Scientific Seminar Highlight: Prof. Michal Kvasnica on Energy Management Systems

As part of the Final FrontSeat Consortium Meeting at STUBA (25–26 September 2025), the scientific program featured an inspiring seminar by Prof. Michal Kvasnica from the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava. His lecture, entitled “Building an Energy Management System from Scratch: Challenges and Opportunities”, brought fresh insights into one of the most pressing topics in modern control engineering.

Prof. Kvasnica challenged the common perception that energy management systems are mainly about advanced algorithms. Instead, he emphasized that long-term success requires a broader perspective:

• Reliable predictive data to anticipate future scenarios,
• Systematic identification of revenue streams to ensure economic viability, and
• An efficient IT infrastructure to support real-time decision-making.

The talk highlighted how optimization in this context must operate on two complementary levels. At the static level, designers face the sizing problem — selecting the right mix of assets that keep the economics favorable under uncertainty. At the dynamic level, the system must continuously orchestrate the microgrid, predicting the near future and adapting in real time to maximize profitability while maintaining feasibility.

By connecting theoretical frameworks with the realities of industrial implementation, Prof. Kvasnica demonstrated how FrontSeat research directly addresses real-world challenges. His seminar sparked lively discussions among consortium members, underlining the importance of linking elegant control strategies with sustainable business models.

This scientific session was not only intellectually stimulating but also a vivid reminder of the interdisciplinary spirit of the FrontSeat project — where control theory, optimization, economics, and IT systems meet to shape the future of sustainable energy management.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon under grant no. 101079342 (Fostering Opportunities Towards Slovak Excellence in Advanced Control for Smart Industries).