Published Oct 19, 2026

A new Centre for Robust Electric grids in A Dynamic environment (READY) is being established to strengthen Sweden’s energy preparedness. The centre will be led by power systems researchers from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in collaboration with Uppsala University and industry partners. REDO has been awarded 42,3 SEK million in funding from the Swedish Energy Agency for four years beginning next year.

“We need to build robustness and resilience into our electricity grids from the outset. That means understanding what Sweden needs to do to become as robust and resilient as possible,” says Patrik Hilber, Professor in Power System Risk and Reliability at KTH.

Sweden faces a range of challenges relating to its electricity networks and power supply. The new centre will focus in particular on strengthening resilience against attacks on power lines and substations, managing the increasing complexity and vulnerability associated with electrification, and addressing the impacts of climate change, including more frequent wildfires, storms and intense rainfall.

Meeting these challenges requires a robust electricity system design and the ability to maintain operation and control under extreme conditions. Researchers will also investigate materials, supply chains and asset lifetimes, as well as data, digitalisation, Communications, security, environmental considerations and governance.

“We cannot simply optimise for the short term; we must look further ahead and assess how much capacity we need to cope with disruptions. Power grids will inevitably suffer outages, but they must be able to recover quickly and there must be built-in resilience,” says Patrik Hilber.

The Centre for Robust Electric grids in A Dynamic environment (READY) also includes Hitachi Energy, Svenska kraftnät, NKT, E.ON and Vattenfall as partners. In addition, two smaller partners, Ferroamp and Plexigrid, will provide close links to developments in distribution networks and help translate research results into practical products and solutions. The centre is also linked to Sweden’s research initiative in total defence. The total budget including co-funding is 127 million SEK.

“Securing the supply of energy is extremely important, both in our daily lives and in a world characterised by climate change and conflicts. We researchers need to look at dependence and self-sufficiency. We cannot become entirely self-sufficient in key components, but we may, for example, need to build up our stockpiles so that we do not become too vulnerable,” says Patrik Hilber.

Text: Emelie Smedslund