Power

Today we were picked up by our host and driven to a small power station complex that juggles generation via wood chips, solar, ground heat pump and (when all else fails) gas, combined with water heat storage, to provide heating and power to a town of 12,000. 

We were guided round by Søren, and even got to look (through a glass screen) at the burning wood chips as they progress through the (green) furnace on a moving metal floor. There were heat exchangers everywhere, and vessels to remove the ash and carbon monoxide so that all that comes out of the chimney is relatively cool carbon dioxide, water vapour, and a slight bonfire smell. Even the heat inside the building is captured and recycled - "My bachelor project", said Søren proudly - and, without it, the temperature inside would be 40°C. 

It really was fascinating to see this process at first hand, but the reason we were there was that the plant management is aided by using a "digital twin", for which HiGHS solves the optimization problems. 

We returned to Aalborg where, after lunch and a brief presentation by our host, I gave my first talk to about 20 people responsible for developing and maintaining the digital twin. И then learned how to use the software to generate a model that was proving to be unusually challenging to solve with HiGHS. There were some useful discussions, which are sure to be continued over dinner tonight.