Alliander and Radboud University

The data that Alliander has and is able to use is currently not giving them all the information they need to operate the energy grid as optimal as possible. Putting AI to work and doing data science on the available data can give Alliander more insights in the workings and capabilities of their grid. This can help them to faster and/or more adequately resolve (or even avoid) outages due to extreme scenarios or maintenance. 

The practice for accountants and controllers shows an evolution from standard financial reporting to a more proactive role in managing an organization's environmental and social performance, in addition to its financial performance. On the technological front, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) is on the rise precisely within this profession. Data analysis and decision support are increasing in importance. The cooperation between Alliander and Nijmegen School of Management (NSM), Chair of Accounting is intended to enable us to study and influence these developments up close. Involved business unit Alliander: Internal Audit. Involved Faculty of Radboud University: Nijmegen School of Management, Chair in Accounting. 

This collaboration theme focuses on two different aspects of cyber security, namely: the digital security of systems itself and human behaviour leading to security issues. Barry Pouwels (Alliander) is in the lead of both, working together with two faculties: Faculty of Science with Erik Poll as theme lead for Radboud University, and Faculty of Social Sciences with Wolter Pieters.

The data that Alliander has and is able to use, is currently not giving them all the information they need to operate the energy grid as optimal as possible. Putting AI to work and doing data science on the available data can give Alliander more insights in the workings and capabilities of their grid. This can help them to faster and/or more adequately resolve (or even avoid) outages due to extreme scenarios or maintenance. Theme leads: Henk-Jan.Kooij [at] alliander.com (Henk-Jan Kooij), Lars.deLaat [at] alliander.com (Lars de Laat) (Alliander), Martijn Gerritsen. 

This theme is about physical modelling of the energy grid. The goal is to better understand the phenomena that occur, as well as their effects on the physical condition of the assets in the grid such as cables and transformers. This enables Alliander maximize the transport of energy to customers while ensuring that het grid stays safe and reliable.

The use of statistics can be very useful to optimally use the current grid capacity to solve the problem the full energy grid in the Netherlands. The current, but also slightly old, calculation rules which are used to determine the capacity of the energy grid, and consequently, the number of connections or size of connections to the grid that are allowed are very conservative and not perfectly adjusted to the new energy market. Energy grid operators make use of worst case scenarios to make the energy grid trust worthy, but adding probabilities to worst case scenarios can create a more optimal use of the energy grid. See below about specific research projects.