Brazil’s Energy Research Office, EPE, said on October 2 that two projects using new technologies had been included in the Ministry of Mines and Energy’s 2026 Transmission Concessions Plan, known as POTEE. The Northeast II bipole is set to use high-voltage direct current with voltage-source converters (HVDC-VSC) for the first time in the National Interconnected System, which links the country’s power networks. A battery energy-storage system with grid-forming technology is planned for the Cruzeiro do Sul substation in Acre. EPE described both as first applications in Brazilian transmission planning.

HVDC-VSC connects direct-current transmission to an alternating-current grid through converter stations. Its inclusion expands the planning toolkit for managing large power transfers and balancing supply and demand across different parts of the country. EPE discussed the Northeast II project in terms of transmitting large blocks of electricity through Brazil’s interconnected system. The announcement did not specify the line’s capacity, route, cost or expected commissioning date. It therefore reports a planning decision, rather than a completed line or an awarded construction contract.

The identified innovation at Cruzeiro do Sul is grid-forming control for battery storage. Such control functions can allow inverter-based resources to contribute to grid voltage and frequency behaviour; EPE said this application is also new to Brazilian transmission planning. EPE recommended battery storage rated at 100 MW / 200 MWh, with tendering planned through the first transmission auction of 2027. The plan does not establish that equipment has been ordered or that the facility is operating. POTEE provides a planning and authorisation framework for transmission expansions and reinforcements that are considered necessary.

EPE presented the two items as part of work to anticipate changing needs in the power system and incorporate new technologies into long-term planning. The agency develops studies and recommendations, while the ministry publishes POTEE. Publication of a plan does not by itself constitute an auction, a final investment decision or permission to begin construction. The notice also did not identify companies responsible for building or supplying the projects. That distinction separates adoption in a planning document from claims that field work has started. The report is based on the official announcement of two technology features in the 2026 plan.