Your interests/skills: Graph Algorithms, Electricity Networks, Optimization
As a result of the energy system transformation, the decentralized generation of electricity is becoming more important. Additional grid stress is caused by Power2X technologies as electric vehicles, electrolyzers and heat pumps. This is a challenge especially for distribution grids. In the next years those grid structures need to be adapted to fulfill their duty – a reliable, environmentally friendly and economic electricity supply. State of the art grid planning is based on worst-case assumptions that lead to an oversizing of assets. This is necessary because planners would be overburdened with time series based robust planning tasks. Therefore Fraunhofer ISE develops algorithms for automated optimal network planning, which can take into account all relevant factors for grid reinforcement. By this we aim to reduce necessary grid reinforcement and avoid a delay of the energy system transformation due to grid bottlenecks.
In the project and/or thesis an ant-colony algorithm for distribution grid reinforcement shall be tested and improved. The algorithm optimizes medium and low voltage grid structures. The goal is to test the algorithm at grid structures provided from our partners and to evaluate its results. Based on convergence analysis it shall be decided if heuristics to improve convergence properties shall be implemented or a different ant-colony algorithm should be implemented. Moreover options to use parallelization shall be tested.
Task description
- Getting familiar with the topic of distribution grid planning
- Getting familiar with ant-colony algorithms
- Getting familiar with the existing optimization framework
- Applying the algorithm on our real world test cases
- Analyzing resulting grids
- Integration of heuristics into the algorithm
- Evaluation and documentation of the results