LonMark® International has joined as a partner in the DOE’s Grid Modernization Initiative Foundational Project 3: Interoperability.  The Grid Modernization Initiative (GMI) is a DOE-wide collaboration that focuses on the development of new architectural concepts, tools, and technologies that measure, analyze, predict, protect, and control the grid of the future.

As part of LonMark’s involvement, CEO and executive director, Ron Bernstein, will advise on the buildings and smart city market for the multi-year plan designed by the DOE’s Grid Modernization Laboratory Consortium (GMLC).

According to the DOE, energy infrastructure needs to be flexible enough to accommodate change in response to new, expected, or unexpected internal or external system drivers. This flexibility must be cost effective and include interoperability between a wide variety of devices and systems, both in and outside of the energy sector.

“Accelerating grid modernization efforts requires easy integration of end-use devices and systems, so the mission of this project is to establish a vision of interoperability for grid modernization with implementation examples,” said Steve Widergren of DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. “LonMark’s open methods for device and system communication are being used by an important segment of electricity users whose coordinated system operation will be valuable in advancing interoperability.”

“Advancing interoperability is a shared challenge that requires all stakeholders to be tightly aligned,” Bernstein said. “We need the collective experience and insights various groups bring, as well as their concerns, to help us bring the electric grid into the modern age. LonMark has been at the forefront of developing interoperable standards through the development of device, sub-system, and system functional profiles. We hope to share our experience with the GMLC team to benefit all.”

The project is planned to span a period of three years with the following emphasis in each year:

• Year 1: Development of a strategic vision for interoperability, endorsed by stakeholders, and tools to measure interoperability maturity

• Year 2: Prioritization of interoperability gaps and a stakeholder‐endorsed roadmap

• Year 3: Identification of ways to advance interoperability in product offerings and make interoperability an aspect of all technology deployments

The project requires close collaboration with various industry stakeholders to ensure general interoperability requirements along with methodologies and tools for simplifying the integration and cyber-security interaction among the various devices and systems that constitute the electric power grid, including buildings, electric vehicles, and distributed energy resources.

To participate in this project, go here.