The University of Birmingham is situated in the second largest city – Birmingham, which is considered to be the ‘energy valley’ in the UK as well as in Europe. Energy research is one of the priority research areas of the university. The 3rd energy industry revolution is taking place where the key is the development of electrical power systems in the context of smart grids. Advances in electrical power systems are playing a pivotal role in the development of a sustainable energy supply, enabling efficient integration of renewable energy generation into smart grids.
The Electrical Power and Control Systems Group conducts research addressing fundamental engineering and economic challenges facing electrical power systems, energy systems and future cities. Current research efforts include:
- Advanced control methods and decision making tools for infrastructures such as energy systems, environmental systems, technological processes, defence systems and telecommunication systems, etc.
- Intelligent decision support and control of large scale complex systems,
- Multiagent softly switched robustly feasible model predictive control
- Integrating monitoring, control and security of Critical Infrastructure Systems
- Energy system modelling, economics and policy
- Smart energy systems and smart cities
- Whole system modelling and analysis of energy systems
- Integration of energy storage into energy systems
- Energy policy, energy economics and market design
- Operation, control and planning of power grids and smart grids
- Smart grid architecture
- HVDC and FACTS
- Real-time power grid simulation, monitoring, protection, control and optimization with PMUs and wide area synchronised measurements
- Integration of large scale renewable energy sources (PVs, Wind and Wave) into power grids
- Power system stability and control
- Demand response and energy management of distributed energy resources including PVs, EVs, energy storage and renewable energy
- Cyber-security and privacy of Infrastructure Systems
- Control of DWDS under malicious attacks on water quality
- Cyber-physical security of power grids
- Cyber-security and privacy of smart energy control, smart metering
Our research is highly interdisciplinary with strong collaborations via the Institute of Energy Research and Policy and the Birmingham Centre for Cryogenic Energy Storage sponsored by UK EPSRC. Excellent collaborations have been established with leading power companies nationally and internationally such as ALSTOM, E.ON, National Grid, etc.
Head of Group
Chair in Electrical Power Systems
Director of Smart Grid, Birmingham Energy Institute
Co-Director, Birmingham Energy Storage Centre (sponsored by EPSRC)
Department of Electronic, Electrical and Systems Engineering
Xiao-Ping Zhang is a Professor of Electrical Power Systems, Director of Smart Grid, Birmingham Energy Institute, and Co-Director of Birmingham Energy Storage Centre sponsored by UK, and Head of the Electrical Power & Control Systems Group
Professor Zhang has been conducting active research in the fields of Energy Union, Global Power & Energy Internet, Super Power ...
- Telephone
- +44 (0)121 414 4298
- Email
- x.p.zhang@bham.ac.uk
Teaching Fellow
Department of Electronic, Electrical and Systems Engineering
Dr Nan Chen is a Teaching Fellow in the School of Engineering at the University of Birmingham. As an Associate Fellow of the Advanced Higher Education, he aims to carry out high-quality teaching activities. His main teaching area is within the MSc Programme - Electrical Power Systems, and his research interests include HVDC modelling and control. He has five-year working experience in industry ...
- Email
- n.chen@bham.ac.uk
Assistant Professor
Department of Electronic, Electrical and Systems Engineering
Dr Daniel Donaldson leads interdisciplinary research to enhance the planning and operation of electrical grids around the world. His experience spans industry and academia and he is a licensed Professional Engineer (PE) in the US State of California.
- Telephone
- +44 (0) 121 414 4313
- Email
- d.l.donaldson@bham.ac.uk
Assistant Professor in Energy Systems
Department of Electronic, Electrical and Systems Engineering
Dr Weiqi Hua is an Assistant Professor in Energy Systems with the Department of Electronic, Electrical and Systems Engineering at the University of Birmingham (U.K.) since 2023. He took postdoctoral positions at the University of Oxford (U.K.) and Cardiff University (U.K.). He received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Durham (U.K.) in 2020, co-funded by Hyundai Motor Company and Durham ...
- Email
- w.hua@bham.ac.uk
Associate Professor in Electrical Power Systems
Convenor of MSc Programme in Electrical Power Systems
Department of Electronic, Electrical and Systems Engineering
Dr Dilan Jayaweera is an Associate Professor in Electrical Power Systems in the School of Electronic, Electrical & Systems Engineering (EESE). He has many years of experiences in industry, research, and teaching.
He has published over 100 research papers in scientific journals, conference proceedings, and as book chapters in the fields of power system resilience, security, reliability, ...
- Telephone
- +44 (0) 121 414 4294
- Email
- d.jayaweera@bham.ac.uk
Assistant Professor in Transport Energy Systems
Department of Electronic, Electrical and Systems Engineering
Dr Zhongbei Tian leads the research of transport energy system decarbonisation. Some research interests include transport (railway, road, ship) energy system modelling and analysis, railway traction power supply systems, energy-efficient train control, energy system optimisation, and sustainable transport energy systems integration and management.
Zhongbei has published over 60 high-impact ...
- Email
- z.tian@bham.ac.uk
Industrial Professor
Professor Ray Zhang
Masters and PhD Programmes