ASTROSE History

The innovative technology behind the ASTROSE power line monitoring system goes back to developments made at the Fraunhofer Institute IZM in 2002, creating the word’s smallest radio sensor node at the time (see image). In 2006, the technology was showcased to envia Mitteldeutsche Energie AG (today’s MITNETZ Strom mbH). The partnership between the Fraunhofer Institute and enviaM soon gave birth to a vision that would become ASTROSE power line monitoring.

Between 2009 and 2012, financial support from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research enabled the industrial cooperation project ASTROSE (FKZ: 16SV3771) with partners: MITNETZ Strom mbH, Amprion GmbH, TU Chemnitz, MPD GmbH, Fraunhofer ENAS, ELMOS Seminconductor AG, KE-Automation GmbH, Unilab AG and Fraunhofer IZM. The project completed several successful proof-of-concept tests with the new technology.

Encouraged by these successful tests, MITNETZ Strom mbH commissioned the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft to develop and install a pilot ASTROSE system on a 110 kV overhead line in the Harz mountains.

The pilot system was installed in 2014 and has been supplying MITNETZ Strom mbH and Fraunhofer with monitoring data ever since.