Substation Control Room Automation Startup Challenge

Iberdrola operates more than 4,400 Substations (ST) in the United States, Brazil, the UK, and Spain. These are high-power installations that form the backbone of a network that provides high-quality and reliable service to a total of 31 million electricity supply points.

Substations have buildings or control rooms that contain electronic and other equipment, such as batteries, that are part of the control, protection, and telecommunications systems. This equipment is sensitive to environmental conditions and some, in the event of a failure, could cause gas emissions, excessive heat, and more.

The STs have elements that guarantee the correct ergonomics or safety of the same: lighting, heaters, air conditioners, security cameras, sensors, extractors, and more. However, these elements are not always optimally controlled, either based on sensors or automation.

Learn more about Electrical Substations and how it works in Iberdrola's networks: https://www.iberdrola.com/conocenos/nuestra-actividad/smart-grids/subestaciones-electricas

Iberdrola, through its PERSEO Startup Programme, is looking for an automation system that improves and guarantees the control of ergonomic and safety elements of the rooms and spaces with control elements of the substations, through the adoption of devices/protocols that also provide information to the SmartPoint platform and allow remote action.

Both at an industrial and domestic level, the use of home automation equipment is common. It is not uncommon for companies or individuals to have remote access, often even through mobile applications, to sensors that indicate the temperature of the rooms, turn lights on/off, etc. Platforms or rather ecosystems such as those of Apple, Amazon and/or Google help, in the domestic sphere, in many cases, in addition to the sensors themselves and the management platform, a device that acts as an assistant: Apple Homepod, Amazon Alexa, Google Nest.

Specifically, the challenge seeks to replicate market solutions in terms of their simplicity (plug & play) and reduced cost, since the requirements at the sensor or information level do not differ too much from those of domestic ones.

However, the requirements for robustness of control devices and sensors, in terms of safety, durability and reliability, are more lax in the case of electronics in the domestic environment than in demanding environments, for example, in terms of the robustness of the equipment, in particular in terms of electromagnetic compatibility. It also seeks the reliability required in critical facilities, including cyber-secure behavior and integration with i-DE systems, in particular with "SmartPoint".

The minimum functional requirements are as follows:

• Intelligent climate control, adapted to the needs of substation control equipment in terms of temperature
• Interior and exterior lighting control
• Alarm generation by local sensor processing, including:
• gases
• Climate control failures
• Flooding/water damage
• Intrusion by people or animals

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.

The application period for this challenge ends on 21 January 2024.

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.

For the automation system specifically, the following aspects will also be analyzed:

• Sensor Selection
• Manager/gateway that acts as a signal aggregator, compute at the edge
• Cloud Communication (AWS) to notify alarms
• Ability to attend virtually and make calls
• Remote, local voice, automated
• Electromagnetic compatibility at the substation level
• Cybersecurity: information encryption
• Device Fleet Management (OTA)