Unified approach for price prediction and battery operation in the Australian National Electricity Market
⚡ New National Industry PhD Project: Smarter Batteries for a Smarter Grid 🔋
How can we unlock the full value of big batteries in the Australian National Electricity Market (NEM) – not just predict prices, but act on them optimally in real time?
Campus Plus is pleased to share a new Australian Government Department of Education National Industry PhD Project in collaboration with OptiGrid Pty Ltd and the University of Adelaide, focused on developing a unified approach to price prediction and battery operation in the NEM.
Right now, most large-scale battery strategies rely on a two-step process, which involves separate price forecasting and battery operation. Even when price forecasts improve, this separation can still lead to sub-optimal decisions and lost revenue.
This project will:
Develop an end-to-end machine learning framework that directly links price prediction with operational decisions
Embed domain expertise from the Australian energy sector into the models
Aim to achieve optimal battery operation under real market conditions
Demonstrate how better algorithms can increase revenues for battery assets while supporting grid reliability
The impact?
Stronger business cases for new large-scale battery projects
Better returns from existing storage assets
Faster, more cost-effective progress towards Australia’s net-zero emissions targets
A more efficient NEM and lower electricity costs for consumers
This collaboration brings together:
Dr Ali Pourmousavi Kani – Senior Lecturer, School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, The University of Adelaide
Dr Wen Soong – Associate Professor, School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, The University of Adelaide
Dr Nam Dinh - Co-Founder & Data Science Lead, OptiGrid Pty Ltd
Dr Owen Lamont – Senior Software Engineer, OptiGrid Pty Ltd
Sepehr Karimi – PhD Researcher, School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, The University of Adelaide