Speaker: Iris van Beuzekom, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Title: Beyond Smart Grids, Towards Integrated Energy Systems and “Smart Cities”
Abstract: In order to reach 2050 greenhouse gas emission reduction targets (80-95% reduction vs. 1990 levels), we need to integrate a majority of renewable energy sources (RES) into our energy system. Most of these RES provide electricity, though less than 30% of our final energy demand consists of electricity. Also most RES fluctuate on daily, seasonally or even annual basis. To solve these mismatches in time and energy type, we need to look for solutions beyond the smart grid and move to an integrated energy system. This lecture will give you some insights into current (smart grid) and future (smart energy) solutions for the energy system as a whole. Besides a high-level description of this challenge, it will also tie in to my PhD-research on the optimization of integrated multi-energy systems.
Bio: I. (Iris) van Beuzekom received the B.Sc. degree in Sustainable Molecular Science and Technology (Chemical Engineering dpt.) from the Delft University of Technology and Leiden University in 2008 and the M.Sc. degree in Atmosphere & Energy (Civil and Environmental Engineering dpt.) from Stanford University, USA in 2010. She is currently working on a Ph.D. in the field of multi-energy systems for sustainable urban development at the Electrical Energy Systems group at the Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands. Via the KIC InnoEnergy PhD School she was able to visit DTU (Denmark) as guest researcher for 3 months and is currently at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL in Golden, CO (USA)) on a 6-month collaborative appointment. She is also self-employed at ITS-ECO, working on sustainable (technological) business development and CSR for ORTEC (mathematical optimization consultants and software engineers) and several start-ups. Contact: i.v.beuzekom@tue.nl or via LinkedIn.