Future-Proofing the Grid
2nd International Conference on Green Energy & Technology
April 08-09, 2019 | Zurich, Switzerland
Matthew Williams
Faraday Grid Ltd, UK
Keynote : Environ Risk Assess Remediat
Abstract:
The electricity system is the biggest and one of
the most complex machines ever built. In recent
decades, this machine has begun to undergo a radical
transition, with both the way we generate and use
electricity evolving. In the midst of this, however, the
power grid has not been able to keep up pace. This
is a problem, because the grid was not designed for
power flows of modern electricity use and generation.
These changes are rapidly driving its architecture
close to a breaking-point, already manifesting in
reliability issues, such as power disturbances or
even blackouts, and ever increasing electricity costs.
The primary approach to address this so far has
been to compensate for the grid’s weaknesses by
adding external mitigating technologies; an approach
unsustainable in the face of the fundamental energy
transition we are experiencing. The electricity system
needs a revolution, and it needs it now.
So what would a future-proof energy system look
like? First, control of balancing supply and demand
should be moved from the endpoints of the system
- generation and consumption - to the grid itself.
This will allow for a more robust grid to balance
highly variable power flows. To rule out the fragility of
relying on a central control point, a truly robust energy
system will utilize autonomous decentralized control
principles within its architecture. A single platform
connecting a plethora of technologies adding value
directly will allow for a boost in innovation to the likes
of the Internet - as such will make a true Internet of
Things structure possible. To deduce how this system
can be realized, Founder and Chief Technology Officer
of Faraday Grid, Matthew Williams will explain the
thought process that led to Faraday’s ground breaking
solution to the Energy Trilemma emerge.
Biography:
Matthew Williams is Founder, Director, and Chief Technology Officer of Faraday Grid Ltd. He is a Systems architect, mechatronic engineer, design leader and facilitator. He is the author of Faraday Grid’s technology patents. In fulfilling Faraday’s ambition to unlock sustainable prosperity through electricity, he provides a conduit of understanding between complex interdependent dynamic systems and the world; managing strategic direction and technology development. Previously, he led a systems engineering company and was responsible for technical, client, and project management of multi-million dollar projects in Australia, China, and the US, delivering mission-critical logistics, automation, business and safety systems across the power and process sectors. Using the company’s proprietary Design by Rationalised Constraints methodology, He and Faraday Grid are designing the energy ecosystem of the future.
E-mail: matthew.williams@faradaygrid.com
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