Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Cities are responsible for approximately 67% of the world's energy consumption, and over 70% of global carbon emissions. The energy demand within cities will grow significantly due to the use of electric vehicles, expanded cooling and heating needs, and more. There is an urgent need to transform urban energy systems to meet these expanding energy needs and support a global economy with net--zero emissions. Microgrids, which have traditionally been used in rural areas, have a promising future in urban energy systems due to their economic and environmental benefits. Multi-energy microgrids (MEMGs), where electricity, gas, heat, cooling, and so on, work together, will be a fundamental part of these future urban energy systems. However, several challenges remain to be addressed before widespread use of MEMGs in cities is practical, including making them flexible enough to make use of different renewable energy sources and to handle the complex interactions of their components, and also improving their cyber security. The short-term goal of this research program is to address these challenges through advanced digital and artificial intelligence technologies and the unique capabilities of MEMGs. The program will take an interdisciplinary approach, including power and energy systems, information and communication technologies, and machine learning, and will provide the energy industry with groundbreaking tools to reduce emissions and reliably deliver affordable energy within communities. The program will also serve as a platform to train highly qualified personnel and promote engineering to underrepresented groups, creating the needed future leaders for this critical new field. The long-term vision of this research program is to have a significant impact on the transformation of urban energy systems to achieve net--zero emissions. This program aligns well with the Government of Canada's 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan to meet Canada's 2030 climate targets, and to prepare for net--zero emissions by 2050.