EDISON

The EDISON research consortium www.edison-net.dk, of which IBM is a member, is a Denmark-based collaborative aimed at developing an intelligent infrastructure that will make possible the large scale adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) powered  by sustainable energy.

More specifically, researchers from IBM and the Danish Technical University will develop novel software that will synchronize the charging of the electric vehicles with the availability of wind in the grid and provide stability reserves back to the grid. The key issue is how to maintain security of supply in an electric grid that incorporates a high percentage of green, but f luctuating wind energy and also has a significant number of mobile EVs, which represent both a challenge and huge storage/regulation potential.

To this end, active symbiotic integration is investigated by EDISON to the benefit of consumers, business, government, and most importantly, mother nature. The electrical power grid of most  industrialized countries is fundamentally built on historical centralized production of power. To modernize these grids, IBM is helping utilities add a layer of digital intelligence. These smarter grids will use sensors, meters, digital controls and analytic tools to automate, monitor and control the two-way flow of energy across operations – from power plant to plug.