SUPERCAPACITORS FOR
EUROPEAN GRID STABILITY

On April 28, 2025, Spain and Portugal experienced a widespread blackout that severely impacted major cities and infrastructure. The outage was triggered by the sudden loss of 2.2 gigawatts of power generation following failures at substations in Granada, Seville, and Badajoz. While initial speculation pointed to a cyberattack, investigations have since shifted toward the vulnerability of renewable energy sources—particularly wind and solar farms—which may lack adequate grid protection systems. 

What is certain is that a critical factor contributing to the blackout was the low inertia of the power grid. 

Inertia, in an energy system, refers to its ability to resist sudden frequency deviations and stabilize the grid during unforeseen disturbances. Traditional thermal and hydroelectric power plants provide inertia through large rotating machinery (such as turbines). In contrast, renewable sources like solar and wind do not inherently contribute to grid inertia, making the system more susceptible to frequency instability and cascading failures.