LF Energy Summit Europe 2026

Grid modernization requires moving beyond proprietary "black boxes" toward open, software-defined substations. This session explores the architecture and lessons learned from building Red Hat’s vPAC (virtualized Protection, Automation, and Control) demonstrator. Aligned with the LF Energy SEAPATH reference design, we share experiences how a single-server setup can host multi-vendor vPAC solutions (by ABB and Euto Energy) in different formats (VM and containers). A key highlight is the coexistence of these critical low-latency workloads with non-critical engineering workstations, running side by side on the same box.

Finally, we share validation results from real-time Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) simulations of a medium-voltage substation with 10 bays, proving timely trip responses in our lab environment. Discover how an open, enterprise-grade platform decouples hardware cycles from software innovation to drive grid agility.

Building on the successful deployment of R#SPACE, which virtualizes substation automation functions, RTE launched the VIP’R R&D project to answer a new question :
Can a 63 kV substation be reliably protected using virtual distance protections from different vendors (ABB and Schneider Electric) running on the open source SEAPATH platform ?
In this talk, RTE and Schneider Electric will present the results of tests performed, focusing on the real time performance and deterministic behavior of the distance protection function in a virtualized SEAPATH environment.

As the upcoming release of ABB's SSC600SW approaches, this virtual protection IED for vPACs aims to achieve full compatibility with the LF Energy SEAPATH platform. This presentation details the implementation work required to enable this integration, structured around two key areas.

The first part addresses the integration of a vIED within the SEAPATH ecosystem, using the SSC600SW as a concrete example. It covers the necessary VM configuration considerations and demonstrates how to integrate it with SEAPATH's Ansible inventory and playbook infrastructure.

The second part describes the comprehensive testing methodology employed to validate the functional IT scope of the vIED, ensuring reliable operation within the SEAPATH environment.

Utilities are engaged in a massive digitalization journey. A software-defined approach brings elasticity, efficiency and evolution to installations that need to operate and evolve for decades. It also open new use cases, like AI and IoT.

This session shows how LF Energy SEAPATH combined with Dragonwing platforms delivers one common Linux foundation platform running on a diverse ARM-based portfolio, from high-performance IQ9 and IQ8 Series down to low-power platforms.

A key enabler is the mainline upstream strategy: support in the Linux kernel and surrounding projects and preliminary support is already available in the SEAPATH GitHub repository. This can improve integration cost and provides a sustainable path for timely security updates aligned with NIS2 and IEC 62443.

The talk focuses on the capabilities utilities need first: real-time determinism, bounded network latency for IEC 61850 SV/GOOSE and PTP time synchronization. Dragonwing also unlocks LTE/5G connectivity (including utility bands 450 MHz) and AI at the edge with NPU for anomaly detection to LLM-based operator assistants.

Transmission substations are expected to host more monitoring functions, but each one adds hardware, wiring, panel space, engineering effort and lifecycle cost. In EcoPhi’s 400/225 kV digital substation project with RTE, the approach is one measurement layer supporting multiple virtualized applications.

EcoPhi’s QMU 800 acts as the digital measurement layer, sampling voltage and current signals at up to 2 MHz. The setup follows IEC 61869, allowing substation signals to be digitized once and reused by software applications. EcoPhi’s CMPC 800 provides the edge platform where applications run in a virtualized environment using SEAPATH.

This enables PQ monitoring, PMU/synchrophasor functions, PD monitoring, digital fault recording and digital fault location to run as virtualized applications instead of separate devices. By decoupling measurement from applications, the system reduces hardware duplication, panel complexity, copper wiring, installation, commissioning, maintenance and lifecycle cost.

The presentation will describe the RTE architecture, IEC 61869 setup, roles of QMU 800 and CMPC 800, and lessons from preparing a transmission-grade virtualized substation.

Open Substation is an informal, community-driven initiative to provide a full open-source software stack for Digital Substations. It is currently based on a handful of initial projects including SEAPATH (hypervisor) and OpenEnergyTools (IEC61850 implementation) with the aim to grow over time via new individual contributors and organisations.

Electrical equipment vendors all have access to labs and facilities that enable them to deploy production-grade virtual protection functions in real grids. However, these typically rely on key proprietary components and as such it's difficult for the general public to engage in an open-source way: academics, startups, enthusiasts...

In this lightning talk, we'll go through the steps that first led to the creation of Open Substation, how it's filling the gaps in the stack and most importantly, how you can take part.

Find out more on https://open-substation.codeberg.page/

At the LF Energy Summit of 2024, Alliander’s OSPO team presented their internal process for preparing projects to be released as open source. One presentation highlighted the tooling and automation in place to review the codebase prior to open sourcing.

After two years of working with this setup, Alliander is improving the automation approach based on the lessons learned during this period. In this presentation, the team of Alliander will share the new insights, the planned improvements and the progress made so far:

Teams now run the pipeline themselves, rather than the OSPO. This required the policies to change to reduce the number of false-positives that would cause confusion. Ideally the automation could be run on the developer laptop and as an open source pipeline on pull-requests after becoming open source. In the meantime Repolinter is no longer maintained, raising the question for revival or replacement. License review of dependencies still requires expertise of the OSPO given the number of false-positives.

The OSPO SIG is the place to continue knowledge sharing and collaboration on this topic in the LF Energy community.

Open-source energy models are becoming increasingly important for transparent and reproducible energy planning. At the same time, many institutions still rely on proprietary software for day-to-day planning and decision-making. Closing this gap requires more than open code. Open-source tools also need the functionality, reliability, and long-term support expected by industry users.

This session presents the PyPSA-Taskforce, a joint initiative by Technische Universität Berlin, Università di Pisa, and Open Energy Transition to strengthen PyPSA as a professional open-source tool for energy system planning. The Taskforce focuses on improving areas of PyPSA that are still missing or not yet mature enough for wider industry adoption.

The project focuses on developing and integrating capabilities needed for real-world planning applications while maintaining the transparency and flexibility that make open-source tools valuable. At the same time, it aims to move beyond the limitations of proprietary software by building a tool that can evolve openly with the needs of the energy transition.

E4S (Edge for Smart Secondary Substation Systems) is a DSO-driven Alliance developing vendor-neutral Edge specifications for secondary substations.

The initiative promotes an interoperable architecture that enables DSOs to integrate interchangeable components (whether proprietary or open source ones) while providing vendors with a common framework for innovation.

This session will present the E4S architecture and explain how interoperability and even interchangeability are pursued, by decoupling applications from hardware through:

- Open-source hardware abstraction solutions
- OSAL / PSL concepts enabling standardized access to specific devices whose drivers are not available in the Linux kernel

The presentation will be delivered by the lead and co-lead of the E4S Edge Node Software Working Group.

OpenADR is a protocol to connect the grid to smart energy. Utilities send events to EMS & aggregators, who adapt scheduling for their flexible assets to improve thr local grid situation.

In this session, we bring OpenADR to an actionable implementation, fully based on open-source software (two LF Energy projects, in fact!). We present a new plugin to the Cloud EMS FlexMeasures, which enables FlexMeasures sites to receive OpenADR events (acting as an Virtual End Node or "VEN", in OpenADR terms). OpenLEADR is used to add such signals from the utility side (acting as a Virtual Top Node, or "VTN").

The use case we present in this session is that a utility sends congested time slots on a daily basis to charge point operators in its network. This use case is currently being piloted in the Netherlands with OpenADR.
We will show how utilities can enter and broadcast these congestion signals with OpenLEADR. The CPOs will take these dynamic limits into account in their optimized charge scheduling. We'll show how an existing behind-the-meter orchestration is built in FlexMeasures (where much more than "just" EV charging can be modelled), and how the new event will influence this planning.

In this presentation, Daniel Roesler, the maintainer of multiple LF Energy CDS working groups, will give an overview of the CDS project (cds.lfenergy.org) and all the exciting things that have been happening in the past year. With all of the major changes happening in the energy landscape (EVs, AI, fuel shortages, higher bills, grid balancing, etc.), now more than ever utilities need ways of effectively and scalably connecting to many different external organizations (customers, aggregators, smart devices, etc.). The CDS project aims to offer free, open, and secure standardized protocols for solving the huge problem of utility external connectivity. Daniel will also delve into the innovative parts of the various CDS specifications that make CDS more appealing than ever. Daniel has over a decade of experience in utility data protocols, including implementing APIs for multiple utilities and participating in multiple regulatory proceedings in the United States and Canada.

This panel will explore the evolution of the world's first open reference code base for SunSpec Modbus and IEEE 2030.5, two communication standards now embedded in grid modernization efforts in several global regions. The discussion will examine how open-source development transformed these protocols from specification documents into deployable, production-grade software infrastructure used throughout the DER ecosystem.
Speakers will discuss historical developments of SunSpec interoperability frameworks and the emergence of open repositories like pysunspec2 and Open SVP, and the recent contribution of a production-hardened IEEE 2030.5 stack developed through commercial deployment experience. The panel will also address technical gaps, cybersecurity considerations, certification challenges, and the importance of collaboration in scaling interoperable energy systems.