The EMA Section — Jalal Kazempour

The Energy Markets and Analytics (EMA) section (see here and here!) is one of the six sections of Division for Power and Energy Systems (PES), belonging to the Department of Wind and Energy Systems (DTU Wind) of DTU. I am currently heading this section.

The EMA section builds the mathematical and algorithmic foundations of electricity markets, the systems through which flexibility, computation, and information jointly determine market outcomes in a fully renewable energy system. Our research spans three interconnected areas: the design of markets and grid codes that integrate flexible resources; the development of provably safe algorithms for bidding, clearing, and market surveillance; and information design enabling data-driven market regulation.

The section offers an international, diverse, and friendly atmosphere, encouraging creativity, empathy, and collaboration within the section and beyond. Many former EMA members are now successful researchers at leading universities or hold impactful roles in industry and policy.

We are currently 16 members from 9 nationalities, with diverse scientific backgrounds including electrical engineering, industrial engineering, operations research, data science, and applied mathematics (updated in June 2026). To learn more about our department and the EMA section, please check the slides [here], presented during the EMA study trip to KTH, Stockholm in October 2025.

Remark: The EMA section was previously the "Energy Analytics and Markets" (ELMA) group within the Center for Electric Power and Energy Systems (CEE), DTU Electrical Engineering Department (DTU Elektro). Since March 2022, the former CEE (now PES division) is part of the newly established DTU Wind and Energy Systems Department.

EMA Vision

A research section at the forefront of algorithmic electricity markets, building the science of how flexibility, computation, and information jointly determine market outcomes in a fully renewable system.

Focus: Short-term electricity markets, from market design and bidding to clearing, surveillance, and real-time operation and control.

01 Flexibility is the core commodity.
02 Energy markets are trustworthy algorithmic systems.
03 Information is regulation.

EMA Mission

We build the mathematical and algorithmic foundations of energy markets.

Design

Flexibility & Market Architecture

Economics of flexibility, market architecture and grid code design

Key question: How should electricity markets and grid codes be designed to integrate flexible resources and enable a fully renewable system?

Operate

Algorithmic Market Operations & Verification

Provably safe algorithms for bidding, clearing, control, and surveillance

Key question: How do we develop algorithms that are scalable, attack-resilient, and provably safe under uncertainty?

Govern

Information Design & Regulation

Information design enabling data-driven market regulation

Key question: What information is revealed, to whom, under what incentives, and how does data become a governed economic asset?

EMA Activities & Tools

Who the work is for, what it is built with, and what is running now in each of the three areas above.

Design

Potential clients: TSOs, RCCs, ENTSO-e
Tools: Optimization, game theory, mechanism design, probabilistic guarantees

Nordic-SEC Multi-TSO cross-border coordination
Industrial PhD Energinet Multi-TSO reserve dimensioning
Industrial PhD Rambøll H2 market design; flexible contracts
DTU alliance TU/e P90 reliability grid codes for ancillary service markets
Other potential directions Capacity market design; redesigning reserve and balancing products; imbalance pricing; DSO-level grid service design

Operate

Potential clients: Bidders (physical/financial), market operators, regulator
Tools: Optimization, learning, formal verification, data-driven safety certification

ViPES2X Algorithmic multi-market trading for hybrid power plants
LaCour Algorithmic market clearing for energy communities
Industrial PhD Forsyningstilsynet Surveillance of intraday market distortions
DTU alliance KTH Cyber-physical resiliency for power system operation
Other potential directions EUPHEMIA 2.0 redesign; REMIT 2.0; formal verification of bidding decisions

Govern

Potential clients: ACER, Danish Energy Agency, data market platforms
Tools: Privacy-preserving algorithms, mechanism design, information design

Data Unlocked Privacy-aware data sharing between market participants
DTU alliance Cornell Privacy-aware coordination of flexible loads
EDDK 2.0 Data sharing, trading platform and sandbox for data-driven market regulation
Other potential directions Information design as regulatory tool; incentive-compatible disclosure; market surveillance via information asymmetry

EMA Members

18

Faculty & Staff

Jalal KazempourProfessor, Head of Section
Lesia MitridatiAssociate Professor
Licio RomaoTenure-Track Assistant Professor
Farzaneh PourahmadiResearcher
Josefine HansenAdministrative Coordinator

Postdocs

Ander Martinez AlonsoVisiting Postdoc (VUB)
Lukas Stipple

PhD Students

Torine Reed Herstad
Yannick Heiser
Marco SarettaIndustrial PhD, Rambøll
Valdemar SøgaardIndustrial PhD, Energinet
Shobhit Singhal
Asmus Winther Eriksen
Tomas Lubiana Herscovici
Alessia Ortile
Rasmus ThorgaardIndustrial PhD, Forsyningstilsynet (Danish Utility Regulator)
Gloria Tintoré Vidal
Sofie Davidsen

EMA Study Trips

9

One a year since 2016, to a European host group.

Each year, the EMA section organizes a study trip to a leading European research institution. These visits are an integral part of our section's culture, fostering scientific exchange, strengthening long-term collaborations, and exposing our members to diverse research environments and perspectives. Each trip combines a joint scientific event with the host research group, including talks, discussions, and collaborative sessions, with a social activity day for the EMA team.

2025

KTH, Stockholm, Sweden

Hosts: Profs. K. Johansson, H. Sandberg, and G. Belgioioso