RTE, the French transmission system operator, is pioneering the virtualization of substations using SEAPATH, the open-source platform designed for high-availability and real-time applications in the energy sector. SEAPATH is now the foundation for RTE’s new-generation Protection, Automation, and Control System (PACS), known as R#SPACE.

This fully digital, multi-vendor, IEC 61850-based PACS leverages SEAPATH to enable the deployment of virtualized functions within substations. Since the end of 2023, two substations have been successfully running with the first set of virtualized applications, including HMI, Gateway, and substation-level automation functions.

In this talk, I will present:

RTE’s virtualization strategy: Why we chose this path, what we are virtualizing, how we are doing it, and the current deployment status.
Our vision for the next big milestone: Virtualized Protection.
To that end, I will introduce VIP’R, RTE’s R&D project with ABB and Schneider Electric, which aims to run protection functions from different vendors on the same virtualized, open-source SEAPATH platform.

Finally, I will invite the audience to visit the ABB, Schneider Electric, Welotec, Cap Gemini and Savoir-Faire Linux booths at ENLIT to see live demonstrations and learn more about SEAPATH and the multi-vendor collaboration driving this innovation forward.