The Smart Energy System Control Laboratory combines theory with practice. Many questions relating to the energy transition can only be answered with extensive simulations and complex models of energy grids, feeders, storage systems and consumers. Precise models of the system components are an important prerequisite for this. The physical presence of the systems in SESCL creates a constant reference to reality and thus facilitates the implementation of the research results in real grid environments. Because the experimental field is electrically isolated from the public grid, control strategies can also be permitted and investigated in borderline areas. In addition, operating points can be controlled that approach the stability limits. Such experiments would not be permitted in the public grid.

The energy transition cannot be planned on computers alone, nor can all new ideas be tested on the public grid straight away. Experimental facilities are needed to investigate innovations in practice. SESCL was set up with funding from the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts(MWK). Representatives of the most important machines and devices in electricity grids and heat supply systems are installed in SESCL. Because electricity will be of great importance in the heating market and for mobility in the future, heat pumps and charging stations, for example, have been purchased and implemented.

Of course, only a limited number of components can be physically connected to a grid in a laboratory environment. This is why adjacent power grids are simulated using Power Hardware in the Loop (PHIL) systems. Behind this are fast computers and electronics that can realize a calculated power consumption or a power feed-in. Within SESCL, the busbar matrix is the central element for intelligently linking energy technology components such as power generators, consumers, storage units, lines and other grid resources. The busbar matrix allows new experiments to be connected and configured very quickly. The switchgear required for this fills 27 control cabinets.