242. HVDC & the Grid of the future - Michael Barnard - Aug26

Michael Barnard welcomes Cornelis Plet, CTO of Grid Systems Integration at GE Vernova, about the technologies reshaping modern power systems and the practical realities of building an electrified future.

High-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission, once a specialist solution for narrow use cases, is now becoming a standard building block of the global grid. Increasingly standardised designs are enabling large-scale transfer of renewable power over long distances, yet the industry is still grappling with how to align control systems and operational standards across different vendors and regions.

A central theme of the conversation is the rise of grid-forming inverters. As traditional synchronous generation retires and is replaced by wind, solar, and batteries, the grid is shifting from mechanical inertia to power electronics. While technical progress is rapid and new grid codes are emerging, true interoperability between systems remains a work in progress, with different implementations still complicating integration at scale.

The discussion also touches on geopolitics and market dynamics. Investment patterns are evolving, regulatory environments are uneven across regions, and supply chains are adjusting after a period of rapid expansion. Yet across all of this, one constraint stands out more than any other: people. The shortage of experienced power engineers, particularly in system design, protection, and control, is becoming the defining bottleneck of the transition.

Ultimately, the episode is not only about HVDC or inverters, but about the broader system that surrounds them—standards, institutions, skills, and the accumulated expertise required to keep a highly complex, rapidly changing grid stable. It is a reminder that the energy transition is as much a human and organisational challenge as it is a technological one.