are: jointly setting research proirities at the European level, using and developing research infrastructure efficiently, and also promoting the mobility of researchers into smart grids. This last concern helps to make the research location more attractive, and gives us a cutting edge as regards competition for the best people.