Background and activities

Ida Fuchs is the innovation manager for Electrification and digitalization at the Department of Electric Power Engineering at NTNU. In addition, she is a PhD candidate with the topic Solar energy, storage and digitalization for energy access and decentralized power systems.

Background - Education and experience

She holds a MSc (5 years) in Industrial and Electrical Engineering (2006) from Chemnitz University of Technology (Germany) and a Pre-Diploma (2 years) of Physics from the same university. She has experience from technical work in a Norwegian hydro power plant. She wrote her master's thesis on the world's first decentral autonomous wind and hydrogen power system at Utsira in Norway, where she analyzed the stability of the system regarding the operation of the fuel cell power inverter. 

She has been working as researcher at NTNU where she modeled large scale offshore wind power integration into the Norwegian and Nordic power system. Further she worked as an advisor and project manager in the public sector for the Trøndelag County Council in the field of renewable energy and the green shift. 

Solar energy is her scientific passion and she has been an active member, board member and leader of the Norwegian Solar Energy Association (locally and national). 

She is an active member of Engineers Without Borders Norway and she has been on field trips in Nepal, Tanzania and Kenya with projects related to solar energy. 

Innovation management - Electrification and digitalization

The tasks of innovation management at the department include strategic and operational elements. The innovation manager has responsibility for forming and maintaining an innovation culture and ecosystem for innovation in Electrification and digitalization. Further, she is a mentor and advisor for innovators (employees and students) at the department. Additional, she contributes to keep a high level of innovation skills among the employees and students at the department. Both organizing courses, teaching and developing and implementing educational tools for innovation, are part of that task. The innovation manager is a matchmaker and bridgebuildler between academia and industry or the public sector.  

Innovators at IEL

Main mentor for:

(previously)

Co-mentor for:
(ongoing)

  • Hossein Ehya: Project: Health monitoring of electrical machines

Lectures and teaching

  • Toolbox for Innovation (3 crash course + intro and exit)
  • Spring 2021 course teacher for TET4853 - Solar and Storage – Digital Electrical Energy for Emerging Countries and Future Power Systems
  • Spring 2019 guest lecture in TET4175 - Design and operation of smart grid power systems, with titel: Utsira microgrid and grid stability aspects
  • Spring 2019 guest lecture in TET4850 Experts in team – Energy challenges for a sustainable future, with titel: Solar energy in emerging markets - rural electrification
  • Spring 2018 guest lecture in TET4175 - Design and operation of smart grid power systems, with titel: Utsira microgrid and grid stability aspects

Arenas and forums at NTNU

Research and Innovation projects
(ongoing)

  • EnergyNET - NORHED II - Energy Technology Network - Capacity building in Renewable Energy in East-Africa (project member)
  • ENERGICA - EU Green Deal project H2020 - ENERGy access and green transition collaboratively demonstrated in urban and rural areas in AfrICA (Associated PhD)

PhD research topic - Solar energy, storage and digitalization for energy access and decentralized power systems

The aim of the research project is to develop and improve tools and methods (energy system planning and operation) for energy access with a focus on solar energy and storage (PV and batteries). The feasibility of local and decentralized solar and storage systems for rural areas in emerging and developing countries is studied, by making use of digital technologies (sharing with DLT, prediction with AI, communication with IoT) and incorporating flexibility (generation, storage, demand, mobility).

The main question to answer during the research is: Can the proposed solution provide an acceleration of electrification timeframes, an improvement of service delivery, a reduction of electricity costs and a better redistribution of social benefits?

Media and dissimination

Scientific, academic and artistic work

Displaying a selection of activities. See all publications in the database

2021

2019

2013

  • Mærk, Mali; Fuchs, Ida. (2013) Fornybar energi fra havet. Forskningstorget Trondheim [Kunstnerisk og museal presentasjon] . Norges Forskningsråd; Trondheim. 2013-09-20 - 2013-09-21.

2011