About
The Centre for Renewable Energy and Power Systems (CREPS) is a world-class research centre, specialising in the fields of renewable energy and enabling technologies. CREPS aims to enhance both fundamental and applied research in power and energy systems in Australia, through its experienced and multidisciplinary researcher team.
Research programs
CREPS supports world-leading research with local and global partners across four program areas: electrical power, energy systems, sustainable and emerging technologies and renewable energy, enabling and storage technologies.
This program focuses on diverse and challenging problems facing the electric power industry in the 21st century. The Centre is especially interested in technical problems associated with integration of distributed generation, renewable generation and storage into existing power networks, hybrid remote area power supply systems, network operation and security control, load modelling, smart grids, and intelligent systems applications to power systems.
Program Leader: Michael Negnevitsky
Contact: Michael.Negnevitsky@utas.edu.au
This program focuses on optimising the efficiency of energy transfer and conversion. Research areas include turbomachinery, energy storage and energy transport in mechanical forms, such as water, heat and compressed air. Turbomachinery research includes energy generation using air and water turbines. Energy storage techniques are investigated to provide stability and ability to deliver base load generation to renewable generation systems. The Centre is also interested in efficient use of energy in cogeneration or combined heat and power systems.
Program Leader: Alan Henderson
Contact: Alan.Henderson@utas.edu.au
This program aims at addressing the technical challenge in the application of low grade energy resources including geothermal energy, solar thermal, waste energy and coal-seam gas through a new multidisciplinary fundamental science based approach. The centre is interested in technical problems related to heat pump technology, desalination, low grade energy power generation, energy conversion among three forms: thermal, cooling and electricity, energy storage in gas, thermal and electric forms, and energy efficiency in building, cooling, power systems and cold-chain technology.
Program Leader: Xiaolin Wang
Contact: Xiaolin.Wang@utas.edu.au
This program focuses on the role of renewable energy and distributed energy resources. Distributed energy resources such as photovoltaic generation, battery storage systems, electric vehicles and flexible loads are becoming increasingly commonplace in energy systems. The Centre is focused largely on the impacts of distributed energy resources, and on developing technologies and coordination strategies that not only enable this deployment but that can also facilitate the integration of increasing levels of renewables into the power system.
Program Leader: Evan Franklin
Contact: Evan.Franklin@utas.edu.au
Power electronics plays a central role in modern electrical power engineering, enabling efficient energy conversion and effective integration of renewable energy sources into power grids. This program focuses on the development and optimisation of power electronic systems that are essential for efficient energy conversion and integration of renewable energy sources into the power grid. Research areas include advanced converter topologies, innovative control strategies for power electronic devices, digital control of power converters, and the application of power electronics in renewable energy systems such as solar photovoltaics, wind turbines, and electric vehicles. The program also explores the role of power electronics in microgrids and smart grid technologies, aiming to enhance the reliability and performance of modern electrical networks.
Program Leader: Waqas Hassan
Contact: waqas.hassan@utas.edu.au
Research Projects
- ARC Training Centre in Energy Technologies for Future Grids
- Enhancing the Operating Performance of Electric Vehicles via Energy Management
- Modelling and operation of a hydrogen microgrid with 700 kW electrolyser
- DC microgrids for offshore applications
- US Office of Naval Research Global - Realization of an Energy Magazine via Supply Side Sequencing
- Synthetic Storage for Improving Flexibility and Security of Micro-Grids
- Launceston Australian Forest and Wood Innovations (AFWI) Research Centre
- CSIRO - Solar powered direct air capture
- Power Quality Assessment in Electricity Networks with New Energy Sources and Energy-Efficient Equipment (2020-2023), $2,019,643
- Dam spillway hydraulics (2017-2021), $136,757
- No Load Diesel Application in Remote Power Systems (2016-2020), $451,000
- On-line Monitoring and Modelling of Electric Loads for Improving Operational Conditions of Power Systems (2007-2009), $456,000
