SBIR Phase II: Decentralized Control and Optimization Platform for Advanced Microgrids

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to accelerate the widespread adoption of clean distributed energy resources (DERs) by developing and commercializing a decentralized control and optimization platform capable of aggregating and managing millions of independent energy assets connected across the U.S. electric grid. The resulting end-to-end solution will enable private and public project developers, as well as utilities to quickly commission and cost effectively operate DER systems composed of solar arrays, batteries, generators, fuel cells and many other kinds of energy assets in residential, commercial, and industrial sites with complete confidence on the reliability, seamless grid integration, and economic performance of the systems. By making it that much easier and cheaper to own, integrate, and operate clean energy equipment, the resulting solution will transform the energy industry from the ground up, using DERs as the pillars of a new clean, resilient, and equitable grid. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will drastically simplify the way distributed energy resources (DER) systems are commissioned, aggregated, and operated. Such deployments are complex due to an endemic lack of standardization, the sheer number of key variables to control and optimize, and the lack of modularity in conventional approaches. Properly coordinating them as they continue to rapidly increase in number on the grid requires a decentralized approach that puts the decision-making at the DER level. The project consists of two stages: (1) A development phase, where the algorithms will be integrated into a best-in-class solution, which will include all the necessary end-user facing tools, cloud infrastructure, and edge devices to enable full automation of deployments and satisfy technical requirements of customers in the mainstream market; and (2) a demonstration phase, where the resulting solution will be used at two different sites and benchmarked against critical use cases to validate its benefits and leverage the results to scale up market penetration. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.