VE4 - Trusted fault management of energy networks

The quality and reliability of the energy supply are critical factors for Germany’s competitiveness as a business location. Even though the country maintains a high level of supply security, extremely short outages in the millisecond range can have significant consequences for certain industrial sectors, potentially disrupting sensitive production processes. The joint project E4 – Trusted Fault Management of Energy Networks addresses these challenges by establishing the foundations for highly reliable, secure, and flexibly expandable industrial and local energy networks. A central aspect of the project is the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) with edge devices, which supports predictive maintenance, fault detection, and dynamic network control. By leveraging these technologies, energy networks can respond rapidly to fluctuations, prevent costly interruptions, and maintain continuous operation of critical industrial processes.

Fraunhofer IPMS contributes its expertise in high-precision time synchronization and deterministic Ethernet communication to E4. The institute’s advanced TSN (Time-Sensitive Networking) IP cores form the technical backbone of the project, providing silicon-proven solutions for real-time, low-latency, and fault-tolerant data transmission. These cores implement IEEE standards such as 802.1AS for ultra-precise time synchronization and 802.1Qav/802.1Qbv for traffic shaping and scheduling, ensuring critical data streams are delivered reliably and on time. Depending on the application, Fraunhofer IPMS employs TSN solutions for both endpoints and switches.

The TSN Switched Endpoint cores combine endpoint and switching functions, enabling daisy-chain or ring topologies while supporting frame preemption, replication and elimination, and stream policing. For more complex networks, the TSN Multiport Switch cores offer multiple external and internal ports with ultra-low-latency cut-through switching, supporting up to eight traffic classes to prioritize critical communications. At the device level, TSN Endpoint cores provide full-duplex Ethernet support and integrate time synchronization, traffic shaping, and low-latency MAC functionality, making them ideal for sensors and actuators in industrial environments. In addition, Fraunhofer IPMS’ Low-Latency Ethernet MAC ensures that messages are transmitted and received with minimal delay, while optional MACsec encryption provides data integrity and confidentiality, safeguarding critical control information across the network. All IP cores are silicon-proven and scalable for both FPGA and ASIC implementations, making them suitable for industrial, energy, and automotive applications. As part of E4, Fraunhofer IPMS and project partners will establish a TSN demonstration network to test these approaches under realistic conditions.

Parameter analyses will determine the optimal routing, synchronization, and latency strategies for different data rates and topologies. By integrating deterministic, low-latency Ethernet communication with intelligent monitoring and control, E4 aims to create next-generation energy networks that are not only highly reliable and secure but also flexible enough to meet the evolving demands of modern industry.