Participation in ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) Smart Grid Projects
Smart Metering SoC Product Family STCOMET Plays Key Role

ST's 'STCOMET' is expected to accelerate growth through participation in smart grid projects under the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund). The smart metering system-on-chip product family STCOMET has enabled the application of smart grid technology to various energy sources such as renewable energy, making sustainable electricity supply possible.

STCOMET simplifies smart meter design by integrating key functions on a single chip. These key functions include a Powerline Communication modem that complies with major smart metering industry standards. Recently, ST has obtained certification for the latest G3-PLC and PRIME v1.4-profile 2 standards capable of using frequency bands up to 500kHz, similar to FCC frequency bands, for large-scale product deployment. With this, STCOMET has received all major global standard certifications in addition to existing G3-PLC and PRIME v1.4 approvals covering Europe's CENELEC-A.

ST has expanded the STCOMET product family to four devices. This enables flexible application development that can meet the needs of various regions and markets in meter development. STCOMET05 and STCOMET10 use either 512Kbyte or 1Mbyte of program flash memory and feature an application processing subsystem, a dedicated security engine for privacy protection and anti-hacking, high-precision metering front-end, and a PLC module.

STCOM05 and STCOM10 are simplified products that allow developers to combine their proprietary metering front-end with ST's on-chip application processor, security engine, and PLC module, and enable flexible implementation such as leveraging ST's global certification to accelerate project completion.

ST announced that the IC driving smart meters deployed to 1,000 households in the Toulouse region of France as part of the smart grid project SOGRID is STCOMET. ST is a member of the consortium led by ERDF, which conducts SOGRID to research automation network control in actual operating environments.

Matteo Lo Presti, Group Vice President and Business Unit Head of ST's Industrial and Power Conversion Division, stated: "The future vision pursued by smart grids is increasingly being realized day by day and becoming more exciting," and added, "Our smart metering SoC STCOMET combines outstanding technology with best-in-class integration and flexibility to realize the smart energy revolution across developed and emerging markets, and will lead advanced progress through this."

As projects like SOGRID continue to drive the advancement of smart meters and smart grids, developers can implement various product variants using common designs with ST's programmable and firmware-upgradeable architecture. Additionally, by enabling continuous modification over time, maintenance costs can be minimized. ST also has a development ecosystem to assist in rapid development of single-phase/three-phase smart meters based on STCOMET IC. This includes tools such as certified protocol stacks, reference designs, prototype hardware, meter management software, and drivers.