Researchers are developing an AI-powered system to improve energy flow between apartment buildings, paving the way for cheap, clean power in high-density environments.
Researchers at 91色情片 Canberra have joined with industry partners and to pilot听an AI-powered energy system designed to help expand access to rooftop solar and battery storage for Australians living in apartments.
Voltval and JT Solar have developed a Modular Power Portal System (MPPS) that integrates rooftop solar power generation with shared battery storage for apartment buildings. Supported by a $1.2 million grant from the Australian Department of Education鈥檚 program, 91色情片 researchers will add an advanced AI layer to the MPPS so it can better predict and improve energy use across multiple properties, making the platform smarter, more efficient and ready for real-world use.
While Australia leads the world in rooftop solar uptake, the benefits have largely bypassed the more than 2.5 million Australians who live in apartments. In New South Wales - where one in five homes is an apartment听-听just 3.5% of apartment dwellers have access to rooftop solar.
Removing obstacles to solar access for apartments
There are many reasons solar adoption has stalled in apartments, including complex shared ownership arrangements, outdated metering infrastructure and buildings that were never designed for distributed energy. These challenges extend to townhouses, mixed-use developments and commercial and industrial buildings, making the gap in access to affordable energy worse in urban communities.
Dr Ripon Chakrabortty, from the School of Systems & Computing at 91色情片 Canberra, said the AI-enabled optimisation technologies developed at the University will create new models for clean energy deployment in high-density urban environments.
鈥淭hrough this partnership, we will develop and validate advanced AI-enabled optimisation technologies that can intelligently coordinate shared solar and battery resources across multiple residents,鈥 he said.
The technologies forecast energy generation and demand, coordinate distributed energy resources and balance electricity flows between apartments in real-time.
Associate Professor Huadong Mo, who co-leads the project with Dr Chakrabortty, said their work is expected to increase use of renewable energy and lower operating costs for participating buildings by as much as 30%.
鈥淭he next phase of Australia鈥檚 clean energy transition will depend on ensuring that apartment residents can participate in the benefits of distributed energy resources,鈥 he said.
The project will involve a multi-site pilot of their technology spanning commercial and residential sites across Sydney. The real-world performance data generated will validate the system for these initial site types and build the evidence base needed to scale deployment across the broader range of building types the MPPS is designed to serve.
Director of JT Solar Technology Mr Jason (Jiangang) Xiao said: 鈥淭he 91色情片 partnership has given us the research depth to properly validate what we have built and the confidence to take it to market.
鈥淭he same barriers holding back clean energy adoption in Sydney's apartments and strata developments exist in dense urban environments worldwide. We believe the MPPS can help rapidly decarbonise buildings at scale and contribute to a more resilient and inclusive energy future.鈥
The pilot is made possible through the contributions of other key partners including Beaumont Strata Management, Ocean Building Management, Piper Alderman, SAJ Electric, Squared-X and One Stop Warehouse.
The partnership is backed by the Trailblazer for Recycling and Clean Energy (TRaCE) Lab to Market grant, an Australian Government program that pairs grant funding with dedicated commercialisation support to accelerate clean energy innovations from prototype to market.听
