Aeven and Schneider Electric collaborate

Schneider Electric has delivered a stabilization project to support the Danish power grid, in collaboration with Aeven, a provider of adaptive digital and data center solutions.

Recently separated from NNIT, Aeven has three decades of experience within the digital infrastructure industry. As an independent company, Aeven is headquartered in Denmark with a presence in the Phillipines and the Czech Republic, providing robust and secure digital and data centre services for customers across the public sector, AI and life sciences, and regulated markets such as finance.

Stabilizing the Danish Power Grid

Having achieved decades of stability in the Nordics, the green transition from fossil-fueled power to dependence on renewables, combined with a challenging macroeconomic environment, has meant Danish grid authorities have struggled to stabilize grid supplies. Due to the topography of Denmark, parts of the country’s grid are today struggling with a significant increase in peak demand, resulting in authorities turning to large-scale energy consumers to provide short and long-term relief. In response to the request, Energinet, the Danish TSO (Transmission System Operator) developed a Fast Frequency Reserve (FFR) pool, whereby data centers and other energy-intensive industries could support the grid with frequency stabilization services. By working with Schneider Electric’s research and development team in Kolding and its Services counterparts in Paris, Aeven built a customized Galaxy VX uninterruptible Power supply (UPS) solution to deliver FFR and stabilize the local energy grid.

A first of its kind for Denmark

In 2022, technical experts at Aeven committed one megawatt (MW) of capacity from one of its Danish data centers to support this critical project. Having first purchased Schneider Electric’s Galaxy VX UPS’ in 2017, Aeven utilized its patented eConversion technology and EcoStruxure Microgrid Advisor software to create a dedicated FFR solution, which would help stabilize the grid during peak demand.

From inception, the project took twelve months to test, validate and commission, and has significantly increased the operational efficiency of Aeven’s existing pool of Galaxy VX UPS’s. For example, by utilizing the company’s eConversion operating mode, which offers up-to 99% efficiency without compromising availability, Aeven has reduced energy waste in the UPS by 68% per year, without sacrificing the data center’s stability. Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure Microgrid Advisor, a cloud-based demand-side software platform, enables companies to dynamically control and automate on-site energy resources – using predictive algorithms to seamlessly connect to decentralized energy as and when required.

Sustainable innovation

Looking forward, Aeven is planning to expand the scope to include multi-MW power capabilities from more of its data centers – demonstrating the significant value that the industry can play in generating renewable energy and in building a more sustainable and resilient future. Aeven’s FFR solution recently won ‘Sustainable data center project’ at the Danish Data Center Industry Awards for it’s focus on building a climate-positive future, and its use of technological innovation to help solve one of Denmark’s biggest challenges. It has also been nominated for a Danish Chamber of Commerce Annual Award, which acknowlegdes digital action to the benefit of wider society.

“Innovation is a critical part of Aeven’s ethos, but to innovate successfully, we must collaborate with like-minded partners, where there’s a mutual understanding of each other’s businesses,” said Peter Kristian Soegaard, Data Centre Manager for Aeven. “Schneider Electric understands the need for sustainability and resiliency to go hand-in-hand. This project has enabled us to work together to create a national first, using innovation to help stabilize the grid and make a positive difference to the environment.”

“As a business, our mission is to be our customers partner for sustainability and efficiency, and through a relentless pursuit of sustainable innovation, Aeven and Schneider have achieved something ground-breaking for the Danish industry,” said Marc Garner, SVP, Secure Power Division, Schneider Electric, Europe. “By listening to the needs of the local energy suppliers, and closely collaborating with Aeven, we’ve helped create a solution which, if adopted at-scale, can benefit communities not only in Denmark, but globally.”