Intelligent Energy Systems

在可预见的未来，能源是并将继续是全球经济的支柱。但由于化石燃料的枯竭、气候变化和技术进步，能源行业正在全球范围内彻底重塑。能源行业重塑的一个关键步骤涉及利用分布式能源进行经济和环境友好型能源生产。分布式能源的典型例子包括光伏电池板和风力涡轮机等分布式发电单元，以及电池、飞轮和具有车对网能力的电动汽车或电动公交车等分布式存储单元。为了管理所有能源和负荷，正在利用先进的信息和通信技术(ICT)开发智能能源系统。然而，智能能源系统的相关研发仍然存在重大的技术挑战。特别是，鉴于能源系统中部署了大量的信息和通信技术设备，在充分解释和利用这些设备收集的数据以促进能源系统运行方面，研究工作仍然滞后。为了应对这些挑战，梁博士的计划的长期目标是建立一个智能能源系统的架构，并建立一个先进的信息和通信系统，作为连接所有能源和负载的“粘合剂”，以便能够以高效、可靠、可持续和安全的方式建立工业、商业、住宅和交通部门的能源流动。具体地说，梁博士将开发先进的建模和优化工具，以促进具有网络-物理弹性增强的智能能源系统的操作和控制。为了解决这些高级模型和优化工具固有的高计算复杂性，还将研究深度强化学习和量子计算的前瞻性研究课题。主席职位的新兴和跨学科性质使其在加拿大独一无二，有别于现有的专注于配电系统、电力电子和网络安全领域的项目。由于传统能源系统向智能能源系统的演变是全球趋势，该教席项目的成果将帮助加拿大建立和加强其在能源和ICT行业的世界领先地位。

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.