Ambitious ZEUS project connects hydrogen, digitalisation and smart grids for efficient and sustainable energy in Ostrava

The ZEUS project - Enhancing the resilience of energy networks in the context of decarbonisation, decentralisation and sustainable socio-economic development - focuses on research and development of technologies for energy generation, transmission and storage. The project has two main research lines. The first will focus on modelling energy systems using mathematical-physical and economic models to analyse the resilience of community energy networks and assess the effectiveness of their implementation. Furthermore, the project will look at the digitisation of hydrogen technologies. For this purpose, digital twin machine components for hydrogen transport and storage will be developed and AEM electrolyzer development will be carried out to optimise their deployment. Both research lines will use the supercomputing technologies of the IT4Innovations centre and the existing energy infrastructure in the CEETe building.

„The ZEUS project is an important step towards improving the resilience of energy networks, not only within the Czech Republic but also internationally. Thanks to our supercomputing centre, we can simulate and analyse complex scenarios in the energy sector, which will allow us to design efficient and sustainable solutions.“ Tomáš Kozubek, Scientific Director of IT4Innovations

The project brings together academic institutions, research centres and industrial partners to deliver innovative solutions for modern energy. For the research organisations, access to real data and testing of theories in practice is a key benefit. In turn, industrial partners will gain the opportunity to innovate their products and services, which will strengthen their competitiveness.

The ENET Centre brings its long experience in the field of modern energy to the project. The project will make use of the existing energy infrastructure in the Centre for Energy and Environmental Technologies - Explorer building, where an advanced system for managing electricity production and consumption is installed. This system optimizes operations not only according to the power balance, but also with respect to dynamic energy market prices.

CEETe is an unique multi-source energy platform that allows simulating the behaviour and operation of selected thermal and electrical energy sources using an advanced microgrid control system. This control system enables real-time control of the operation of electricity and thermal energy sources and consumers, including installed storage elements, and optimises operation both in terms of power balance and economics, for example in the context of dynamic spot prices of input commodities. The building houses laboratories specialising in hydrogen technology and waste management, distribution, storage and energy efficiency. The facility will thus allow the operation of different energy sources - from renewable to hydrogen technologies - to be simulated and their management optimised in real time.

„The decarbonisation and decentralisation of the energy sector brings new challenges that we must face. Developing community energy, analysing energy networks for resilience and hydrogen technologies are key areas of research that will help create a stable and efficient energy system.“ Lukáš Prokop, Director of the ENET Centre

The ZEUS project will bring new methodologies and software tools to support decision-making processes in the implementation of community energy. But it will also focus, for example, on the development of cylinders with a higher resistance to hydrogen embrittlement, allowing safer hydrogen storage.

The project is supported by more than 63 million CZK from Europien Union funds. It is part of a wider effort to modernise the energy sector in the Czech Republic. The results of the project are expected to contribute to strengthening energy security and promoting sustainable socio-economic development in the region.

The project partners are:

• VŠB – Technická univerzita Ostrava (IT4Innovations národní superpočítačové centrum, Centrum ENET)
• Ostravská univerzita
• VÍTKOVICE CYLINDERS a.s.
• ETERNAL ELECTRIC s.r.o.
• Moravskoslezský Vodíkový Klastr, z.s.
• Technická univerzita v Košiciach
• Moravskoslezské Investice a Development, a.s.
• Moravskoslezské inovační centrum Ostrava, a.s.
• Statutární město Ostrava, městský obvod Moravská Ostrava a Přívoz
• Ministerstvo pro místní rozvoj ČR

Co-financed by the European Union within the project "Increasing the resilience of energy networks in the context of decarbonisation, decentralisation and sustainable socio-economic development", project registration number: CZ.02.01.01/00/23_021/0008759, Operational Programme Jan Amos Komenský.