InterOPERA

The InterOPERA project, funded by the EU (HorizonEurope), and coordinated from the UG by Dr Ceciel Nieuwenhout, is working on the next steps towards a "multi-vendor, multi-terminal" HVDC network (a direct current network suitable for long distances, made by several developers). This type of network can start to be used in the North Sea to connect wind farms and provide connections between countries. An explanatory video about the project and HVDC networks is available.

A legal and technical challenge is that one supplier's equipment is not currently interoperable with another supplier's equipment. In a network, it must eventually become interoperable so that a network at sea can be gradually expanded, and different suppliers can contribute. From the legal side, it is important that the legal framework, both public and private, is suitable to facilitate interoperability and thus encourage the development of large North Sea networks.

In InterOPERA , the focus is on the next few years, in which the first large-scale demonstration projects will be developed and a legal framework for cooperation must be ready. The RUG plays a key role in the latter. Grant Dawson is working as a postdoctoral researcher to develop this legal framework. He is looking at both the public and private law aspects of cooperation.

In addition to InterOPERA , the Energy Law Section is also involved in the Ready4DC and Inter-oPEn projects, which have a similar topic but just a different focus, creating an ecosystem of different projects and scholars.

Duration of the project

2022 – 2026

Awarded grant

50,720,449 euros (of which 300,000 euros for the UG), obtained from Horizon Europe

Contact persons at our Faculty

Mr. C.T. (Ceciel) Nieuwenhout
Mr. G.M. (Grant) Dawson
Drs. A.M. (Alma) Erenstein

Websites with additional information