Alexandra Ciuriuc is the technical responsible for the XL-Connect project in EURECAT and the Work Package 6 leader – “Evaluation of Operational, Social and Economic Impacts”. She is a researcher in the Waste, Energy and Environmental Impact Unit from Sustainability area of Eurecat – Technology Centre of Catalonia. She received her PhD degree in Electrical Engineering from University Politechnica of Bucharest.
What was your original motivation to become a researcher/project manager?
I always knew I wanted to become a researcher, since I was a child. I liked the idea of always learning new things.
What is your (main) research area today?
During my PhD I studied the degradation of vegetable and mineral oil for power transformers, but during the last years, I have been involved in several projects and my focus has been on the integration of electrical vehicles and renewable energies into the grid and sustainable buildings.
What is the main focus of your team in XL-Connect?
We are analysing the impact of the electrical vehicles on the grid, by assessing and monitoring power quality considering load profiles , EV penetration scenarios and battery charging profiles, and the impact of the different bidirectional charging profiles on battery degradation, considering different cell chemistries, stress factors and usage scenarios. We also aim to quantitatively evaluate the environmental impacts of infrastructure, energy exchange, and battery degradation using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology and ensuring compliance with the Do No Significant Harm (DNSH) principle for sustainable solutions.
From all your activities within the project, what are you the most proud of/keen to share with the public?
An optimization algorithm for V2G in a home scenario with different loads and considering real grid prices and real photovoltaic generation, stationary storage and EV working as a load and as an energy supplier.
How do you expect the XL-Connect results will impact your organisation?
The integration of bidirectional charging activity resulting from energy storage and grid interactions represents a novel service offering for our organization. We will also expand our knowledge by applying the Do No Significant Harm (DNSH) principle in this sector.
