Grants for research on energy transition in Delft

Energy transition is one of the greatest challenges of our time. The transition to sustainable energy is complex and requires change at multiple levels. Three Delft research groups, with grants from NWO, will conduct research into system integration within the energy transition. 

Cyber threats to energy systems
The digitization of our energy systems means that the systems are becoming increasingly coordinated and more efficient. At the same time, it means that the digital control systems can be a target for cyber attacks. Alex Stefanov, researcher at Intelligent Electrical Power Grids (EWI), is leading the project RESCUE: Resilience and Cyber Security of Integrated Cyber-Physical Energy Systems. Within the research project, the various parties are working together to make the "control room of the future" more resilient and set it up in such a way that it cannot simply collapse. The deployment of innovative technologies, the development of response strategies and the training of grid operators are combined to provide optimum protection against external threats. The software solutions will be tested at a TU Delft research facility that is part of TU Delft's new Electrical Sustainable Powerlab (ESP Lab).

New energy market
We will be using different energy sources and systems in the near future. The question is how electrification, hydrogen and, for example, heat networks will fit together, and what that means for the energy market. Models are needed to calculate what the consequences of the energy transition will be for consumers. Laurens de Vries, researcher at Engineering Systems and Services (TBM) is leading the DEMOSES project: Designing and modeling future systems of energy systems. Within this research project, the various parties work together to link up technical and market models in the field of energy, and models of local and national scale. This is the only way in which energy companies and managers of energy networks can gain sufficient insight into the consequences of their investment decisions, and in which the government can gain insight into the impact of policy.

Optimizing the future energy system
The transition to renewable energy sources demands a great deal from the electricity system. Production from renewable sources does not produce a constant amount of energy and is therefore not easily predictable. At the same time, we are going to use more and more energy, which calls for more intensive management of the electricity grid. Investments are also needed in the development of new methods of generating and storing energy. Mathijs de Weerdt, researcher at Software Technology (EWI) leads the project NextGenOpt: Next Generation Sector-Coupling Models for Optimal Investments and Operation. Within this research project, different parties work together to use models to support the necessary investment decisions in the energy transition. Bringing all these factors together is extremely complex and has not been done before. By combining knowledge from different fields, accurate models are created, which will give the government, provinces and municipalities more insight into certain decisions.

The role of hydrogen within the energy transition
The aim of the project is to accelerate the emergence of large-scale hydrogen production and transport from renewable power sources to large-scale adoption in different sectors and by a variety of end-users. It investigates how significant potential of this hydrogen value chain can enable transition to a clean, low carbon future energy system. Zofia Lukszo (TBM) will lead this project, called HyChain. 

More information
Read the announcement of NWO here. 

Contact
Dimmy van Ruiten, press officer TU Delft, D.M.vanRuiten@tudelft.nl, +31 15 27 81588