Research
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Current energy systems are undergoing a wave of transformations to comply with climate and renewable generation targets. This is resulting in new challenges and research questions, which are of interest for public and private institutions, as well as for policymakers. These research questions include the following:
- What are the risks to the security of supply in energy systems?
- How are interdependent systems and infrastructures affecting one another when coupling different sectors?
- How do we take into consideration planning and short- and long-term operation while ensuring a reliable energy supply?
- What is the optimal evolution of energy systems when accounting for equity, environmental and security factors?
To answer these questions, a multi-disciplinary research group with academic backgrounds ranging from mechanical to energy, electrical and automation engineering has been recruited and trained.
The research at RRE is targeted at the following pillars:
Important contributions toward the research objectives of our group over the last years encompass
- the development of high-fidelity, efficient models for quantifying the risk of cascading failures in power systems;
- assessing the potential for sustainable, safe and affordable energy provision by microgrids, active distribution grids and multi-energy systems;
- defining, measuring and engineering resilience in energy infrastructures;
modeling and assessing the impact of cyber interdependencies in energy systems; - understanding the impact of the water-energy nexus on electrical energy conversion and mitigating its effects by smart water resources management;
- developing and validating early warning indicators of critical transitions and fault diagnosis tools in complex dynamical systems; and
- modeling interdependent electricity and gas networks and quantifying the risks regarding their safe operation in renewable energy infrastructures.
Our research efforts are applied in various projects with the aim of improving the societal welfare in Switzerland, Europe and worldwide via the development of generalizable models. In ACCSESS, we develop and demonstrate a European resilient infrastructure for CO2 capture, transport and sequestration. In Set-Nav, we assess the security of supply for different pathways for the transition of the European energy system. In Nexus-e, we analyze scenarios of the nuclear phase-out in Switzerland and identify the needs for generation flexibility at different timescales. In PATHFNDR, we aim to improve renewable energy system efficiency through flexibility and sector coupling in Switzerland. In SCCER-FURIES, we study the failure behavior of the Swiss power grid and identify vulnerabilities. In ReMaP, we perform reliability assessments of future multi-energy microgrids. In IMAGE, we develop data-driven models for predictive maintenance of transmission grid asset. In DemoUpCARMA, we assess the resilience of CO2 supply chains and evaluate the integration of Swiss emitters in a shared CO2 transport infrastructure.
The projects with academic partners are listed below: