© Peter Winandy
On 17 April, Professor Antonello Monti of RWTH Aachen University will speak at the scientific meeting of the engineering and economics class of the “Nordrhein-Westfälische Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Künste” about the development goals of his discipline in terms of solving major societal challenges.
Against the background of the international situation, the energy transition process is more important than ever.The necessary technological transformation of the energy system must be approached from two angles: On the one hand, a new major player in energy supply has emerged: renewable energy. On the other hand, there are new consumers such as electromobility and heat pumps. Digitalisation is proving to be a key enabler in this process. You could even say that digitalisation is not an option, but a necessity. The power system is consequently becoming a large, programmable cyber physical infrastructure with a high level of complexity. In his presentation “The Digitalisation of the Energy Systems: from the electrons to the cloud”, Professor Monti addresses this complexity by analysing the solutions currently being developed for the different levels of the infrastructure.
” Rethinking the whole architecture means reconsider the basic principles of operation of the new power system but also the corresponding IT systems”,
announced Professor Monti, Director of the Institute for Automation of Complex Power Systems (ACS).
So what does it mean to run a digital grid? And will we be able to build a digital grid that is as reliable as the current infrastructure?
The solutions he proposes in his presentation are the result of concrete experience from large European research projects. Professor Monti leads a research group with about 50 full time scientists working intensively on the the border between energy and information and communication technologies. He is responsible for coordinating some of the most relevant European projects in this field, such as OneNet, TwinEU und int:net. His research work has received several awards, including the prestigious “IEEE Field Medal Award for Innovation in Public Infrastructure” and the “NRW Innovation Award”.
In another presentation – “Sustainable metals: contributions from basic research” – Professor Dierk Raabe from the Max Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials will address the question of whether we can succeed in decarbonising a key industry with “green steel”.
Further information on the Nordrhein-Westfälische Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Künste can be found on the organisation’s homepage.
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