Heavy snowfall couldn’t put a damper on our field trip to Walenstadt. More than 30 researchers (including seven from Germany and one from Norway, as well as strong representation from the NCCR Automation community) braved traffic jams and rail disruption to come together to see the city’s power facilities in person and meet our partners. It was a valuable opportunity to bring together diverse stakeholders and draw in control theorists from further afield. 

The day started with a warm welcome from WEW’s president Justus Bernold and CEO Stefan Fausch, followed by an introduction to the Grid2050 project from Pulkit Nahata and Benjamin Sawicki. NCCR Automation researchers Lukas Ortmann and Saverio Bolognani then shone a spotlight on some of the work already done in Walenstadt, followed by more technical presentations from researchers from Andreas Ulbrig and Alexander Winkens (from RWTH Aachen) and Matthias Hoboda de Badyn (from University of Oslo).  

After a well-earned lunch break by the lake, the afternoon was devoted to touring local power facilities (spanning the gamut from battery systems to rooftop photovoltaics and the hydropower plant) and brainstorming possible technology transfer opportunities and applications for the research that had been shared in the morning sessions.  

And finally, participants in the test community were welcomed to an apéro for a personal update on the project they had signed up for in May. Lukas was able to share the news of the P+D grant from the Canton of St Gallen, injecting fresh momentum into the Walenstadt initiative, and provide information on the upcoming rollout of energy management system devices from Solar Manager.