Optimization of design and control of district level thermal energy systems

Important results from the project

The project aims to develop tools for design and operation optimization of complex district heating systems and to test them on an existing energy conversion plant at Krokslätts Fabriker in Gothenburg. The project has developed simulation tools for integrated simulation of production plants (with long- and short-term energy storage), distribution networks, and buildings. These large and complex models can be simulated on large servers in the cloud and by temporarily leasing many servers, complex optimization problems can also be solved.

Expected long term effects

The need for integrated scalable design tools for energy systems of the future has increased greatly during the project. Intermittent renewable energy sources make a traditional static approach impossible and require access to energy storage and the ability to control the load. There is no other tool on the market (or in a research environment) that can offer it the scalability and performance provided by the tools developed within the project. We therefore plan to further develop the tools to commercially available products.

Approach and implementation

The goal of the project has proven relevant and the project plan feasible. The difficulty of the operation optimization problem had been underestimated and the tools available for this proved insufficient.