Microgrid Energy Management
Energy management decides how the sources and storage in a microgrid share demand over time, and its consequences reach beyond the electrical system to fuel use, equipment sizing and heat. Work in this area ranges from an optimisation-based EMS that accounts for battery wear in DC microgrids to operating strategies for a marine fuel-cell and battery powertrain, followed by evaluation of the equipment’s thermal environment. Both marine projects were led by the author.
EMS Considering Battery Degradation
Research at the University of Waterloo developed an EMS for DC microgrids in which the battery holds the bus voltage and its wear is priced alongside grid electricity, through a degradation cost that depends on depth of discharge. It was formulated for a model of the Xiamen University DC building.
Read the battery-degradation EMS
3 MW Marine Fuel-Cell Project
The 3 MW marine fuel-cell hybrid powertrain project, led by the author in 2023, covered system architecture, MATLAB/Simulink modelling and a central rule-based energy management strategy. The study compared battery sizing and operating policies over HST and BMT vessel duty cycles, modelling electrical energy use, component states and fuel-cell heat generation.
Read the 3 MW marine powertrain study
Thermal Evaluation
The thermal evaluation that followed in 2024, also led by the author, developed an engine-room temperature and ventilation model, examined enclosure and fan sensitivity, and compared 45 °C and 60 °C equipment surface temperatures under North Sea, Persian Gulf and Singapore climate scenarios.