Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

A Smart Grid is an intelligent network that permits reliable and efficient distribution of electrical power through two-way communication between consumers and suppliers. Electric vehicles can play an important role in power management on a Smart Grid through Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) systems that allow vehicles to store power and sell it back at peak usage times. It has been proposed that this kind of micro-storage device can be used to flatten demand across the grid and also to permit the trading of electricity in an emerging market for power resources. This research project will explore intelligent, agent-based control systems with the potential to efficiently co-ordinate the monitoring, storage and trade of power resources through electric vehicles. The emphasis will be on formal aspects of the knowledge representation, as well as formal proofs of system correctness. The anticipated outcome of this research is the development of a formal model of power storage and trade that will allows consumers to store power and trade power with other consumers. This research is important for all consumers of electricity, because efficient power storage could eventually reduce the costs of electrical power. This research is also important for the environment, because flattening the use of power at peak usage times will allow producers to maximize the use of renewable sources such as hydro, while minimizing the use of dirty power sources such as coal. Researchers in my field will benefit from this research because current Smart Grid research projects tend to focus on problems in engineering, whereas this project focuses on problems in formal Artificial Intelligence. Canada will benefit not only through the potential long-term benefits to individual citizens, but also because Smart Grid research is quickly becoming a global priority and Canadian researchers need to demonstrate leadership in this area.