Welcome from the IEEE PES ISGT Europe 2020 General Chairs

Welcome from the IEEE PES ISGT Europe 2020 General Chairs On behalf of the Organizing Committee we are very pleased to welcome you to the 10th IEEE PES Innovative Smart Grid Technologies Europe (ISGT-Europe) Conference organized by the Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands, which for more than 175 years has been one of the most prestigious public institutions both at an international and national level in education, research, technological transfer and services in all sectors of engineering. The IEEE-PES ISGT-Europe 2020 conference will stress the need for viewing the role of smart grids in future energy systems as part of the designing, managing and operating qualitatively new complex socio-technical systems. From a technical perspective, solutions to the limited ability to predict stochastic generation and demand can be found in novel technologies such as integrated communications, advanced sensing & measurement technologies, advanced control methods, improved interfaces and decision support. From an economic and regulatory perspective, the challenge is to innovate and deploy new technologies within new business models and market designs, so that the objectives to contribute significantly to a sustainable world will be met. This is the first ISGT conference that is conducted in a virtual fashion. This is a challenge but also an opportunity. Although we would have preferred to welcome the ISGT community in the beautiful city of the Hague located in South-Holland, we are happy to host you virtually this time. We kept the classical format of a conference with regards to timing and content, and tried to replicate the interactive elements such as discussions or social interaction with on-line tools. Conferences are - besides learning the newest trends and developments - for meeting peers and networking after all. A clearly positive aspect of virtual conferences such as this one are reduced costs, both in conference organization (and in attendee fees ) and travel. Still, we hope that we will meet soon again face to face and enjoy a few days together. We would like to thank all the conference sponsors and everyone that supported us in setting this IEEE PES ISGT-Europe 2020 up, from IEEE PES, the Technical Review Committee to the local team at TU Delft and wish everyone a fruitful and engaging conference. We look forward to meeting you virtually at the 10th IEEE PES Innovative Smart Grid Technologies Europe (ISGT-Europe) Conference.