Researchers to supercharge Australia's grid resilience

As Australia continues adapting to reach its legislated net-zero target, Professor Yateendra Mishra is supercharging the push with what he says is first-of-its-kind smart grid research facilitating smarter, more efficient energy systems for the country.

Australia’s energy network is lean and sparsely connected, currently managed through a combination of centralised controls, forecasting and balancing measures — making it sensitive to disruptions and challenging for renewable integration. By international standards, it is seen as weak, but the landscape makes a suitable testing ground for new technologies, ensuring they can perform effectively in more robust networks.

With $8 billion in clean energy funding announced in the 2025–26 federal Budget and mounting focus on the complexity of the transition, the industry requires scalable, innovative solutions to find a reliable balance between supply and demand.

Mishra’s research is harnessing the skills of engineers, data scientists and behavioural economists from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) to monitor supply, forecast demand and optimise energy flows to minimise waste and improve resilience.

Watch the video interview with Mishra below for more details.

Video supplied.

Top image caption: Professor Yateendra Mishra. Image supplied.