PSC partners with Monash University
February 8, 2023

The PSC Group is proud to announce it has signed a partnership agreement with Monash University Energy Institute to conduct research that explores better integration of electricity storage into energy markets.

With funding from the Australian Government’s Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), Researchers at Monash University Energy Institute’s Grid Innovation Hub and their industry partners, including PSC, will conduct a study to explore alternative market designs that could better enable the uptake of energy storage technologies.

The study aims to guide investment in battery storage solutions, a key component to the uptake of Variable Renewable Energy (VRE).

Monash University welcomes PSC and X-ELIO as members of the GRID Innovation Hub. 
Photo credit: Angkit Thapa, Monash University. L-R: Dr Sarah Goodwin, Monash Energy Institute; Tina Kazmer, PSC Australia; Associate Professor Guillaume Roger, Monash Energy Institute; Dr Behrooz Bahrani, Monash Energy Institute; Matthew Robinson, PSC Group; Belinda Fan, X-ELIO; Nandhini Nehru, Monash Energy Institute

Matthew Robinson Head of Strategic Service Development with PSC, comments, “This partnership reflects the importance of the work we do at PSC and our proactive, forward-thinking approach that helps our clients prepare for the future. The energy transition is vital to our future, and we are compelled to make a difference. This research partnership aligns with PSC’s vision to “empower people to transform the energy industry so that, together, we will power a sustainable world.”

“We created the Grid Innovation Hub to help solve critical issues facing Australia’s energy grid today, and to help create a fit for purpose grid for decades to come,” says Dr Tony Marxsen OAM, Monash Grid Innovation Hub Chair.

“We’re excited to have PSC and X-Elio joining the Hub,” says Professor Ariel Liebman, Director of the Monash Energy Institute, host of the Grid Innovation Hub at Monash University. “They will enable us to bring the best academic, business, and engineering knowledge to the challenges facing Australia’s national grid. They join our research partners across the University,” Liebman says.

“Research and industry collaborations are vital to the global energy transition, bringing the best of both arenas together to deliver results that will increase the pace of the transition,” continues Robinson. “This is one of several partnerships we have throughout the world and an area we see as a key part of our business model.”

Energy storage is a key component to enable regions to meet their net zero target. This new study complements current work by Monash University’s Grid Innovation Hub to further integrate renewable energy into the grid.

“The role of energy storage is a big part of the energy transition, and this research will enable us to develop new market designs which will take this valuable element into account. Market systems are one of our main areas of expertise and we are delighted about the partnership with Monash. This project is a great example of industry collaboration, bringing together other key stakeholders such as AEMO and AEMC,” adds Robinson.

“There is no energy transition without storage, however there is no policy for storage yet,” says Associate Professor Guillaume Roger, a research director with the Grid Innovation Hub. “The energy storage decisions we make in the next five years will define how Australia’s grid will operate for the next twenty years,” he says.

About the Grid Innovation Hub

The Grid Innovation Hub is a collaborative research vehicle bringing together industry, government and Monash University’s world-leading researchers to tackle some of the most important opportunities of our time through ingenious research and inspiring education.

Australia’s energy sector is embarked on dramatic transformation, driven by new technologies and increasingly empowered customers. New energy infrastructure, new market designs and dynamic regulatory environments are required for the rapidly approaching low-carbon world.

Cutting-edge data science and grid engineering for next-generation energy technology combined with world-leading market and regulatory design, give the Grid Innovation Hub its true interdisciplinary approach to the creation of new opportunities for Australia to lead the world in energy.

The Hub welcomes enquiries from potential industry members. https://www.monash.edu/energy-institute/grid-innovation-hub