Alfred University’s Inamori School of Engineering and clean-tech startup Ranial Systems are developing a new artificial-intelligence-assisted battery storage and microgrid controller. The controller could be used for grid-scale battery storage, commercial and industrial microgrids.
Work on the next-generation System-on-Chip Energy Management System / Battery Management System controller began in June and is expected to conclude in November.
The team, led by Chandan Kumar, assistant professor of computer science at Alfred University, will run a multi-track project covering both hardware and software—building and testing AI models, integrating sensors, and putting everything through rigorous hardware-in-the-loop testing using the university’s advanced power grid simulator.
HIL testing links physical hardware to a real-time simulation to validate performance under realistic conditions.
Long Island-based Ranial Systems will provide CognitEMS, its proprietary edge native-agentic AI platform that unifies battery and energy management for distributed energy resources. The company could not be reached for comment.
“We see this collaboration as a meaningful opportunity to translate cutting-edge Machine Learning research into a commercially deployable, domestically developed solution with direct relevance to New York State’s clean energy goals and the broader national push toward resilient, intelligent energy infrastructure,” Kumar said in a statement.
Engineering tomorrow’s energy systems
Home to around 2,100 students, Alfred University is tucked into the foothills of New York’s Allegheny Mountains, about an hour south of Rochester.
It has robust engineering facilities well-suited for the project. The GE Vernova Advanced Power Grid Lab features Advanced Energy Management System (AEMS) and Advanced Distribution Management Solutions (ADMS) software platforms that will enable the team to conduct real-time simulations, validate the controller through hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing, and benchmark progress.
The engineering building also has a microgrid control center and distributed energy resources command center, both of which will be leveraged for the project.
The team, which includes a graduate student and Dr. Xingwu Wang, professor of electrical engineering at Alfred University and co-principal investigator, will gain valuable hands-on experience in cutting-edge energy systems research, Kumar said.
Connecting classroom learning with practical, industry-level application helps prepare the next generation of engineers to address challenges in intelligent energy infrastructure.
“What excites me most about this work is that we are bringing unsupervised learning out of the research lab and into the power grid, where it can make a real difference in how we manage and protect our energy systems,” Kumar said.
Project funding comes from a $65,000 grant from New Energy New York (NENY), a partnership between Binghamton University and the New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology Consortium (NY-BEST). In May, it awarded nearly $315,000 to four recipients working to advance battery technologies and expand energy storage innovation in upstate New York.
