As a key partner in the SEEDS project, KU Leuven brings its expertise in model predictive control (MPC) to a next level by optimizing and integrating clean hybrid collective energy systems in clusters of heritage buildings. KU Leuven’s researchers are advancing MPC as a system integrator to ensure replicability across various districts, optimizing both capital and operational expenditures while enhancing fault detection capabilities.

The team at KU Leuven tackles critical challenges, such as optimizing hydraulic circuits, extending MPC algorithms to handle complex collective energy systems, and developing methods for optimal component sizing and fault detection. Demonstrating their solutions on small clusters in historic city centers, they address unique heritage constraints, showcasing the high replication potential across Europe’s historic urban landscapes. KU Leuven’s physics-based approach ensures that the developed methods are versatile and easily adaptable to other small clusters, paving the way for future scalability and distributed MPC research.

Through the SEEDS project, KU Leuven exemplifies its commitment to innovative and sustainable energy solutions, contributing to the advancement of cleaner, more efficient energy systems for diverse communities.

Their team is composed of :
– Lieve Helsen as the lead
– Renée Overbeek, as the administrator personal
– Louis Hermans, Lone Meertens Karl Walther and Glenn Reynders