A Power Grid on a Chip

Researchers have developed a device only 4mm thick that can manage an urban power grid a thousand times faster than currently possible. Is it really possible to manage the power grid of a whole town on single chip? The future of energy production will surely be a combination of several power sources, and Maher Kayal's team from EPFL are developing a dedicated hardware that manages the network a thousand times faster than current software running on a conventional computer. The first unit of this integrated circuit has just been developed and could be deployed on the scale of a town five years from now. Defective power lines, problems with generators, or risks of power cuts will be handled by the chip a thousand times faster than at present. This will allow their management in close to real time, and at a lower cost than existing installations. "The problem with power grids has always been that 'fatal moment' when there is a sudden power failure", emphasizes Kayal. This chip will enable the anticipation of breakdowns that could occur when the network is stretched to the limit in much greater security, efficiency and speed than software coupled with hardware not developed specifically for this purpose.