Critical materials are economically important raw materials with high supply risk. They are widely used in electronic components, batteries, sensors and drone-related systems. For Europe, access to these materials is a strategic issue because many of them are not sufficiently available within the European …

orecasting the thermal behavior of ?exible heating assets is essential for real-time energy management in heating systems. While thermal dynamics are complex, the optimization algorithms within EMS require low-order models with minimal computational load to make rapid, real-time decisions. To bridge …

The increasing penetration of renewable energy (RE) and hydrogen technologies is reshaping the operational requirements of modern decarbonised energy systems, necessitating advanced control strategies to coordinate renewable generation, hydrogen storage, and heterogeneous end‐use demands. This paper …

Forecasting the thermal behavior of flexible heating assets is essential for real-time energy management in heating systems. While thermal dynamics are complex, the optimization algorithms within energy management systems (EMS) require low-order models with minimal computational load to make rapid, real-time …

This paper presents a case study where a model predictive control (MPC) logic is developed for energy flexible operation of a space heating system in an educational building. A Long Short-Term Memory Neural Network (LSTM) surrogate model is trained on the output of an EnergyPlus building simulation model. …

Collaborative robot arms (cobots) are gaining a strong foothold in contemporary manufacturing workplaces. While more information about the cobot’s impact becomes available, crucial design, work perception, performance, and strategic implications are systematically overlooked. Following a modern sociotechnical systems …

Background Positive Energy Districts, which incorporate energy planning at the district level, are a pioneering concept for sustainable, smart and climate-neutral urban development. This concept supports creating communities that generate more annual energy than they consume. To this end, integrative …

Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) is the main driver of resource consumption and waste generation in Europe. Although most European countries achieved 70% recovery rate of CDW, the majority is used for backfilling. Therefore, opportunities for Circular Economy (CE) practices in CDW management are …

Construction and demolition waste (CDW) is the most important waste stream in the EU in terms of mass, with around 340 million tonnes between 2010 and 2018 (EEA, 2020). Most member states achieved a recovery target of 70% for this fraction, however, it is mainly based on backfilling or downcycling. Materials …

This thesis centres on the Railway Viaduct at Kloetinge (Zeeland), a critical infrastructure element in operation since 1938. As of 2024, with its technical lifespan nearing its end at 86 years, the viaduct's longevity demands attention for its future viability. Situated on Viaduct Road, linking Kloetinge …