Renewable energy will need to quickly replace fossil energy if we want to avert climate disaster. Developing a robust grid that is fed with fluctuating sources such as solar a and wind is a major challenge. Additionally, making everything that can be attached to the grid smart enhances the complexity of the integration. It is hard to say what will happen when we electrify our entire society. The ESP lab is a unique facility at the TU Delft campus where all sorts of electrical energy technologies can be researched, developed and demonstrated - from nano scale materials in a photovoltaic cell to large mega-volt impulse generators. There is even a super computer and a control room that can be used for running grid simulations. At the lab different applications or real devices can be added to the (simulated) grid in order to investigate their impact to the grid or to train human operators on future scenarios. These simulations help to make the grid more resilient, efficient, flexible, safe, and reliable.

With so many different electrical engineering disciplines gathered in one location the next step is to work on integrating these new technologies, principles, methods, and components to the electricity grid – to make it future proof.