Resilient Monitoring and Control Digital twins with a real-time connection to telecontrol technology, combined with automation and virtualization, enable faster anticipation and better utilization of flexibilities. Together with real-time trust assessment, this can achieve more resilient operation of complex cyber-physical energy systems. This is the focus of research by the "Resilient Monitoring and Control" group at OFFIS.
In the energy sector, a profound paradigm shift has begun, primarily driven by the extensive integration of distributed energy resources, the liberalization of energy markets, and the changing roles of actors, such as consumers to prosumers. To continue monitoring and controlling energy systems, they are increasingly permeated by information and communication technologies (ICT) and automation technologies. However, these technologies also increase the system's complexity and makes it more vulnerable to cyberattacks.
The resilient operation of such a transforming, decentralized, and dynamic energy system heavily depends on accurately and in real-time representing the system to anticipate events as early as possible and exploit available flexibilities. Such a digital representation, also known as a digital twin, is based on data collected using information and communication technologies (ICT).
A key challenge is to derive a meaningful understanding of the collected data, such as in the form of models or event identification, so that it can be used for anticipating and ensuring the resilient operation of the system. Following this vision, the key topics of the "Resilient Monitoring and Control" (ROC) group are:
- Digital Twins: How can digital twins be integrated into the operational routine of an energy system to ensure resource-efficient and resilient energy supply in the future?
- Trust: How can the trustworthiness of components, data, and services in cyber-physical systems be assessed to enable better event prediction and decision-making?
- NextGen Grid Control: How can grid control systems be designed to address the challenges of cyber-physical energy systems and develop new functionalities that are purposefully integrated into HMIs?
Figure 1: New, innovative system architecture for monitoring and controlling complex cyber-physical systems.
The research in these key topics aims at a new, innovative system architecture to monitor and control complex cyber-physical systems in a resilient manner. Established standards from the domain, such as the common information model (CIM), are combined with established standards from other domains, such as MQTT, and new concepts, such as trust assessment and hierarchically nested digital twins, into a modular, highly flexible, and resilient system.
Research Topics
Digital Twins
A digital twin is a dynamic virtual copy of a real existing system. They are versatile and enable more effective development, analysis, or management of the represented system, depending on the application. Originally stemming from product lifecycle management, digital twins are also unlocking various new applications in the energy sector. Learn more…
Trust
Trust is a subjective, context-dependent, and multivariate sense about an entity with respect to various aspects. It enables more comprehensive monitoring of components, data, and services. This provides new opportunities for capturing complex events and, consequently, for decision-making. Learn more…
NextGen Grid Control
Increasing volatility and complexity in energy systems require new concepts and system architectures to efficiently monitor and control energy systems. NextGen Grid Control represents an open, future-oriented, flexible, and real-time capable platform for this purpose. Learn more…
Grid Control Lab
Rising complexity in multimodal decentralized energy systems demands new and adaptive concepts for monitoring and control. The Grid Control Lab provides a research and development platform for designing and testing new systems for forward-looking operation of energy systems. Learn more…
Persons 
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Projects
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Alpha Ventus
Data-Warehouse-System for sensor data from the Offshore Windparc alpha ventus
Duration: 2007 - 2015C
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D-Flex
Dezentral und zentral gesteuertes Energiemanagement auf Verteilnetzebene zur Systemintegration erneuerbarer Energien
Duration: 2013 - 2015 E
enera
Dezentrale Energieversorgung im Praxistest (sorry - only available in German)
Duration: 2017 - 2021 EnerGeoPlan
Regelbasierte, räumliche Optimierung von regenerativen Energieanlagen und Verbrauchern (sorry - only available in german)
Duration: 2011 - 2013 ERIGrid
European Research Infrastructure supporting Smart Grid Systems Technology Development, Validation and Roll Out
Duration: 2015 - 2020 Publications
2025
Resilience Monitoring for the Digitalisation of the Energy Transition (ReMoDigital)
Bert Droste-Franke and Gabriele Fohr and Davy van Doren and Markus Voge and Moritz Bergfeld and Urte Brand-Daniels and Karen Derendorf and Marc Dziakowski and Hans Christian Gils and Ghinwa Harb and Gandhi Pragada and Tudor Mocanu and Sophie Nägele and Henrik Netz and Martin Plener and Angelika Schulz and Henning Wigger and Madhura Yeligeti and Michael Brand and Batoul Hage Hassan and Anand Narayan and Sigrid Prehofer; January / 2025
2024
Applying Trust for Operational States of ICT-Enabled Power Grid Services
Michael Brand, Anand Narayan, Sebastian Lehnhoff; April / 2024
Modelling the propagation of properties across services in cyber-physical energy systems
Anand Narayan, Michael Brand, Nils Huxoll, Batoul Hage Hassan, Sebastian Lehnhoff ; March / 2024
Poster Abstract: A Digital Twin Platform Applied to Hydrogen Electrolyzers
AMIT KUMAR SINGH, JELKE WIBBEKE, AMIN RAEISZADEH, NILS HUXOLL, MICHAEL BRAND; DACH+ Conference on Energy Informatics 2024; October / 2024
Resilience Quantification of Interdependent Power and ICT Systems using Operational State Classification
Anand Narayan; July / 2024
2023
ASSESS – Anomaliesensitive State Estimation mit Streaming Systemen in Smart Grids
Michael Brand; December / 2023
Assess: anomaly sensitive state estimation with streaming systems
Brand, Michael and Engel, Dominik and Lehnhoff, Sebastian; Energy Informatics; 2023
Demo Abstract: IT Platform for Provision of Ancillary Services from Distributed Energy Resources
Payam Teimourzadeh Baboli, Amin Raeiszadeh, Michael Brand, and Sebastian Lehnhoff; DACH+ Conference on Energy Informatics, Vienna, Austria; 2023
Impact of ICT Latency, Data Loss and Data Corruption on Active Distribution Network Control
Klaes, Marcel and Zwartscholten, Jannik and Narayan, Anand and Lehnhoff, Sebastian and Rehtanz, Christian; IEEE Access; 2023
Poster Abstract: Algorithms for Condition Monitoring of Complex Power Electronic Systems in Photovoltaics
Loeffler, Dominik; Abstracts of the 12th DACH+ Conference on Energy Informatics 2023; October / 2023
