Siemens CEO explores Control Room of the Future at EEMCS
On Thursday February 15, President and CEO of Siemens AG Roland Busch visited the Control Room of the Future (CRoF) Technology Centre, showcasing the shared ambitions of Siemens and TU Delft to explore the frontiers of energy management innovation. TU Delft's CRoF, led by Assistant Professor Alex Stefanov, is a Technology Centre aimed at making the future power grid intelligent, digitally resilient and cyber secure.
The CRoF's innovative approach uses several power grid digital twins, ranging from direct replicas to synthetic variants with unique characteristics, partly to fully understand and prepare for disruptions. This digital twin technology, combined with advances in artificial intelligence (AI), aims to revolutionize how grid operators predict, respond to, and prevent failures.
We need to enter into a new era of grid management, where we go from hindsight to insight, and finally to foresight. Instead of using descriptive data and some diagnosis, we need to gain foresight with predictions and ultimately run our grids autonomously or at least semi-autonomously. Together with Siemens, we are spearheading the future grid management in Control Room of the Future.
Alex Stefanov
The facility enables the exploration of myriad scenarios, from direct attacks on power grids to vulnerabilities introduced by interconnected devices in low voltage networks, such as electric cars. This research is critical as cyber attacks on power infrastructure, while often thwarted, can have significant consequences when successful – possibly leading to complete blackouts.
The collaboration between Siemens and TU Delft underscores a mutual commitment to developing a smarter, more resilient power infrastructure. The visit also emphasizes the importance of bridging the physical and digital realms to enhance grid security and efficiency, paving the way for a future where digital twins and AI play pivotal roles in energy management.