At this month’s Enlit Europe show in Spain, Taiwanese IoT firm Advantech will highlight the power of collaboration, demonstrating how partnerships and open ecosystems are driving the digitalisation and virtualisation of the electrical grid.

Together with technology partners – including Intel, ABB, Fortinet, EcoPhi, Kalkitech and Red Hat – Advantech will present certified computing platforms and connectivity options for substation automation, virtualised protection relays and remote connectivity.

Developed in line with the specifications of the vPAC (Virtual Protection Automation & Control) Alliance and the E4S (Edge for Smart Secondary Substation) Alliance, these address the core problems of grid modernisation, including real-time protection and control, distributed energy resources (DERs) integration, cyber security, and secure communication across all network layers. Designed to support high- and medium-voltage applications, the platforms enable operators to manage DERs efficiently and build intelligent, future-ready substations.

Live demonstrations and exhibits will illustrate how Advantech and its ecosystem partners are shaping substation automation technologies:

• Advantech will present a WebAccess/DMP demo for secure management and remote asset monitoring, which centralises router monitoring, VPN automation and network visibility using WireGuard VPN.
• Also from Advantech, a demo on edge automation featuring SoftPLC and EtherCat integration on a Codesys-ready platform.
• From ecopartner ABB, a virtualised protection automation and control demo with Intel, Kalkitech, VMware and the VPAC Alliance, as a simulation of sampled value subscription, monitoring and overcurrent protection using ABB SSC600 SW and ASE-BNET MU.
• ABB will additionally run, in cooperation with Red Hat, a software-defined electrification demo on an Advantech-powered high availability edge computing cluster. RedHat Open Shift will host virtualised protection, control, scada, DMS and DERMS products for the automation and optimisation of grid operation, with storage and renewables integration.
• EcoPhi will unveil its AI-powered substation automation and monitoring demo using CMPC 800 and QMU 800 platforms, virtualising functions such as protection, PQ metering, PMU, partial discharge, AMI and DFR.
• Fortinet will show its virtualised cyber security for substation automation: it leverages the Advantech ECU-579 power automation server with Fortinet FortiGate NFV to deliver network segmentation, threat detection, real-time monitoring, reporting and SD-WAN functionalities.
• Kalkitech will shine a spotlight on its utility-DERMS integration using the Advantech ECU-150 as a Sunspec-compliant gateway.
• Kalkitech, with Intel, will also demo the E4S platform prototype, featuring a system management interface and multi-vendor application environment for smart secondary substations.

“Collaboration is at the heart of the grid’s digital transformation,” said Paul O’Shaughnessy from Advantech. “At Advantech, we work hand in hand with technology leaders to create open, future-ready platforms for the energy sector. Our broad portfolio of CRA-ready hardware provides the foundation for secure, virtualised and intelligent substations that help operators meet the challenges of modern grid management.”

Advantech (www.advantech.com) will be on stand 3.D12 in Hall 3 at Enlit Europe (www.enlit-europe.com) in Bilbao, Spain, from 18 to 20 November 2025.