Mathematical Economics and Optimization in the Energy Industry Workshop at Webster Vienna

Webster Vienna Private University was host for ÖGor's (Österreichische Gesellschaft für Operations Research) workshop on mathematical economics and optimization in the energy industry on Sept. 23-24.

The workshop was sponsored by d-fine Austria and Energieallianz Austria, with an organizational team composed of Dr. Gerold Petritsch (ÖGor), Dr. Ronald Hochreiter (Webster Vienna), Dr. Clemens Heitzinger (TU Wien), Dr. Daniel Huppmann (IIASA), and Dr. Leopold Sögner (IHS).

Throughout the workshop’s two days, over 15 lectures were given by industry experts from Austria and Germany on different topics and fields. Energieallianz Austria invited all participants to a traditional Austrian Heuriger on Thursday evening.

One example from Thursday's sessions: Dr. Mario Liebensteiner from FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg MathWorks Munich gave an insightful lecture on pricing carbon energy management system optimization and renewable energies.

"The key feature towards a carbon-free energy industry is energy storage," said Dr. Gregor Ostermaier, manager of Decision Tree in Munich. "All sorts of flexibility in storing energy or shifting consumption and production along the timescale need to be used. We have many projects in the paper industry where we optimize when to produce paper depending on the energy price. When abundant power, the energy price falls, then the paper factory needs to create more. The opposite happens when there is a power shortage. This is important flexibility in the high power consumption industry that can help the energy transitioning."

Hochreiter, associate professor of Finance at Webster Vienna, presented a thought-provoking lecture on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and predicting time series data.

One participant commented, "The future of artificial intelligence depends on how we use it. There are domains in which it is valid and where it, given the outcome, makes sense. Some models are more valuable than others."

Ostermaier commented, "The application of AI is at the very beginning. There are great applications, for instance, image recognition, where AI is applied widely already. However, as soon as the portfolio becomes more complex, like a hydropower system, we are far away from the practical application of AI. There is a lot of work ahead."

Reflecting on the workshop, Gerold Petritsch commented, "There is a lot to take home from these two days, from the exciting presentations and discussions to the small talk at the Heuriger. We can learn about new ideas and interesting facts as well as a network among each other."

Hochreiter called the workshop a tremendous success. "It is the most successful event series in the history of the Austrian Society of Operations Research," he said. "The long waiting list of prospective participants due to a Covid19-restricted number of seats showed even more demand for the content presented at the workshop. Having been a participant at the inaugural event in 2005 as a young PhD student, I am happy to be part of the organization committee more than 15 years after the series started.

"I am looking forward to continuing organizing this workshop series and hope that we may host the workshop at Webster for years to come."

The host and organizers thank all participants and sponsors for these two days of insightful lectures, discussions, and presentations!