Intelligent Energy Systems

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In the foreseeable future, energy is and will continue to be the backbone of the global economy. But because of the depletion of fossil fuels, climate change and advances in technology, the energy industry is being radically reshaped worldwide. A critical step of the energy industry reshaping involves the utilization of distributed energy resources for economic and environment-friendly energy production. Typical examples of distributed energy resources include distributed generation units such as photovoltaic panels and wind turbines, and distributed storage units such as batteries, flywheels, and electric vehicles or electric buses with vehicle-to-grid capabilities. In order to manage all the energy sources and loads, intelligent energy systems are being developed by leveraging advanced information and communication technology (ICT). Yet, significant technical challenges still exist in the related research and development in intelligent energy systems. In particular, given a large number of ICT devices deployed in the energy systems, research still lags on fully interpreting and utilizing the data collected by these devices to facilitate energy system operation. To address these challenges, the long-term goal of Dr. Liang's program is to establish an architecture of intelligent energy systems and build up an advanced information and communication system as a "glue" to interconnect all the energy sources and loads, such that the energy flows in industrial, commercial, residential, and transportation sectors can be established in an efficient, reliable, sustainable, and secure way. Specifically, Dr. Liang will develop advanced modeling and optimization tools to facilitate the operation and control of intelligent energy systems with cyber-physical resilience enhancement. In order to address the intrinsic high computational complexity of these advanced models and optimization tools, forward-looking research topics on deep reinforcement learning and quantum computing will also be investigated. The emerging and interdisciplinary nature of the chair position makes it unique across Canada, distinct from the existing programs with focused areas on distribution systems, power electronics, and cyber security. As the evolution of traditional energy systems towards intelligent energy systems is a worldwide trend, the results of this chair's program will help Canada establish and reinforce its world leadership in both energy and ICT industries.