Developing a cross-border GIC model in Hungary and Austria

Solar storms do more than just create beautiful auroras they can also disrupt electrical power grids on Earth. During intense space weather events, rapid changes in Earths magnetic field generate electric currents that can flow between the ground and power grids, sometimes causing serious damage to transformers. These transformers serve as the main entry points for such currents. In the past, space weather events have even led to large-scale power outages. In this project, we aim to better understand and reduce the risk that space weather poses to power grids in Austria and Hungary. To do this, we study how electrical currents move through the ground and into power infrastructure. The way these currents behave depends strongly on the geological structure beneath the surface. Hard mountain rocks and soft sedimentary basins conduct electricity very differently, meaning the ground can either block or guide electric currents. Our international research team will carry out new geophysical measurements of the ground in Austria and combine them with existing data from Hungary. With these measurements, we will build a highly detailed map of how electric fields develop underground. Using this information together with measurements of Earths magnetic field, we will model how space weather-driven currents called geomagnetically induced currents or GICs can enter power grids. For the first time, we will develop a detailed model of these currents for the Hungarian power network and test the model using measurements taken directly at power lines and substations. Similar measurements in Austria will help verify and improve the models. A key innovation of the project is its cross-border approach. Power grids do not stop at national borders, but models of GICs usually do. By working together across Austria and Hungary, we will test new ways to understand and reduce risks at the shared border between the two countries, where space weather effects are especially difficult to predict. By combining advanced measurement methods, realistic models, and international collaboration, this project will help improve forecasts of space weather impacts and support more resilient and reliable power grids, benefiting both countries and strengthening energy security across the region.