Alexandre Oudalov

“My name is Alexandre Oudalov and I am privileged and proud to collaborate and work together with high-caliber technical experts from international CIGRE community on solving one of the most challenging problems that humanity is facing at the moment – the catastrophic climate change due to global warming. The contributions we are going to present this year are a great illustration of our continuous effort to enable a stronger, smarter and greener grid.

At Hitachi ABB Power Grids, I am in charge of innovation program entitled “Power Systems of the Future” in Global Market Innovation. In this role, I am investigating the mid- and long-term implications of the ongoing changes in power systems worldwide, primarily driven by the new renewables, distributed resources and coupling of energy sectors. Moreover, I work directly with targeted external partners on visionary concepts for future energy systems.

Literally speaking, research and technology innovation are part of my DNA –both my parents are retired power system scholars. My professional experience spans more than 15 years and covers various power system engineering and economics topics. Particularly, nowadays, I focus on developing and applying algorithms and modeling tools to simulate complex future energy system scenarios, discover raising operational challenges and identify optimal set of technologies, business models and regulatory frameworks which can help to accommodate higher shares of sustainable energy sources, transport, industries and buildings while simultaneously increasing reliability and resiliency of power supply.      

I hold a PhD degree in electrical engineering (specialization in power systems) from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland. I started my professional carrier at ABB Corporate Research in 2004 as a scientist working on a broad range of topics ranging from transmission (FACTS, utility scale storage) to distribution (microgrids, DER). My research has led to a development of new company products and solutions as well as more than 40 scientific publications in referred journals and conference proceedings and 15 granted patents.

I serve as an international technical expert in European Technology & Innovation Platform Smart Networks for Energy Transition and in CIGRE where I am a member of Study Committee ‘Active distribution systems and distributed energy resources,’ leading a working group on ‘DER aggregation platforms for the provision of flexibility services.’ I am also an active member of the working group, ‘Global sustainable electricity system: Effects of storage, demand response and trading rules.’

CIGRE Contribution

This year, I am co-authoring three CIGRE publications in three different study committees. Our first paper together with ETH Zurich is addressing a topic of optimal transmission and distribution grid expansion where we present an innovative planning methodology. Second is focusing on enabling technologies and market rules for DER aggregation and finally, the third paper, written together with our partners from TenneT and Schleswig-Holstein Netz, unveils our autonomous grid vision that would potentially transform the way power systems are planned and operate in the coming decades any beyond. I will also participate in several study committee and working group meetings during the 1.5-week e-session.