Grid Frequency Response and Synthetic Inertia

On sub-second timescales the burner supports grid frequency through droop control and direct-energy-conversion-backed synthetic inertia, all bounded by the safe envelope.

Fast services from a fast converter

Grid frequency reflects the instantaneous balance of generation and load. When load exceeds generation, frequency falls; the grid needs sources that inject power within milliseconds to seconds to arrest the fall. The burner's direct energy conversion train couples plasma output to electrical output with little rotating mass, so it can modulate export electronically and fast, unlike a thermal turbine's inertia.

Droop and synthetic inertia

L7 exposes two fast behaviors. Droop control adjusts export in proportion to frequency deviation with a configured slope. Synthetic inertia responds to the rate of change of frequency, emulating the stabilizing effect of spinning mass. Both are computed at the interconnection controller and executed through a fast lane that bypasses the slower dispatch queue but never the envelope clamp.

# fast-lane frequency response (executes every few ms)
df   = f_meas - f_nom             # frequency error (Hz)
dfdt = derivative(f_meas)         # rate of change (Hz/s)
P_droop   = -(1.0/R) * df         # R = droop constant
P_inertia = -H_syn * dfdt         # H_syn = synthetic inertia gain
P_cmd = clamp(P_base + P_droop + P_inertia, envelope)
issue_fast(P_cmd)                 # DEC train follows, twin-certified

The gains R and H_syn are not free parameters; the twin certifies the range over which the direct-energy-conversion train and the tandem-mirror plug can follow without violating the 26.49 T plug or 17 T throat operating point. A frequency service that would demand a plasma excursion outside the certified region is limited to the certified magnitude, and the grid operator is informed of the deliverable range in advance.

Because Aegis serves fixed defense installations, its frequency-response profile is tuned for islanded and microgrid operation, where the burner may be the dominant or sole source and must set frequency rather than follow it. MetroVolt, feeding data centers, is tuned to ride large, fast load steps as compute clusters switch.

All response profiles are validated against the twin and simulated grid disturbances; no live grid-stabilization claim is made before a unit is commissioned and interconnected.