Third Party Funds Group - Sub project
Acronym: CHIMERA
Start date : 01.08.2026
End date : 31.07.2029
Website: https://www.linkedin.com/company/chimera-bmftr/posts/?feedView=all
The project is divided into six working packages. In the first working package (WP1), different plant types
are sized and classified based on models, operational concepts are developed, and plant clusters are
optimized. Building on this, WP2 conducts simulation-based investigations with a focus on the grid-forming
operation of the hybrid power plants. This includes Control Hardware-in-the-Loop (CHiL) and Software-inthe-
Loop (SiL) simulations. Furthermore, WP2 derives recommendations for grid-parallel operation of gridforming
hybrid power plants and investigates system services. In WP3, simulations are performed on a cosimulation
platform to analyze the impact of grid-forming hybrid power plants on the overall system. Here,
new methods in the area of multi-domain co-simulation (from WP5) are implemented. The focus of WP4 is
on techno-economic and regulatory aspects. Developments related to the co-simulation platform itself are
primarily addressed in WP5, and WP6 focuses on interaction with relevant stakeholders. In summary, the
working packages are as follows:
- WP1: Model-based conceptual design of grid-forming hybrid power plants
- WP2: Integration into a co-simulation platform and grid connection rules
- WP3: System-level studies (offline/real-time)
- WP4: Regulation and economic feasibility
- WP5: Further development of the co-simulation platform
- WP6: Dialogue-based transfer
FAU is involved in all six subprojects. The main focus of FAU lies in establishing the foundations for the
grid-forming operation of hybrid power plants, conducting functional testing of the park controller using CHiL
simulations, performing system-level studies (110 kV – 380 kV), and further developing the Co-Simulation
platform, particularly in the automated generation of EMT grid sections and their integration through multidomain
co-simulation.
The project focuses on the scientific investigation of concepts for grid-forming hybrid power plants and the
assessment of their technical, economic, and regulatory feasibility. In these hybrid plant clusters, a
supervisory park controller performs central coordination of the plant portfolio and, together with the battery
energy storage system at the grid connection point, provides both grid-forming operation and additional
system services. This approach enables large-scale, system-supportive production of green hydrogen.
Therefore, the main emphasis of the project lies in establishing the methodological foundations for such
grid-forming H₂ hybrid power plants (technology concept). The scope includes foundational scientific
investigations for optimizing various plant clusters, the development of ICT and operational concepts, as
well as analyses of the system-supportive interaction between different grid-following and grid-forming
control strategies and regulatory requirements. Offline and real-time simulations are used in the project to
analyze the functionality of individual developed solutions in detail. The subsequent abstracted transfer and
scaling of these approaches enable system-level studies, particularly with respect to system stability
(technology concept). These studies are conducted both through theoretical analyses and using a
simulation platform (planned proof of concept). The project also pursues new simulation approaches for
multi-domain co-simulations and dynamic phasor models.
The subproject of FAU focuses on the simulation-based investigation of the system-supportive operation of
hybrid power plants, as well as methodological advancements of the Co-Simulation platform in the area of
multi-domain simulations. Additionally, research is conducted on the integration of a power-electronic tapchanger
into hybrid power plants.