I gave a talk on the needs for energy storage in distribution grids at the directors of the Swiss-Italian DSOs. Thanks VSE/AES for the invitation!
I presented the experimental results of controlling power converters in settings with low inertia at the DynPower 2024 event. Thanks Peter (Prof. Korba, ZHAW) and Rafael (Dr. Segundo, ZHAW) for the invitation!
I delivered the talk "Increasing energy storage capacity of hydropower plants: a perspective on quick ramping rates" at the workshop "The role of storage capacity of hydropower plants" organized by the PEN@Hydropower association. Thanks Elena (Dr. Vagnoni, EPFL) for the invitation!
Welcome, Plouton Grammatikos, in my group!
Welcome to visiting student Florent Gerbal from University of Poiter, working with me for his internship.
Horizon 2020 project STOR-HY got funded! I will lead a work-package on ageing-aware control strategies for pumped-storage hydropower to increase its flexibility.
Welcome to the visiting master student Ali Mohamed from KTH/Univ of Lorraine working with me for his master thesis.
New project [ResiNet]. In ResiNet (More resilient microgrids and grids), together with Prof Luca Haab (HEIA-FR) and Prof Stephan Kenzelmann (HES-SO Valais), we look at how to increase the resiliency of distribution grids under three perspectives: cybersecurity, control of zero-inertia grid, and cooperative distribution grids.
New project [STORE]. STORE is about to start! STORE aims to identify a functional energy storage infrastructure to achieve 100% production from renewables in Switzerland. The project, which I lead, includes 4 universities and 13 industries. It is financed by Innosuisse in the context of the Flagship Initiative.
Congratulations to Stefano Cassano for successfully defending his Ph.D!
Hosted Wen Yilin, PhD student at Tsinghua Universityv, who visited our lab and gave a seminar on his research about flexibility aggrgeation.
Congratulations to Biswarup Mukherjee for successfully defending his Ph.D!
PV magazine covers our work about planning of EV charging stations including PV self consumption. Link to article.
New journal paper entitled "Optimal Sizing and Siting of Energy Storage Systems Considering Curtailable Photovoltaic Generation in Power Distribution Networks" published in Applied Energy. Congratulations to the first author Rahul Gupta! Paper available here
New journal paper entitled "Optimized Planning of Chargers for Electric Vehicles in Distribution Grids Including PV Self-consumption and Cooperative Vehicle Owners" published in IET Energy Conversion and Economics. Congratulations to the first author Biswarup Mukherjee! Paper available here
I started a new professional appointment at the University of Applied Science of Western Switzerland (HES-SO Valais-Wallis), where I am associate professor of electrical power systems.
New journal paper: "Stress-informed Control of Medium- and High-head Hydropower Plants to Reduce Penstock Fatigue", available here.
I gave a seminar at the Waterloo Institute of Sustainable Energy (WISE) of the University of Waterloo (Canada) on model predictive control to reduce the fatigue in medium- and high-head hydropower plants' penstocks and coupling with battery energy storage systems.
My research project on integrated energy systems has been funded with € 300'000 by Region Sud - Provence Alpes Cote Cote d'Azur and MINES ParisTech under the framework 'AAP Recherche'. It will support the creation of a beyond-state-of-the-art microgrid laboratory with multiple energy carriers at MINES ParisTech in Sophia Antipolis.
I will edit a special issue of IET together with Prof. Zechun Hu (Tsinghua University) on grid integration of electric vehicles. Call for papers will be out in early 2022.
I presented at the wear-and-tear seminar of the H2020 project XFLEX-HYDRO our method for fatigue-informed control of medium- and high-head hydropower plant. Two journal papers covering all aspects of this subject (including using a battery system to reduce penstock stress), authored by Stefano and I, are currently out for revision. Preprints are preliminary available here and here.
Biswarup and I finalized a work on planning of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles and submitted it to IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid. The work is available here.
Biswarup and Stefano presented two our papers at the conference ISGT 2021. One is on comparison of smart charging and vehicle-to-grid based on an extensible optimal power flow framework (more here); the other proposes guide vane-to-head and guide-vane-to-torque linearized models of hydropower plants for efficient model-based control (more here).
Stefano and I are developing an exciting demonstration of model predictive control (MPC) to reduce the mechanical stress in penstocks. We have set up and instrumented a 15-meter long, 2-inch diameter pipe to reproduce the "water hammer" effects happening in medium- and high-head hydropower plants when they provide regulating power to the power grid. By modeling hydraulic dynamics inside this pipe, we are capable of synthesizing a control law that avoids excessive forces on the pipe walls. In doing so, we increase the service life of this critical component while ensuring maximum flexibility for grid services — exciting stuff and probably an absolute worldwide prime. Stay tuned for more!
CapEnergies awarded my research project on "An experimental infrastructure for research on integrated energy systems". CapEnergies is a competitiveness cluster whose direction and evaluation boards are served by major French energy industries. CapEnergies awards projects with demonstrated research excellence and potential for industrial applications and significant socio-economic impacts.
I presented the invited paper Impact of the Charging Demand of Electric Vehicles on Distribution Grids: a Comparison Between Autonomous and Non-Autonomous Driving at the 15th International Conference on Ecological Vehicles and Renewable Energies.
Our paper was awarded with a top 5% paper mention at the 55th International Universities Power Engineering Conference (UPEC) for the work Reduction of Penstock Fatigue in a Medium-Head Hydropower Plant Providing Primary Frequency Control.
I presented my research in the domain of grid-integration of autonomous mobility at the panel "Electric Vehicles as Flexible Demand-side Resources: Research Progress, Obstacles and Pilot Projects" of the 2020 General Meeting of the IEEE Power Engineering Society.
Website online.