About the conference
Smart Energy Hubs as a solution for grid congestion
The road to a 100% CO2-free energy supply for all sectors (mobility and logistics, built environment, agriculture and fishing, companies and industry) currently encounters issues with integration of sustainable energy generation on the one hand and balancing this at the same time with the increasing electricity demand on the other hand. For the existing electrical networks, the limits are being reached in many places with regard to available capacity for input and consumption of energy with grid congestion as a result. This slows down the energy transition for the sectors and poses a threat to the growth of companies and industrial areas. In the future, there will be an even greater issue of supplying sectors that are difficult to make sustainable, such as shipping and aviation, heavy mobility and larger industry, with sustainable heat, fuels and chemical building blocks. To a large extent, the electrical energy system will have to provide this through conversions.
Smart Energy Hubs provide a solution framework to prevent and resolve grid congestion and limit the need for grid reinforcement. Initial experiences are currently being gained with some of these solutions, such as capacity-limiting contracts, smart energy management via an EMS, but also energy storage in batteries and smart charging of vehicles on industrial areas. This enables companies to generate sustainable energy themselves and enable its use within the area, despite the limitations of the available grid capacity.
Purpose of the conference
The solution framework that includes Smart Energy Hubs is still relatively new and there is a continuous need for the exchange of knowledge and experiences from practice surrounding the development and implementation of the solutions. In addition, there is a need for a better understanding of the scope of the solution framework and what can be expected in the future in terms of new solutions and applications, e.g. the use of Multi-Commodity Smart Grids to achieve the conversion of electrical energy into heat, sustainable fuels and chemical building blocks. This also requires new insights and developments from science.
The Smart Energy Hubs conference is organized by Saxion University of Applied Sciences and the University of Twente, in collaboration with Oost-NL and is supported by the MOOI EIGEN and Energy Control Business Park projects. The conference is intended to meet the aforementioned information needs and aims at the exchange of scientific knowledge (by researchers) and practical experience (by professionals). At the conference, participants will gain new knowledge and experience about the current state of the art and participants will be updated about the latest developments (also internationally) in the field of smart energy hubs. It is assumed that there will be approximately 150 participants (including speakers and audience).
Themes and design
The conference will be held at Connect-U in Enschede on November 20, 2024 from 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM. The target groups are: researchers (university, university of applied sciences, TO2 institutes), industry experts, representatives of municipalities, companies and consultancy firms. No fewer than 42 speakers will present on the following topics in parallel sessions:
- Smart Energy Hubs solutions framework and applications,
- preventing and solving congestion on low-voltage networks,
- sustainable transition of companies and industrial estates,
- organization of Smart Energy Hubs development and operation,
- management of Smart Energy Hub development projects and best practices,
- operational aspects and asset management of decentralized energy systems,
- cyber secure and interoperable ICT-systems and device interfaces for monitoring and control of Smart Energy Hubs,
- local and regional energy planning, spatial and infrastructural aspects of sustainable energy development,
- energy management systems, smart control of generation, storage, conversion, vehicle charging stations, demand side management,
- multi-commodity smart grids, sector coupling and power to X.
The main language during the conference is English, especially for speakers and visitors from abroad. Presentations are selected based on the degree of innovative knowledge or experience from research and practice.
Researchers have the option to convert their abstract and presentation into a scientific publication. For this purpose, a special issue on Smart Energy Hubs has been organized together with Journal Energy, Sustainability and Society.
The global program is as follows:
Plenary opening session
3 keynote speakers share their viewpoint from political, energy infrastructure and scientific side, followed by panel discussion.
Coffee break
Coffee/tea break and poster presentations
Round 1 presentations
In 2 parallel sessions
Lunch break
Lunch break and poster presentations
Formal opening ceremony
Formal opening ceremony of Saxion energy flexibility lab
Round 2 presentations
In parallel sessions
Refreshment break
Refreshment break and poster presentations
Round 3 presentations
In parallel sessions
Refreshment break
Refreshment break and poster presentations
Plenary closing ceremony
Plenary closing ceremony and poster award session, followed by drinks and networking
We look forward to welcoming you on November 20!
Richard van Leeuwenlector Sustainable Energy Systems, Saxion hogeschool, conference chair
Yashar Hajimolana, ass. Professor energy system integration, University of Twente, conference co-chair