KEYNOTE SPEAKERS OF ICREC 2023

Prof. Belkacem Ouldbouamama, University of Lille, France

Belkacem OULD BOUAMAMA is full Professor of automatic control at Graduate School of Engineering Polytech Lille (France), where he has been Director of the Research. He is the leader of research PERSI group at the CRIStAL laboratory of the National Center for Scientific Research in Lille, where his research activities concern Integrated Design for Supervision of System Engineering based on multiphysics Bond graph modelling. Their industrial applications are mainly process engineering, renewable energies, and mechatronic systems. He has authored and co-authored more 65 peer-reviewed journals, 180 conference papers and 20 books and book chapters in Diagnosis, Prognosis and bond graph modeling of mechatronic systems. He has given more than 15 invited talks and tutorials and keynotes around the globe. For additional information see https://wikis.univ-lille.fr/ci2s/membres/belkacem-ould-bouamama.

The speech title: Optimal Design Of Resilient Green Hydrogen Production System

Abstract: The production and development of green hydrogen within a renewable energy mix by Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems (HRES) face several primary challenges. These include the high cost associated with the process, ensuring installation safety, and ensuring the resilience of these systems to meet energy demands and maintain availability. The resilience of the system consists of finding alternative solutions that allow the Key Performances Indicators (KPI) to be re-increased when its value has decreased following a degradation of one of the system's components.
The plenary presentation exposes a review of multisources system control and proposes a model builder for optimal design and the control of HRES based on an innovative generic graphical formalism named Linear Fractional Transformation Event Driven Hybrid Bond Graph (LFT-EDHBG) as an extension of uncertain Bond graph and functional modelling theories. Optimal performances concern energy efficiency and resilience to the equipment degradation and to the intermittency of energy sources. The developed methodology is illustrated by a real application represented by a multisources system which consists of solar photovoltaic panels and wind turbine coupled with an electrolyser to produce green hydrogen feeding a Fuel Cell.

Prof. Dimitrios Karamanis, University of Patras, Greece

Professor of Alternative Energy Sources at University of Patras. His research interest started with the development of appropriate countermeasures for the mitigation of the severe environmental consequences of the Chernobyl accident and followed by cross section measurements in the thorium fuel cycle for energy production and waste incineration. Expanded to the study of wind and solar energy systems in the last fifteen years and currently research focused on solar cooling of buildings and the integration of photovoltaics in buildings for electricity production towards carbon neutral cities. By participating in national and international research programs as a scientific coordinator and researcher, he has published more than 110 scientific papers in scientific journals, patents, undergraduate textbook on RES and book chapters with >3500 citations and h-index 35 (Scopus). Prof. Karamanis teaches courses in the subject of renewable energy sources and their applications since 2006 in Departments of the Universities of Ioannina and Patras.

The speech title: Building Integration of Photovoltaics towards Carbon Neutral Cities and Mitigation of Climatic Change

Abstract: To mitigate climate change and keep the mean temperature increase lower than 1.5°C compared to preindustrial levels, full decarbonization is urgently needed with the massive deployment of renewable energy sources. In this context, the building integration of photovoltaics (BIPV) is a key component in the proposed actions of WGIII and a step forward to distributed energy systems with high contribution from buildings becoming prosumers. Since the building structure is the interface between humans and their natural environment, sustainable development requires a rethinking of the photovoltaics integration in harmony to local environmental and bioclimatic conditions. In moving beyond the self-sufficient and self-consumption concepts in electricity generation, positive energy sharing within local communities could overcome the barriers in BIPV deployment and support energy equality and accessibility according to SDG7. In this context, the SERAS concept (sufficiency, efficiency, renewables and sharing) that we recently proposed in BIPV deployment will be presented and discussed towards carbon neutral cities.

INVITED SPEAKERS OF ICREC 2023

Asst. Prof. Paolo Scarabaggio, Polytechnic of Bari, Italy

Paolo Scarabaggio is an assistant professor at Politecnico di Bari, Italy, where he recieved his Ph.D. in Electrical and Information Engineering. In 2019, he visited the Delft Center for Systems and Control, Technical University of Delft, The Netherlands. His research interests include modeling, optimization, game theory, and control of complex multi-agent systems, with application in energy distribution systems, and social networks. He is author of 20+ printed international publications. He is the recipient of the 2022 IEEE CSS Italy Best Young Author Journal Paper Award.

The speech title: Game Theory for Distributed Control of Autonomous Power Grids

Abstract: Power systems are currently undergoing a period of unprecedented transformations. Environmental and sustainability concerns lead to replacing centralized generation, based on conventional fossil fuel-based power plants, with distributed generation from renewable energy sources.  
In addition, various new autonomous entities able to adjust their load demand or provide ancillary services to the grid are increasing the complexity of energy systems, requiring the control structures to become autonomous. Due to its capacity to capture interactions among interdependent decision-making entities, game theory offers a promising way to implement and control these autonomous power grids.
This talk focuses on resolving key research challenges to design effective game-theoretical control frameworks, aiming to enhance grid flexibility through active autonomous entity involvement while addressing coordination complexities due to interconnections and power flow constraints.