Achillea Research

Achillea solves complex power systems challenges through Consulting and its Advanced Software Products to support increasing amounts of Inverter Based Resources (IBRs) on our grid.

Robust modeling of inverter-based resources, incorporating control firmware into PSCAD models.

Firmware-Based By Default: Our approach to modeling software-defined power electronics controls has always looked to have one canonical source: the firmware itself. We believe the best way to drive confidence in a model, especially with firmware upgrades, variable configurability, and increasing control complexity, is to run the same software in a model that will run in real-time. We work with vendors to identify build pipelines to produce accurate models automatically as they release new firmware.
Reproducible, Auditable, and Version-Controlled: Our models are version-controlled by default and modifications to provided control firmware libraries are done in an automated, reproducible manner. We version-control our models with Git producing an auditable log of focused changes with descriptions and justifications. Our models ship with benchmarking tests, rerun automatically on all model changes automatically.
Planet-Scale Simulations in the Cloud: Test automation should afford regular execution of tens of thousands of cases, not dozens. Our expertise in secure cloud and network- and compute-infrastructure lets us execute huge quantities of simulations across thousands of cores effortlessly. We support on-premise, private-, and public-cloud environments to meet your security posture.

Achillea's System Synthesizer product synthesizes system transmission upgrades, maximizing equipment utilization and minimizing costs.

Minimize Interconnection and Transmission Cost: Our software demonstrates the ability to provide more power at interconnection busses with fewer upgrades. Minimize cost allocation for interconnection and the energy and effort of long-term planning design with objective planning tools.
Inclusion of GETs and Power Flow Controllers: Our software simplifies the high-order nature of selecting and placing a mix of Grid-Enhancing Technologies (GETs), including series and shunt compensation as well as active power flow controllers.
Optimal Flow and System Utilization: Maximize capacity factors of equipment while maintaining robust reliability. System Synthesizer solves for the optimal flow of the whole transmission system across generation forecasts and future scenarios to algorithmically inform system upgrades that take advantage of already built infrastructure, reducing cost and time-to-serve.

Design and Implementation of Inverter Controls with Modeling, Simulation, Validation, and Verification

Control Interaction Root Cause Analysis and Resolution: With more power electronics equipment interconnected, risks for control interactions continue to rise. Achillea thrives in the most bespoke control and physics interaction problems, identifying and resolving challenges like SSO (Sub Synchronous Oscillations) and SSCI (Sub-Synchronous Control Interactions).
Standards Compliance in the Toughest Environments: Grid code and standards compliance is challenging, especially when needing to support a diverse mix. Achillea's control design and implementation continuously tests against requirements like IEEE 519, IEEE 1547 and IEEE 2800 across all designed-for grid and operating conditions from strong grids to weak grids as well as grids with complex control interaction.
Control-Hardware-in-the-Loop Testing: CHIL testing is part of the fundamental strategy for high-confidence automated testing limiting safety-constrained power-in-the-loop testing in the lab.
Automated Continuous Integration: We incorporate comprehensive automated testing suites at unit, integration, and end-to-end scopes early. Automated test suites build confidence and allow lightspeed development.

Calculators and Analysis Tools for Unique Power Systems Challenges

Line Loadability Calculator: Recognize the increased loadability possible in a transmission line beyond it's voltage and angle stability using passive and active line compensation.
iWiz: Interconnection Wizard: Design Wind, Solar, and BESS power plants to meet real and reactive power requirements at variable grid strengths and topologies. Automatically generate load flow, dynamics, and transient models for your next interconnection.

Achillea provides technical services beyond its standalone products to support customers' technology and project development.

Support for Diverse, Bespoke Challenges: Highly specialized consulting services to OEMs, utilities, developers, finance and insurance communities, and other research organizations. Services include technical due diligence, design of specialized test equipment, root cause analysis of complex field events resulting in outages or equipment failures, and transient study of complex interactions in electrical systems with power-electronic coupled sources or loads, such as sub-synchronous resonance in power systems to torsional oscillations in high-speed drive trains.
Consulting as Feedback for Product Development: Consulting activity is strategic to our business model in the sense that it allows us to develop early understanding of future industry needs, which informs our technology development efforts. Our technology development activities differentiate our consulting capabilities by giving us a technical edge not available to conventional volume-consulting houses.