Energy and Sustainable Futures: Proceedings of 2nd ICESF 2020

This open access book presents papers displayed in the 2nd International Conference on Energy and Sustainable Futures (ICESF 2020), co-organised by the University of Hertfordshire and the University Alliance DTA in Energy. The research included in this book covers a wide range of topics in the areas of energy and sustainability including:
- ICT and control of energy;- conventional energy sources;- energy governance;- materials in energy research;- renewable energy; and- energy storage.
The book offers a holistic view of topics related to energy and sustainability, making it of interest to experts in the field, from industry and academia.

Dr Iosif Mporas is a Senior Lecturer in Information Engineering at the University of Hertfordshire since 2016. He holds a Ph.D. (2009) and a 5-years Diploma (2004) degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Patras, Greece. His expertise is in signal processing and machine learning applications. He has participated in several R&D projects (H2020, FP7, commercial) in the areas of ICT, self-adaptive and intelligent systems as PI or senior researcher. He has served as Guest Editor in journals and as General Chair or Organiser of international conferences and workshops. Dr Mporas has published more than 100 papers in international journals and conference proceedings cited more than 1000 times (h-index: 16).
Prof Pandelis Kourtessis is Director of the Centre for Engineering Research and Head of the Cognitive Networks Research Lab. He has a research track record in Next Generation Passive Optical Networks, Optical and Wireless MAC Protocols, 5G Radio Access Networks, Software Defined Network & Network Virtualization 5G and Satellite Networks and Machine Learning for Next Generation Networks. Prof Kourtessis has been the PI of FP7, H2020, ESA, UKRI and industrially funded projects such as FP7 ACCORDANCE, FP7 BONE, ESA SATin5G, ESA Bx WiFi and H2020 MC COFUND/DTA3. He has served as general chair, co-chair, technical programme committee member and at the scientific committees and expert groups of IEEE workshops and conferences, European technology platforms and European networks of excellence.

Professor Amin Al-Habaibeh is Professor of Intelligent Engineering Systems within the Product Design team at Nottingham Trent University. He is also the national Director of DTA-Energy (Doctoral Training Alliance). His research and teaching activities focus on several multi-disciplinary topics in the broad area of product design and innovation, automation, energy, condition monitoring and artificial intelligence. Amin is the Director of the Product Innovation Centre at Nottingham Trent University and currently leading the Innovative and Sustainable Built Environment Technologies research group (iSBET). He has over 180 patents and publications and a he is a Fellow of Higher Education Academy (FHEA). Amin holds a PhD in Advanced Manufacturing Technologies and an MSc in Manufacturing Systems from the University of Nottingham; he also received his BSc in Industrial Engineering (Design and Manufacturing) from the University of Jordan. Before joining NTU, Amin had several industrial and academic positions including leading research roles at the University of Nottingham (Rolls-Royce University Technology Centre) and Loughborough University (Mechatronics Research Centre). Amin is a Chartered Engineer and member of the Institution of Engineering and Technologies (The IET) and a past chairman of the IET for the East Midlands Region and Derbyshire/Nottinghamshire local network panel. He has acted as an external examiner at numerous UK and international universities. Over his career, Amin has received over £5 Million of funding for his research an academic activities from the EU, Innovate UK, EPSRC, AHRC and industrial collaborators.
Dr Abhishek Asthana (FIET, FEI, FHEA, Ceng) is the director of Hallam Energy and Reader in Energy Engineering at Sheffield Hallam University. He is the Deputy Director of Doctoral Training Alliance (DTA) in Energy. He has led 65 energy research and consultancy projects for industry and government organisations. He is the inventor of four patents and five energy software packages. He has been the course director of BEng Energy Engineering and Chemical Engineering courses at the university. He is a member of the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERK) and a reviewer for the International Energy Agency (IEA)’s Renewable Energy Division.
Dr Vladimir Vukovic is a Deputy Director of Doctoral Training Alliance in Energy established between 14 UK universities and a Senior Research Lecturer in BIM and Energy Reduction in Built Environment at Teesside University. His research interests and over ten year experience include sustainable (energy efficient, socially acceptable, environmentally friendly) building design and operation: Building Information Modeling, cyber physical system modelling and optimisation, predictive controls, indoor environmental quality, energy efficiency implications on occupants’ wellbeing and productivity, energy aware social networking enabled via smart metering. He had a leading role in more than 15 funded EU and international research projects worth over £100 million, consulting experience for UNDP, Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, Innovation Fund Denmark, Estonian Research Council, Siemens Building Technologies and EUREKA Secretariat. He is author or co-author of over 30 peer-reviewed publications and recipient of numerous awards (e.g. ASHRAE, A&WMA).
Prof John M. Senior is currently a Professor of Communication Networks at the University of Hertfordshire UK where he was the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences in 1998 moving from the post of Head of Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Manchester Metropolitan University. In 2006 he became the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) at Hertfordshire and subsequently a Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and International) in 2013 and is currently Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and Enterprise). He has substantial experience over 30 years of research in optical communications and networking, including pioneering activities concerned with optical fiber networks and PONs with a focus on physical layer architecture and new MAC protocols. More recently his research has focused on the integration of 5G network technology with both PONs and satellite networks. He has authored over 260 journal and conference papers and is the author of the well-known textbook Optical Fiber Communications: Principles and Practice, which is currently in the third edition. He is a fellow of the UK Institution of Engineering and Technology and sits on the executive committee of the UK Engineering Professors’ Council.