Research

My research is in power systems planning, operation and real-time control, from micro-grid to national grid. Since returning from power industry to academic research, I have expanded my research into two directions:

1. Digitalisation: Power & energy systems digitalisation using cyber-physical power system modelling and digital co-simulation, funded by UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship

2. Electrification: Grid flexibility through aviation & transport electrification, funded by EPSRC New Investigator Award, as well as T-TRIG projects from Department for Transport.

Widely, I investigate net-zero power and energy systems using whole-system approach: developing power systems and energy networks as critical infrastructure systems, integrating transport, renewable energy, energy storage, hydrogen. I address energy security, flexibility and resilience challenges across Energy Theme.

Industrial Experience:

I am a dedicated power system engineer who worked at National Grid UK for eight years to ‘keep the lights on’. I operated the UK largest power transmission systems consisting of 500 power plants, 2,000 electrical substations and 60GW of national electricity demand. My specific industrial expertise including power system modelling and operational tools development for energy balancing and network security, generation dispatch, real-time transmission system control. My industrial expertise is summarised as below:

1. Generation & demand real-time balancing, dispatch, energy scheduling, market & trading, energy management system (EMS).

2. SCADA (Supervisory control and data acquisition) system for grid network monitoring and control.

3. Power system tools and algorithms such as state estimation, unit commitment, optimal power flow, inertia estimation for cyber-physical information processing & decision.

4. Control of power system voltage, frequency and stability.

Research Areas:

My research is interdisciplinary across power, energy and digital aspects of system engineering covering control, electrical, information and computing. My primary research area is in electrical power systems, with wider research areas: cyber-security, machine learning, digital twins, and their applications in power & energy industry.

Key words: Power Systems, Cyber-Physical Energy Systems, Smart Grid, Power Grid Flexibility, Resilience and Operability, Grid Integration with Transport Electrification

Power system planning, operation and control (distribution, transmission, generation dispatch, smart metering)
Cyber-physical whole energy system modelling, co-simulation, real-time digital simulation (Opal-RT)
Power system with renewable and distributed energy resources (hydrogen, wind, solar, energy storage)
Transport electrification (EV charging, electric aircraft charging, airport energy systems)

Research Methods:

Cyber-physical power system modelling: Funded by the UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship, we are developing new digital technologies that use advanced information and computing methods to better monitor and control the physical power systems. Key methods including cyber-physical system modelling, multiscale modelling and integration of different systems (power, energy, information, transport) and integrate them together for a specific need such as secured real-time control and economic operation. The integrated approach explores the fundamental links across two systems (inter-action, inter-dependency, inter-operability, failure propagation). For example, we are working on matrix based computational method for topology integration as well as hybrid computing methods for the integrated energy, information and transport systems.

Digital co-platform platform: Based on the Sheffield Control and Power Systems Lab, we are developing the simulation platform and operational tools for future power systems. Online and dynamic simulation facilities at the utility scales integrating UK major power utilities data, operation models with advanced cyber-physical techniques, human-machine teaming, AI-assisted real-time control, dispatch and operation of large & complex systems. Cascading failure analysis across multi-layers and inter-layers of energy networks. Major applications to the industrial energy management systems (EMS), aiming to operate low-inertia power systems with up to 100% renewable energy in a secured and economic manner.