Projects and Programs

As the demand for electrical vehicle (EV) chargers continues to rise, so does the need for testing and evaluation of solutions to assist original equipment manufacturers and other suppliers in designing and creating innovative products and solutions that improve reliability and performance while meeting specific technical, developmental or regulatory needs. Under the co-supervision of professors Reza Arani and Bala Venkatesh, CUE and Celestica will continue their partnership to produce a wide range of testing solutions unique to EV chargers.

Distributed energy resources (DERs) are playing an increased role in the way electricity is generated and delivered, providing a pathway to a zero carbon 2050 future. As with most emerging technologies, DERs can also present new challenges to existing infrastructures and practices.

Under the supervision of professors Bala Venkatesh and Reza Arani, CUE will provide the tools, frameworks and expertise to support Hydro One in seamlessly integrating tens of thousands of DERs into their system to improve electricity reliability and resiliency. The project is supported by funds from the joint NSERC Alliance-Mitacs Accelerate grant and Hydro One.

CUE’s Smart Building Analytics Living Lab (SBALL), anticipated to open in 2023, is the result of a long-standing, collaborative relationship between Schneider Electric and TMU. It provides the tools to develop, test and optimize modern technologies and approaches as well as demonstrates savings in energy consumption, capital and operating expenses for buildings of all sizes. Under the supervision of professor Jenn McArthur, the lab will present opportunities for TMU students to “do cutting-edge, advanced research, and form the next generation of highly skilled personnel in the field.”

In recognition of the outstanding R&D collaboration between CUE and Toronto Hydro, professor Bala Venkatesh received NSERC Synergy Award for Innovation. The monetary award will be used to continue the research with Toronto Hydro to develop new strategic solutions for distribution system operations.

With the goal of building a resilient infrastructure, promoting sustainability and fostering innovation, CUE is pleased to partner with Toronto Hydro and Power Advisory LLC, with support from the IESO Grid Innovation Fund and the Ontario Energy Board’s (OEB) Innovation Sandbox, to identify solutions that will allow the utility to use the same demand response resources simultaneously to meet the capacity needs of both local and provincial grids.

CUE will leverage funds from the joint NSERC Alliance- Mitacs Accelerate grant to conduct research and advise Toronto Hydro as it modernizes its energy grid. With the rapid evolution of the energy landscape, CUE’s work will include determining the optimum size of energy storage and improving scheduling, dispatching and utilization of energy resources, and in general, will help achieve sustainable growth.

CUE forecasted the growth of the EV and photovoltaic markets from 2021 to 2030 to determine the proportional relationship between population and EV chargers. CUE leveraged Opus One’s GridOS Integrated Distribution Planning (IDP) software to analyze the impact of EV growth on a New Delhi utility distribution feeder, which resulted in the design and delivery of viable solutions such as energy storage to mitigate overloading conditions.

Energy costs contribute substantially to the overall financial burden of housing. As a first step to improving the energy efficiency of TCHC buildings, CUE identified and recommended affordable, technological solutions that can offset the energy-cost burden and disruption to TCHC tenants as well as help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and power consumption.

CUE designed and developed the world’s first pole- mounted energy storage system and provided conceptual designs for three service areas within Canada and India. Benefits of this system include storing energy to be released as needed, which increases reliability and reduces strain on the local transformer.