Direct current distribution grids and the road to its full potential

Electricity consumption worldwide is continuously on the rise due to the load requirements for the electrification of transportation, houses, offices, factories and many other facilities. However, the use of sustainable electricity in urban surroundings is on the rise: for example, solar panels on roofs of buildings. These loads and sustainable electricity sources have one thing in common — Direct Current. Solid State appliances define the new electric world. The introduction of these DC loads and sustainable DC electricity sources to the current grid could contribute to changes in the behavior of the current electricity grid — although not all these effects are beneficial to the grid. The current grid provides a very stable and very reliable supply for all its users. This may not be a certainty in the near future, especially in densely populated areas, such as The Netherlands and Belgium, where AC transportation and distribution grids are facing more and more stability and reliability issues. Their common ground is the rediscovery of Direct Current and its applications. This paper aims primarily to illustrate the need to consider Direct Current Grids in the Netherlands. Additionally, it describes the ensuing research and educational programs being developed around Direct Current Grids to support this need. Finally, it promotes the creation of strong networks to transfer knowledge from knowledge institutes to local and regional operating Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SME's) to improve their innovative capacity and maintain their competitive advantage in the Netherlands and worldwide. The paper will conclude by arguing for the creation of low voltage DC distribution grids to avoid DC-to-AC and AC-to-DC conversions, stressing the perceived advantages of low voltage grids in terms of sustainability.