It’s been 20 years since Storm Gudrun swept across Sweden, leaving a major impact on both people and infrastructure. In January 2005, Sweden faced big damage to power lines, resulting in thousands of kilometers of lines needing repairs and weatherproofing, while over 730,000 households were left without power. These challenges pushed the electrical grid to its limits, but they also sparked the creation of dLab. As the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining.

Let’s take it from the beginning!

The Storm Gudrun in 2005: A Catalyst for Change

The storm ranked among the worst natural disasters in Sweden’s history. It put immense pressure on electricity companies. As fallen trees and damaged power lines needed replacement, E.ON, on of the biggest DSO’s (distribution system operator) in Sweden began a major project to bury cables to weatherproof the grid. However, this solution also created new problems. Buried cables led to more intermittent earth faults and capacitive currents – a challenge for existing earth fault protections that couldn’t always distinguish between faulty and healthy power lines. 
 
It became clear that a deeper understanding and new technical solutions were needed to meet these challenges. In 2006, a research collaboration between E.ON and Associate professor Magnus Akke at LTH Faculty of Engineering, Lund University was initiated as the first step.

From Research to Innovation

 The journey from research to practical application was in full swing. It started with several theses in close collaboration with E.ON, focusing on protection relay and intermittent earth faults – a complex issue that often led to non-selective disconnections. 

Part of the research involved creating a model of a distribution network that could simulate behavior during intermittent earth faults. The model was an important step forward, but Associate Professor Magnus Akke (the founder of dLab) wanted to verify that his model of the distribution network matched reality, as recordings from existing protection relay’s were not detailed enough. A trip to Germany and Beckhoff resulted in what we now call dBox – an industrial computer that detects incidents with a real-time system, primarily measuring current and voltage. 

At the same time as experiments were conducted on the network model, a collaboration with the DSO Öresundskraft began, enabling advanced tests on real voltage levels. The results were clear – the system could identify and analyze problems that had previously been difficult to detect. This phase was characterized by intensive evaluation and further development, where each insight helped refine the system for real-world applications. 

From 2012 to 2014, dLab took the next major step: translating research into concrete solutions for DSO’s. With the help of a new cloud solution, real events from the power grid could be collected and analyzed. This allowed grid companies to work more proactively and significantly improved the management of outages. 
 
It was at this point that dLab began making a real impact in the industry. Collaborations with customers like Kraftringen, E.ON, and Öresundskraft grew stronger, and dLab established itself as a player combining academic research with practical innovations. In 2014, dLab achieved a commercial breakthrough, with several DSOs implementing dLab’s Intelligent Platform – a milestone that confirmed the vision behind dLab was not only possible but here to stay. 

The Future of the Power Grid, Today!

Today, two decades after the first ideas were born, dLab is a proud partner to DSOs companies in Sweden and internationally. Our journey began with addressing challenges following the Storm Gudrun, but what drives us today is our contribution to the smart and sustainable power grids of today and the future. 

But we’re not stopping here – we continue to look ahead with the same drive: to keep developing solutions that strengthen power grids and meet the new challenges of tomorrow. 

A Fun Detail – The Name dLab

The name “dLab” comes from the distribution model Magnus and his team built, where “d” stands for the distribution model itself, and “lab” refers to the laboratory where the work was done. A simple name, but one that has been with us throughout our entire journey.