Genk, 7 October 2026 – Etch is opening a new Simulation Lab in Genk today for the electricity grid of the future. Researchers and companies can use the lab to test technologies needed for the energy transition. The focus includes high-voltage direct current (HVDC) and underground cables. Such solutions will be needed to transport increasingly large amounts of renewable electricity reliably and efficiently.
The new lab enables future electricity grids and innovative technologies to be accurately simulated. Researchers can also connect real devices to a computer simulation, such as systems used to control or protect the grid.
“New technologies need to work reliably together before they can be deployed on a large scale. In this lab, we can test a wide range of situations without modifying or putting additional strain on the real electricity grid. For example, we can connect protection systems to a simulation of the grid and see how new technologies respond under different conditions. This allows us to identify problems earlier and test solutions before they are applied in a real grid,” says Dirk Van Hertem, Director of Etch and Professor at KU Leuven.
Testing before technologies enter the real grid
In the Simulation Lab, teams can investigate how new high-voltage connections, underground cables and other technologies behave. They can also study how these systems interact with one another. Potential bottlenecks can thus be identified at an early stage, in a safe testing environment.
These testing capabilities are increasingly important. The electrification of transport, heating and other applications, together with the deployment of renewable energy sources, is making the electricity grid more complex. At the same time, the grid needs to be resilient to a wide range of internal and external disruptions, from climate-related incidents such as floods and storms to deliberate disruptions caused by cyberattacks or physical sabotage of energy infrastructure. The digitalisation of the energy sector and the growing use of AI are also bringing new technologies and applications that need to be tested before they can be deployed in the real grid.
Working together on the electricity grid of tomorrow
Etch aims to open the lab to researchers, grid operators, technology companies and industrial partners. By working together, they can develop the innovations needed to improve the electricity system while supporting the growth of industry in Flanders, including through new spin-offs and applications building on the EnergyVille ecosystem. EnergyVille, the research collaboration between KU Leuven, VITO, imec and UHasselt, founded Etch to strengthen expertise and collaboration around the electricity transmission systems of the future.
“High-voltage connections will become the pipelines of the future: they will enable us to replace an increasing share of oil and gas in our energy use with CO₂-free electricity. With Etch, we bring together research, infrastructure and partners to prepare our electricity system for this electrification. The new Simulation Lab makes this collaboration tangible and helps bring the technologies we need into practice faster and more reliably,” says Bram De Wispelaere, General Manager of EnergyVille.
The opening of the Simulation Lab marks an important milestone for Etch. The new infrastructure provides a foundation for research, testing, training and collaboration around the electricity grids of the future. The lab was realised with the support of the Flemish Government.
With the support of:
