A review of key technologies for distribution networks in the context of new power systems

The large-scale integration of distributed generation （DG）， electric vehicles （EV）， energy storage systems （ESS）， and other emerging devices had transformed the distribution network from a passive radial topology into an active multi-terminal network， posing significant challenges to its planning， control， protection， and fault handling technologies. Research progress was systematically reviewed from four dimensions： planning， control-protection coordination， fault detection/handling， and key equipment. Recent achievements in source-load simulation， uncertainty handling， and intelligent planning were summarized. Grid-forming/following control， protection adaptations and DC coordination were analyzed. The current status and limitations of data-driven detection and localization algorithms were reviewed， as well as the frontiers of power electronics and solid-state transformer technologies in photovoltaic DC distribution networks. Based on these results， common research gaps were identified， and future perspectives such as physical-data fusion， 5G/TSN communication and Artificial Intelligence were outlined.