As one of the universities in Germany awarded the status of “Excellence University”, RWTH Aachen University, established in 1870, is a leading technical university in Germany and Europe with over 40,000 students and more than 500 professors. RWTH joins the NEMOproject with the Institute for Automation of Complex Power Systems (ACS), part of the E.ON Energy Research Center.
The E.ON Energy Research Center, a public-private partnership between E.ON SE and RWTH Aachen University funded in 2006, fosters innovative energy research with a strong link with industry in an interdisciplinary approach with five institutes from four different faculties.
Within this research center, the Institute for Automation of Complex Power Systems focuses on research for the automation, modernization, and restructuring of electrical energy distribution systems. This research area deals with solutions for monitoring, maintaining, and developing complex power systems. Both the simulation of dynamic processes in complex network systems and the development of a stable and secure communication infrastructure are areas of expertise for the scientists working at ACS. The Institute is developing the science and technology for the transition to the next-generation energy grid based on network-distributed control systems, agent-based control, distributed observers and measurements, complex system theory, and control under uncertainty. During 2014, the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology approved the merger of ACS with the Chair for Operating Systems. This created the first chair in the faculty that operates both in the energy area and the ICT area to better address the modern challenges presented by energy systems.
Role of RWTH in NEMO Project
RWTH plays a major role in creating the Micro-Services Secure Execution Environment (SEE) of NEMO. It allows migrating microservices, unikernels and binaries to Internet of Things (IoT) devices, the edge, or the cloud. It will build on the Hermit [1] project, creating a secure environment using the Rust language, which helps in eliminating memory-unsafety-based security vulnerabilities. RWTH also helps with meta-architecture design and component specification; cybersecurity and digital identity attestation; integration, penetration testing, and lab validation and verification; smart energy and smart mobility validation; cross-living lab validation and third-party support; and dissemination, communication, and training activities. Finally, RWTH, as an institution where knowledge is naturally disclosed, will also be actively involved in the dissemination of the project results through participation in workshops and meetings and the presentation of relevant results in international conferences and journals.
[1]: https://www.acs.eonerc.rwth-aachen.de/go/id/mjfh/lidx/1