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May 23-25,2016
Venue: Heidelberg, Germany


3rd JST-NSF-DFG-RCN Workshop on Distributed Energy Management Systems

Strategic Basic Research Programs (CREST)
http://www.jst.go.jp/kisoken/crest/en/research_area/ongoing/areah24-1.html

JST-CREST “Creation of Fundamental Theory and Technology to Establish a Cooperative Distributed Energy Management System and Integration of Technologies Across Broad Disciplines Toward Social Application (EMS)” (Research Supervisor: Prof. Masayuki Fujita, Tokyo Institute of Technology), NSF (National Science Foundation), the DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) and the RCN (Research Council of Norway) jointly held the 2016 JST-NSF-DFG-RCN Workshop on Distributed Energy Management Systems in Heidelberg, Germany. Following the success of the last two international workshops in 2013 (Hawaii) and 2015 (Verginia), this 3rd workshop was organized in order for all participants to share research progress and develop network among each other for future collaborations. About 100 participants, including 38 researchers mainly from CREST-EMS in Japan and researchers from the US, Germany and Norway as well as Italy and Sweden took part in the workshop.

At the opening session, Prof. Frank Allgöwer, Vice President of the DFG, Prof. Masayuki Fujita, Research Supervisor to CREST-EMS, Dr. Kishan Baheti, Program Director at NSF and Mr. Trygve Utheim Riis, Special Adviser at the RCN presented objectives of the workshop and expectations for the coming sessions, respectively. They have shared the importance of strengthening existing networks to deliver innovative solutions to society’s energy challenges by leveraging international research collaborations.

The two-day workshop comprised 8 discussion sessions covering a wide range of topics, such as harmonic stability control in renewable power systems, energy systems modelling, simulation and testbeds, and economic aspects of smart power systems. 5 Research Directors of the CREST-EMS, Prof. Jun-ichi Imura, Prof. Kenko Uchida, Prof. Tatsuya Suzuki, Prof. Takashi Y. Nakajima and Prof. Yasuhiro Hayashi, representing Japan, introduced their research efforts in relation to the topics of the workshop. In total 37 speakers from research institute in Japan, the US, Germany and Norway deliver their insights and share their experience through the discussion sessions. A poster session was also organized and PIs and young researchers from CREST-EMS actively discussed with all participants from other countries and took part in the networking and clustering activities.

In the end of the workshop, various proposals for future collaborative research, such as mutual use of test beds, international simulation comparisons or setting a possible benchmark were presented followed by reporting progress on current international collaboration in each country.

At the closing session of the workshop, Dr. Michiharu Nakamura, Counselor of the President at JST, Prof. Allgower, vice president of DFG, and other representatives of FAs pleased with the successful networking and practical international cooperation and emphasized importance of FA’s further support to the EMS research area in close cooperation with other funding agencies.

On the following day of the workshop, a site visit to Wildpoldsried in south Germany was organized to visit IREN2 (Future Viable Networks for Integration of Renewable Energy systems). This microgrid pilot project is conducted by SIEMENS under German Federal Ministry of Economics Affairs and Energy (BMWi) supports. Participants visited facilities IREN2, including biomass power plants and battery storage system, and there was a very active exchange of opinions, questions and answers with IREN2 project researchers.

It is expected that the past three workshops will lead to further promotion of international cooperation through funding agencies support, and leverage innovative research in the field of cooperative distributed energy management system.


JST, an integrated organization of science and technology in Japan, establishes an infrastructure for the entire process from the creation of knowledge to the return to the society. For more information, visit http://www.jst.go.jp/EN/