TU Delft’s new programme of MOOCs aims to speed up the energy transition

On 8 February 2022, TU Delft launches a programme of four new massive open online courses on Intelligent and Integrated Energy Systems. The four courses offer insights into energy systems from an industrial, technological, social-economic and business-oriented perspective. The programme, which is on offer at the globally-accessible e-learning platform edX, is a collaboration between TU Delft and the Rotterdam School of Management.

As part of its 180th anniversary celebrations, TU Delft is gearing its efforts towards speeding up the energy transition. For the energy transition to succeed, science, industry, decision-makers and society all have to join forces. That is why the university doesn’t stop at educating new generations engineers, but also wants to share its knowledge on energy with the whole world. The new programme provides learners with expert-level knowledge and access to research and developments in the digital transition of energy systems.

Digitalization of Intelligent and Integrated Energy Systems – starting 8 February 2022

Led by Peter Palensky, Professor of Intelligent Electric Power Grids, TU Delft.

‘The digital transformation of the power system will speed up the energy transition. An energy system based on renewables should be stable and reliable, but also agile and flexible. Digitalization brings us the data and insights we need for that. High performance computing and machine learning can help decision-making under uncertainty in an integrated energy system. At the same time, a distributed digital infrastructure is very complex, and may come with challenges we did not face in the energy sector before, such as cyber security,’ says Professor Palensky. ‘Right now, we don’t have many professionals that are experts in both the energy system and digitalization. Yet, we cannot wait until current generations of students get out in the field, so we also have to educate engineers and other professionals that are already out there.’

‘To realise a complex transition like the energy transition, we need to take many interacting dimensions into account. We should not just look at the physical and operational aspects, but also at the cyber security, economic, policy and social dimensions. Very often, such questions are addressed in pillars, but if you only look at part of the system, you can never reach an optimal solution. That is why we introduce the concept of comprehensive systems engineering,’ says Professor Lukszo. ‘We need to join forces if we are to solve a global problem like the energy transition. With this MOOC we can reach people around the world, contribute to their broader understanding and really make a change that way. That makes these courses very rewarding for participants and teachers alike.’

‘In order for the energy transition to succeed, we need to exploit the synergies between the various technologies for generation, transmission, conversion and consumption of energy. Take electric vehicles, for example. At the moment, the number of electric vehicles is increasing faster than we can improve our grids. We can solve this by using smart control to regulate when they charge or discharge, or combine them with e.g. residential solar panels to reduce the burden on the grid. We can also use them as mobile storage units, so they can be at the right location in the electricity grid at the right time, in order to regulate between supply and demand,’ says Dr Cvetkovic. ‘New energy technologies in combination with digital intelligence and digitally connectivity open up ever more possibilities.’

‘The energy sector is transforming from a traditional, large carbon-emitting field into a sustainable, economically efficient and digitalized field. This entails newly developing as well as disappearing business models, so the business angle is an important one in the energy transition,’ says Ghiassi-Farrokhfal. ‘We often hear from the industry that while there are enough engineers or economists, what’s missing are people who have the bigger picture. With this course, we step up to the plate and deliver this. Companies would love their employees to have such a comprehensive background, as it takes years to develop that in an ad hoc way. I myself would have saved a lot of time if there had been a course like this when I first entered this field. I am now dedicated to share this information with people who are just starting out in it.’