Engineering professor Rajiv Varma has been working on his latest invention for 15 years.
Now his innovative, award-winning solution for voltage control is cutting millions of dollars in costs compared to traditional devices.
Varma's created a STATCOM - or static synchronous compensator, a device that's used to keep voltage steady in industrial systems where power dips can shut down critical motors, causing expensive or even deadly impacts - that piggybacks on battery storage systems.
Typical STATCOMs are multi-million pieces of equipment, often between $2 million and $40 million, not to mention huge. Varma's version is not only a fraction of the cost, but it's also quick to install.
"Our innovation allows battery energy storage systems to replace STATCOMs at one-tenth the price," he said.
"With our technology, you take a battery system that's already there, add a $250,000 controller, and you get a device worth $2.5 million."
In March, the team received the Innovation Excellence Award from the Electricity Distributors Association, the umbrella group for all local hydro utilities in Ontario.
The association described Varma's technology as "a game-changer for power stability in critical industries" with the ability to not only reduce costs, but improve efficiency and minimize downtime for industries where preventing blackouts or power dips is critical, such as mining and petrochemical sectors.
(L to R) Graduate student Cristian Arpino, professor Abdallah Shami, chair of the electrical and chemical engineering department, Faculty of Engineering dean Ken Coley, Elexicon vice-president Lincoln Frost-Hunt, engineering professor Rajiv Varma and his wife Malini Varma, Electricity Distributors Association president and CEO Teresa Sarkesian, Elexicon grid advancement engineer Emmanuveal Arulseelan, Elexicon managers Jackie Rene and Anand Janarthanan. (Submitted)
Testing the technology
Varma and his team of graduate students developed a BESS-STATCOM, a shortform for a STATCOM driven by a battery energy storage system (BESS).
They tested the technology with the help of a power distribution utility in the Peel Region.
Elexicon Energy, based in Ajax, Ont. partnered with Varma, providing the site and technical support to install BESS-STATCOM for stabilizing voltage-sensitive equipment, like motors.
In November 2024, they demonstrated the invention.
"This is the first-in-Canada - and first-in-the-world - demonstration of this technology," Varma said. "Nobody has ever used batteries for dynamic voltage control in distribution systems for stabilizing motors. This has never been done."
Ken Coley, dean of Western's Faculty of Engineering, was in Ajax, Ont. for the reveal.
"I am excited to see the fruits of this unique Western-Elexicon partnership, offering first-in-Canada breakthrough solutions to the energy industry," he said.
Varma and his team added additional controls on an existing battery energy storage device to transform it into a STATCOM, able to regulate voltage 24/7 by using the existing capacity of the battery storage device.
"We created a large disturbance on the distribution line to cause a voltage drop-normally, the motor would have stopped. But with our technology, the motor continued to run stably," Varma said.
Battery energy storage systems are being increasingly implemented across the world for storing power, but not for voltage control. That means these batteries are likely to already be in the vicinity of the critical motors needing stabilization. Varma's technology for stabilizing voltage transforms them into STATCOMs.
"We all know batteries store energy, and they can control the frequency. Very little reactive power control is used right now," Varma said.
That's what makes his solution unique.
"Primarily it's a device for active power storage, but we're using it as a device for reactive power control."
The BESS-STATCOM uses equipment that's already in place to do double duty, making it ten times cheaper than a new STATCOM.
"It is a privilege to be able to support this groundbreaking research," Lincoln Frost-Hunt, Elexicon's vice-president of digital and innovation, said of the demonstration.
Varma, who was named a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (known as IEEE) last year "for contributions in developing technology for static synchronous compensators (STATCOM)," was eager to see his invention in action.
"This technology has been 15 years in the making. Seeing a utility adopt it is a very humbling and satisfying moment."
Real-world implications
Varma, who has also created STATCOMs using solar photo-voltaic farm inverters (known as PV-STATCOM), believes these alternative systems could change standards for electricity distribution around the world.
"If a critical motor shuts down, even for a short time, the financial loss can be huge-and in some cases, it can even put human lives at risk," he said.
"Eighty per cent of motors used worldwide are induction motors, and many of them are critical-running petrochemical plants, mines, automotive factories, and even amusement park rides."
Funding for the project was provided by the Electricity Distributors Association, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, MITACS and Elexicon.
Varma is pursuing patents and partnerships in hopes of seeing the BESS-STATCOM put into use around the world.
