Director of Study: Dr. Hongwei Zhang
Supervisor(s): Dr. Walid Issa and Dr. Huilian Liao
Additional Information: Open to all students; Self-funded position. Some industry contribution towards a stipend may be possible

With the ever-falling price of lithium-ion technology, Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) has been accelerating in growth, much like solar has done historically. Many BESS solution providers are developing solutions for integration of battery energy storage with renewable energy for enhanced frequency service, load balance, time shifting and stabilising the grid.

This PhD project will focus on investigating model predictive control and optimisation methods and their applications in BESS on the following three stages: Active Load Management (ALM), Contract Service Management (CSM) and Capacity Trading Management (CTM).

• ALM is a site-side management technique, responsible for data collection and real-time control according to load and grid conditions. Models will be developed using historical data and they can then be used to do model predictive control to manage the load.
• Optimisation methods will be developed to maximise the use of Site Importing Exporting (SIE) while meeting the load requirements of the users (both power and time) and to maximise the grid services. 
• In CSM, multiple-site optimisation algorithms will be developed which can enable more aggressive grid services. When there is an overload, the BESS of the side can meet the load demand, but the other non-overloaded sites can do more to meet the grid services as per the signed contract.
• CTM is dealing with the management of electricity purchase and sale. According to the market real-time prices and the conditions of CSM or even ALM, strategies can be determined to do trading outside the base capacity. At the same time, ALM can be applied to energy management of electric vehicle charging and photovoltaic power.

Please contact Dr. Hongwei Zhang  for further information.