Ayesa drives the development of smart grids with Edge Computing technology

The ‘Eider’ project will facilitate the integration of energy prosumers—users who both produce and consume electricity—by providing real-time insights into grid activity.

Ayesa, a global provider of technology and engineering services, is taking part in the Eider project, which focuses on researching technologies to digitalize Medium and Low Voltage electrical grids. This initiative aims to enhance system visibility and control, enable the integration of prosumers, and ensure efficient data management.

Launched in 2024 and running through 2026, the project is part of the Basque Government’s Hazitek 2024 program and is positioning the Basque Country at the forefront of smart grid development in Europe. Digitalization is a key pillar of the EU’s Electricity Grids Action Plan, which includes €170 billion in investments to facilitate renewable integration, provide real-time information to prosumers, enable demand-side flexibility, among other objectives.

Eider is led by a consortium of companies, with Ayesa contributing its expertise in Cloud infrastructures, DevSecOPS methodologies, managed services, help desk operations, artificial intelligence, and—particularly in this project—cybersecurity. Other participating Basque companies include Ormazabal (Velatia Group), Zigor, and Singular Avenue (SAVE). The project is coordinated by Aclara (Hubbell Group).

The consortium aims to develop products and systems that enable the deployment of functionalities through Edge Computing architectures at Medium and Low Voltage grid nodes. Key objectives of the initiative include:

• Establishing automated mechanisms for data management and transmission among edge-based microservices, in compliance with data governance and sovereignty principles.
• Designing Cloud and Edge Computing-based architectures to enable the deployment of virtualized software functionalities in substations and power lines.
• Applying machine learning technologies to develop advanced monitoring and control capabilities for electrical systems.
• Incorporating cybersecurity solutions to protect virtualized components deployed at the Edge.
• Conducting proof-of-concept trials through cyber-physical systems in controlled laboratory environments.

To achieve these goals, the project addresses various technological challenges, including the development of data management technologies to automate the deployment of intelligence at the Edge or grid nodes; integration of algorithms to enable new virtualized functionalities; research into technologies supporting Cloud-Edge architectures; and the creation of use cases to validate these functionalities.

Defined use cases cover areas such as virtualized sensor networks for power lines, dynamic voltage control in substations, voltage support from photovoltaic installations, grid data analysis using prosumer smart meters, and analytics for prosumer energy management.

The Eider project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and supported by five scientific and technological agents from the Basque Science, Technology and Innovation Network (RVCTI), including the Ibermática Institute of Innovation (I3B), Ayesa’s R&D unit.

For Ayesa, participating in this research initiative reinforces its commitment to technological innovation and sustainable development in the energy sector.