Seong Beom Lee is giving his talk on Capacity Fade Analysis and Direct, Efficient, and Real-Time Simulation of Physics-Based Battery Models for Stand-Alone PV-Battery Micro-grids in ECS conference, 2017
Microgrids Could Pave the Way for Future Energy Distribution
Microgrids Could Pave the Way for Future Energy Distribution
The electrical grid is the central component of energy distribution and consumption, but the control of the same is currently underfunded and incapable of moving the nation toward a clean energy future. In a new study, electrochemical engineering expert Venkat Subramanian discusses the potential for implementing bottom-up renewable grid control with microgrids.
Subramanian is a member of The Electrochemical Society and the Washington Research Foundation Innovation Professor of Chemical Engineering and Clean Energy at the University of Washington.
“Our hypothesis is that the current grid control method, which is a derivative of traditional grid control approaches, cannot utilize batteries efficiently,” Subramanian says. “In the current microgrid control, batteries are treated as “slaves” and are typically expected to be available to meet only the power needs. This way of optimization will not yield the best possible outcome for batteries.”
Microgrids are local energy grids the can disconnect from the traditional grid and operate autonomously. Microgrids have the ability to strengthen and reinforce the traditional grid because they can function even when the main grid is down and are optimal for integrating renewable sources of energy. However, energy storage technology accounts for the highest cost in developing a microgrid, yet is the least understood component and tends to be the most poorly integrated. If batteries and microgrids could interact at a higher efficiency, new possibilities could arise for the future of energy distribution.
Subramanian and his team recently published an open access paper in the Journal of The Electrochemical Society, “Direct, Efficient, and Real-Time Simulation of Physics-Based Battery Models for Stand-Alone PV-Battery Microgrids,” describing how microgrids are becoming more widespread and could pave the way for future energy distribution.
“In a recently published paper, we show that simulation of the entire microgrid is possible in real-time. We wrote down all of the microgrid equations in mathematical form, including photovoltaic (PV) arrays, PV maximum power point tracking (MPPT) controllers, batteries, and power electronics, and then identified an efficient way to solve them simultaneously with battery models,” Subramanian says. “The proposed approach improves the performance of the overall microgrid system, considering the batteries as collaborators on par with the entire microgrid components. It is our hope that this paper will change the current perception among the grid community.”
Subramanian and his team believe that with the right battery and grid control strategies, microgrids could be more efficient and economically feasible.
“In our humble opinion, energy and information flow should be bidirectional and a renewable grid should be modeled and controlled simultaneously aiming for the best possible outcomes for all the devices including batteries,” Subramanian says. “This will require strong collaboration between battery and grid modelers, application of nonlinear model predictive control techniques pioneered and championed by chemical engineering and other control communities. Both Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (grid modernization initiative) and the University of Washington have strong leaders in grid control and modeling. We hope to make progress in this topic.”
Open Science and ECS
Open Science and ECS
Source: https://www.electrochem.org/redcat-blog/open-science-ecs/
On October 4, during the Society’s 232nd meeting, ECS will be hosting its first ever ECS Data Sciences Hack Day. This event will be ECS’s first foray into building an electrochemical data sciences and open source community from the ground up.
On this episode of the ECS Podcast, we discuss the upcoming ECS Data Sciences Hack Day, the importance of dataset sharing, how open source software can transform the field, and the future of open science.
This episode’s guests include Daniel Schwartz, Boeing-Sutter Professor of Chemical Engineering and Director of the Clean Energy Institute at the University of Washington; David Beck, Director of Research with the eSciences Institute at the University of Washington; and Matthew Murbach, president of the University of Washington ECS Student Chapter.
Schwartz, Beck, and Murbach will be at the 232nd ECS Meeting this fall in National Harbor, Maryland participating in OpenCon and running the ECS Hack Day. There’s still time to register for both of these events.
Listen to the podcast and download this episode and others for free on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, Podbean, or our RSS Feed. You can also find us on Stitcher and Acast.
2017 Chapters of Excellence – ECS@UW
2017 Chapters of Excellence – ECS@UW
Source: https://www.electrochem.org/redcat-blog/2017-chapters-excellence/
ECS would like to congratulate our two 2017 Chapters of Excellence winners, the University ofWashington and the Munich Student Chapter, who will receive certificates in addition to recognition in Interface for their stellar achievements in continuing to showcase their commitment to ECS’s mission.
The University of Washington’s student chapter has climbed the ranks quite rapidly since it was founded in 2016.
The 60+ members have grown their impact on electrochemical and solid state science and engineering education immensely. Some of their greatest achievements to date include:
- Regularly hosting visits and talks by esteemed figures in ECS’s fields of interest, such as panelists from Microsoft, Intellectual Ventures Labs, and more
- Conducting valuable outreach activities at elementary, middle school, and high school levels with their “Enginearrings” demonstration project
- Submitting articles to Interface
- Furthering and spreading community awareness of ECS’s mission
- Hosting educational meetings on campus to discuss important issues and share ideas in the field
5 Questions with Dan Schwartz
5 Questions with Dan Schwartz, Director of the Clean Energy Institute at the University of Washington
Source: https://www.electrochem.org/redcat-blog/5-questions-dan-schwartz
ECS will be hosting its first ever OpenCon event on October 1 in National Harbor, MD. OpenCon will be ECS’s first, large community event aimed at creating a culture of change in how research is designed, shared, discussed, and disseminated, with the ultimate goal of making scientific progress faster.
During ECS’s Open Con, Dan Schwartz, director of the Clean Energy Institute at the University of Washington, will give a talk on the open science movement and academia. In addition to speaking at OpenCon, Schwartz will also co-organize the ECS Data Sciences Hack Day.
The following conversation is part of a series with speakers from the upcoming ECS OpenCon. Read the rest of the series.
ECS: When we say “data sciences,” what does this encompass?
Dan Schwartz: “Data science” is shorthand for the scientific and engineering principles that underpin efficient creation, visualization, analysis, and sharing of data. I have a conjecture—unevaluated but euphemistically called “Schwartz’s law” around here—that every PhD I graduate produce more data than the sum of all prior PhDs. Basically, each year cameras and detectors have deeper bit depth, equipment and software get more automated, more of the software tools allow data and simulation to be animated, etc. In short, both experimentalists and simulation people are seeing huge growth in data they need to analyze, visualize, and share with collaborators.
ECS: Specifically, what areas of electrochemistry and/or solid state science can most benefit from the various components of data sciences, such as open data, open source software and cloud-based computing tools, etc.?
DS: I believe we can accelerate progress and improve reproducibility of all ECS science and technology through open data, open software, and access to shared computational resources. A critical part of this is building the ECS community that establishes standards for data repositories, creates, peer evaluates, and improves software tools.
ECS: Give us the postcard version of why ECS needs to do more in the data sciences area.
DS: Data is being generated at unprecedented rates by experimental and simulation-oriented electrochemical and solid-state scientists and engineers. Open data, software, and computational tools have unleashed human creativity in unimaginable ways for some fields of study. Why not define and systematize data sciences to unleash this creativity in the ECS community?
ECS: What do you think about the concern with “scooping” if researchers share their data, and especially if they share their data as open?
DS: Here is a harsh truth. When data and software are open, insightful and effective science and engineering win. If you worry about being scooped in an open playing field, then you are saying you do not want to compete on “insight and effective implementation.”
ECS: What aspects of openness does the University of Washington embrace (e.g., at the eScience Institute)?
DS: My colleagues Jim Pfaendtner and David Beck have created an NSF-funded graduate training program called “Data Intensive Research to Enable CleanTech” to make sure students in the Clean Energy Institute and several partner departments get exposed to the best science and engineering tools and educational practices being developed by our eScience Institute colleagues. A key principle is open science because it supports reproducibility and acceleration for all. Our campus has developed tools to help, like a long-lived archive developed by the University Library System called Research Works. Our graduate school has become more open to new kinds of research products being included in dissertations and theses.