New Project Proposal - RTC-Tools

[jarsarasty]

Mission Statement

RTC-Tools is a mature, leading open-source solution for the operational optimization of water and energy systems. Our mission is to provide a robust, flexible, and scalable framework that empowers organizations to efficiently manage and optimize their assets, contributing to sustainable water and energy solutions worldwide.

Description

RTC-Tools is an open-source Python package for simulation and operational optimization of assets. Models can be specified in Python or in the Modelica modelling language, making it generically applicable to a broad class of assets. It can be used for model-predictive control and operational decision making of water and energy systems. The project has been initiated by Deltares. Currently Deltares develops and maintains the software in collaboration with external developers.

Is this a new project or an existing one?

This is an existing project that has been in its current form since 2015. It originated from a precursor R&D project that began in 2011 at Deltares.

Current lead(s)

• Jesus Andres Rodriguez Sarasty (Deltares)
• Tjerk Vreeken (without affiliation)
• Jorn Baayen (Shell)
  Supporting developers:
• Ailbhe Mitchell (Deltares)
• Farid Alavi (Deltares)
• Bernhard Becker (Deltares)
• Sjoerd Geevers (Vortech, contracted by Deltares)
• Joris Bentvelsen (Vortech, previously contracted by Deltares)

Sponsoring organization(s), along with any other key contributing individuals and/or organizations

Deltares has funded most of the development, with additional contributions from engineers employed by Shell and by Kisters.

Detail any existing community infrastructure, including:

• Github/GitLab, or other location where the code is hosted
• Website and/or docs
• Communication channels ( such as Mailing lists, Slack, IRC )
• Social Media Accounts

• Github: https://github.com/Deltares/rtc-tools
• Documentation: https://rtc-tools.readthedocs.io/en/stable/

Are there any specific infrastructure needs or requests outside of what is provided normally by LF Energy ? If so please detail them.

No specific needs.

Why would this be a good candidate for inclusion in LF Energy?

RTC-Tools is a well-established and widely used project, deployed and live on a significant portfolio of assets globally. It boasts robust support from leading industry players, ensuring its continued development and relevance in optimizing water and energy management systems.

How would this benefit from inclusion in LF Energy?

While RTC-Tools has a significant presence in the water sector, its application in energy systems has remained relatively low-profile. Inclusion in LF Energy would enhance awareness of RTC-Tools in the energy sector. Additionally, it would assist in refining and formalizing the project's governance structure.

Provide a statement on alignment with the mission in the LF Energy charter.

RTC-Tools aligns with the LF Energy mission by promoting open-source solutions for optimizing water and energy systems. Our project supports sustainable practices and innovation, contributing to the efficient management of resources. By joining LF Energy, we aim to enhance collaboration, share knowledge, and drive the adoption of standardized optimization tools across the industry.

What specific need does this project address?

RTC-Tools addresses the critical need for efficient and standardized optimization tools in the management of water and energy systems. As the demand for sustainable solutions grows, organizations require robust tools to optimize the performance of their assets. RTC-Tools provides advanced features such as model-predictive control, support for ancillary services, and handling forecast uncertainty, making it an essential tool for both water and energy sectors. Its open-source nature ensures accessibility and continuous improvement through community contributions, aligning with the goals of LF Energy to promote open and collaborative innovation.

Describe how this project impacts the energy industry.

RTC-Tools significantly impacts the energy industry by providing a mature, open-source solution for optimizing energy storage systems. With the increasing adoption of grid-scale batteries and other energy storage technologies, the need for efficient and standardized optimization tools has become critical. RTC-Tools leverages the Modelica systems modeling language, making it applicable to various types of energy storage, including batteries, pumped storage, gas, and thermal storage.

By offering advanced features such as support for ancillary services, collocated assets, value stacking, and forecast uncertainty handling, RTC-Tools addresses the industry's need for robust and flexible optimization solutions. Its inclusion in LF Energy would further enhance its visibility and adoption in the energy sector, promoting standardized practices and reducing redundant efforts across the industry.

Describe how this project intersects with other LF Energy projects/working groups/special interest groups.

There is some overlap with the FlexMeasures project, which performs basic price arbitrage optimization for energy storage systems. However, RTC-Tools, leveraging the Modelica systems modeling language, is suitable for a much broader range of applications.

RTC-Tools offers additional features not available in FlexMeasures, such as support for ancillary services, multiple value streams, lexicographic goal programming, and forecast uncertainty handling. Essentially, the feature set of FlexMeasures is a subset of that provided by RTC-Tools.

Who are the potential benefactors of this project?

Energy:

• Gas network operators
• Heat network operators
• Power traders
• Virtual power plant operators (aggregators)

Water:

• Water management organisations
• Drinking water companies
• Sewage system operators
• Hydropower companies
• Reservoir management companies (hydropower, water supply, flood control)

What other organizations in the world should be interested in this project?

• Universities and research institutes
  o TU Delft (the Netherlands)
  o RWTH Aachen University (Germany)
  o University of Duisburg-Essen (Germany)
  o University of Kassel (Germany)
  o NTNU (Trondheim, Norway)
  o University of Waterloo (Canada)
• End users from
  o Water sector. Current users are
   Rijkswaterstaat (the Netherlands)
   Bundesanstalt für Gewässerkunde (Germany)
   Hoogheemraadschap van Rijnland (the Netherlands)
   United States National Weather Service
  o Energy sector: hydropower
   Ontario Power Generation (Canada)
   HydroTasmania (Australia)
   Verbund (Austria)
  o Consultants
   Nelen & Schuurmans (the Netherlands)
   Royal Haskoning DHV (the Netherlands)
   Hydrotec GmbH (Germany)

Plan for growing in maturity if accepted within LF Energy

We plan to leverage LF Energy events and communication channels to increase awareness and adoption of RTC-Tools. By participating in LF Energy conferences, webinars, and other events, we aim to showcase the capabilities and benefits of RTC-Tools to a broader audience. Additionally, we will utilize LF Energy's communication platforms, such as newsletters, blogs, and social media, to share updates, success stories, and technical insights related to RTC-Tools. This increased visibility will help attract new users, contributors, and collaborators, further enhancing the project's growth and impact.

Project license

LGPLv3

Is the project's code available now? If so provide a link to the code location.

Yes: https://github.com/Deltares/rtc-tools

Does this project have ongoing public (or private) technical meetings?

Yes, we hold biweekly semi-public technical meetings. While these meetings are not publicly announced, interested parties are welcome to join upon request.

Does this project's community venues have a code of conduct? If so, please provide a link to it?

We currently do not have a code of conduct. However, we are willing to adopt a code of conduct based on the guidelines provided by LF Energy.

Describe the project's leadership team and decision-making process.

The project is hosted within Deltares and is currently lead by a product manager, a product owner and a scrum master . An internal weekly standup helps to coordinate the maintenance and development activities among the Deltares’ development team. In addition, feedback and contributions from external collaborator are coordinated through biweekly technical community meetings with attendees from Shell, TNO, Royal HaskoningDHV and individual developers. We are open to align our governance structure with the Linux Foundation guidelines.

Does this project have public governance (more than just one organization)?

No. However, there is a biweekly technical community meeting with attendees from Deltares, TNO, Royal Haskoning DHV, and Shell, where we coordinate with other organizations and individual contributors some of the maintenance and development tasks.

Does this project have a development schedule and/or release schedule?

The project has been stable for many years. While we previously maintained a development and release schedule, it has not been necessary recently due to the project's maturity. However, we are open to re-establishing a formal schedule if needed.

Does this project have dependencies on other open source projects? Which ones?

It depends on the following Python packages:

• pymoca
• casadi
• numpy
  CasADi, in turn, provides plug-ins for open-source optimization solvers such as Ipopt, Cbc, and Highs.

Describe the project's documentation.

The project is documented using Sphinx on Readthedocs: https://rtc-tools.readthedocs.io/en/stable/
It includes installation instructions, a tutorial, many extensive step-by-step examples including graphics, as well as a reference manual.

Describe any trademarks associated with the project.

None.

Do you have a project roadmap? If so please attach or provide a link.

Deltares looks at RTC-Tools from both a user and technical perspective. We have collected and prioritized feature requests and improvements as JIRA issues. Although this roadmap is not currently shared with the entire RTC-Tools developer community, it is communicated more broadly to those who implement the software, including modellers at Deltares and other organizations.

The features and enhancements to be developed are either in the RTC-Tools core (RTC-Tools in itself) or in accompanying packages (e.g., open channel library, rtc_tools_interface, hydraulic structures). Examples for features and improvements related to the RTC-Tools core (RTC-Tools itself) are: integration of additional optimization solvers like Knitro, better usage of the existing solvers, improvement of the continuation method. Examples of usability improvements a GIS interface, automatic generation of piecewise linear constraints with boolean variables, visualization of the contribution of a particular goal to the solution.

Are this project's roadmap and meeting minutes public posted?

Not yet. The project has maintained stability for many years. We plan to introduce a roadmap for the development and milestones on RTC-Tools with the development community along with the roadmaps of the contributing organizations like Deltares. Deltares plans also to become more engaged with the end-users (not only developers) and to develop a roadmap from a user perspective (this can result in other software packages that accompany RTC-Tools ) with the community.

Does this project have a legal entity and/or registered trademarks?

No.

Has this project been announced or promoted in any press?

It has been repeatedly described and referred to in scientific publications. Notable references include:

1. Gijsbers, P. J. A., Baayen, J. H., & ter Maat, G. J. (2017). Quick scan tool for water allocation in the Netherlands. In Environmental Software Systems.
2. Baayen, J. H. (2022). Numerical optimal control of open channel networks: From convex approximation to hidden invexity. PhD dissertation, University of Amsterdam.
3. Becker, B. P. J., Jagtenberg, C. J., Horváth, K., Mitchell, A., & Rodríguez‐Sarasty, J. A. (2024). Optimization methods in water system operation. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Water.
   In addition, RTC-Tools applications have been presented in conference talks.

Does this project compete with other open source projects or commercial products?

To some extent. In water management, RTC-Tools competes with the Riverware package from CADSWES and the Real Time Optimisation package from Kisters . In energy management, it competes with ABB Optimax, a commercial Modelica-based optimization suite for energy systems.