Recording of Wednesday, May 07, 2025 | The smarter E Europe | Exhibition Program | Language: English | Duration: 14:36 .

DC Microgrids and Battery Storage Set to Transform Energy Transition, According to ABB's Paolo Catapane

Paolo Catapane, a global product manager at ABB Electrification, explores the transformative role of DC Microgrids in modernizing grids and integrating distributed energy resources (DERs). As electrification advances with new loads like heat pumps and EV chargers primarily impacting low voltage sides of grids, traditional centralized generation models are shifting towards local contributions. This shift can cause congestion issues that DC Microgrids could alleviate by managing both loads and local generations as unified entities—enhancing user benefits while stabilizing the grid during challenges such as those experienced recently in Spain. Catapane emphasizes direct current's (DC) efficiency over alternating current (AC), citing reduced conversion losses and material usage advantages despite AC’s historical dominance due to transformer development. Modern power electronics now make DC more feasible; however, standardization gaps persist which industry alliances aim to address through interoperability advancements. He introduces ABB's solid-state circuit breaker for rapid fault response—a key component enabling efficient DC system adoption—and discusses battery energy storage systems' critical role owing to their native compatibility with DC setups for storing renewable energy efficiently. The conversation also considers charging stations within households using microgrid configurations to enhance electric vehicle charging efficiency directly from renewables without unnecessary conversions from AC.

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Speaker

Paolo Catapane
Global Product Manager
ABB

Talk of session: Intelligent Distribution Grids for Tomorrow's Demands

Discover how next-gen distribution grid technologies are addressing the challenges of renewable integration and dynamic energy demands. This session offers insights into the latest developments in AI-driven data analytics and the transformative role of IoT in grid management. Explore how innovative digital solutions are used for efficient grid planning, expansion and modernization and provide more insights into the grid. Prepare for the future and learn how advanced grid automation is facilitating the seamless integration of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) while enhancing grid stability, efficiency, and resilience.

Further Talks of this session:

Welcome

Speaker

Dr. Thomas Hillig
CEO
THEnergy

To Talk

Building Resilient Energy Hubs: Digital and Automation Solutions in Distribution Grids

Speaker

Pascal Häfeli
Senior Technical Consulant
Hitachi Energy Germany AG

To Talk

AI driven Asset Performance and Lifecycle Management in Renewables

Speaker

David Gomez
Maximo Renewables SME
IBM

To Talk

How to Use AI Driven Data to Balance the Grid and Engage the Customers to Achieve this

Speaker

Bastian Gierull
CEO
Octopus Energy Germany GmbH

To Talk

Next Generation of Grid Management - Roadmap to Integrate Flexumers

Speaker

Ben Gemsjäger
Director Business Development Europe
Siemens AG

To Talk

Closing

To Talk