Monitoring Underground Cables Startup Challenge

Iberdrola operates more than 400,000 Transformer Centers (TCs) in the United States, Brazil, United Kingdom, and Spain. The TCs house more than 1.5 million medium-to-low voltage distribution transformers, built and operated to provide a high quality and reliable service to a total of 31 million electricity supply points.

To meet the expectations of its communities, minimize virtual impacts, and reduce time spent to connect its customers and renewable resources, cables at both the transmission level (from 132kV and above) and distribution (66kV, 33kV, 11kV & 400V) have been commonly deployed across Iberdrola's networks.

However, the cables were commissioned over the past several decades, from different suppliers and different types to support the gradual development of their electricity networks. Most of the distribution cables did not have any condition monitoring facilities when they were constructed. Cables are often joined at different lengths, and those cable joints can be the weakest points along the whole route.

In this context, Iberdrola, through its PERSEO Startups Program, is looking for solutions that enable the early detection of incidents in underground cables (with particular attention on cable joints) through advanced and non-intrusive condition monitoring approaches.

Through this challenge, Iberdrola aims to enable proactive asset management and reduce the impact of incidents on supply and on their customers So far, the most common condition monitoring system is based on Partial Discharge (PD). Anticipating most of the correspondences might be based on PD, it might be useful to check the lessons learned by Iberdrola with this approach already:

• While PD is a proven technology, applying it to Iberdrola's cable network is a difficult task.

• The most accurate cable PD results are usually obtained using offline testing – however, this requires an outage. This is too difficult and expensive for Iberdrola to implement

• Online PD monitoring is an alternative and Iberdrola conducted BAU trials in SPM – however, the conclusions were that the distribution networks are too vast and also feature multiple, varied loads that create noise on the waveforms.

• Without the possibility of burying new optical fibers along with the existing cables, how to bring the signal from underground? 

Iberdrola is no stranger to working with startups and emerging companies - over the last two years, the Group has launched over 22 Startup Challenges to address pressing issues in today's energy networks.

Moreover, working with Iberdrola presents a unique opportunity:

Winning this Challenge will award you with signing a collaboration agreement for the development of a Proof-of-Concept (PoC). The PoC will be developed in collaboration with the technical specialists from Iberdrola Networks.

Additionally, PERSEO covers the costs of the pilot activities and provides you with the necessary technical support, giving access to infrastructures and real data to test your solution.

Finally, PERSEO may consider investing in your solution!

Your benefits include:

• Collaboration Agreement & Pilot Test: The prize for the winner consists of a collaboration and test agreement with PERSEO or any other Iberdrola group company. The group will support the cost of the pilot activities.

• Access-all-Areas: Iberdrola will provide the winner with all necessary technical support, as well as a site and real data to test the solution. This includes access to equipment, teams, infrastructure, high technology sites, and shared work areas.

• Scale Your Technology: If the pilot test is satisfactory, Iberdrola may offer the winner the opportunity to scale up the solution by adapting it through commercial agreements.

• Investment: What's more, PERSEO will consider investing in the participating company and/or the winner of the challenge.

Your solution will also be included directly in the Global Smart Grids Innovation Hubs registration process, as a collaborator and able to benefit from the services, activities, and resources that the GSGI Hub makes available.

The winner of the challenge will sign a partnership contract with Iberdrola and/or PERSEO and will be able to test their solution in a real environment.

For the collaboration of the pilot project, Iberdrola will:

• Assume the costs of the collaboration and the proof of concept
• Provide the necessary technical support to test the solution proposed
• Give access to equipment, appliances, infrastructure, high technology sites, and joint work areas
• Provide a real environment and real data to test the solution

The project will be developed in collaboration with technical specialists from Iberdrola Networks.

You are welcome to submit more than one proposal, just make sure to submit a separate application form for each proposal.

UPDATE: The deadline for this challenge has been extended till the 31st of August 2023.

The application period for this challenge ends on 28th July 2023.

While evaluating your proposals, Iberdrola will consider the following value propositions, among others:

• The maturity, reliability, and scalability of the solution, including hardware (sensors), and software/algorithm for both equipment management and data processing to generate warnings.
• Simplicity of installation (Plug&Play), maintenance, and autonomy (low consumption/self-powered).
• Integration with current monitoring systems.
• The total cost, both initial and recurrent.
• Application in other energy assets such as substations and overhead lines.