DTU Wind and Energy Systems has appointed Marta Victoria as a professor, reinforcing the department’s focus on resilient power and energy systems at a time when the global energy transition is accelerating. As Europe and the rest of the world pursue rapid decarbonisation, ensuring that energy systems can withstand disruptions is becoming increasingly critical. In this portrait, the new professor outlines her perspectives on resilient energy systems and the challenges shaping the transition.
“With this professorship, the department prioritises research in resilient power and energy systems,” she explains. “The key question is how we ensure that, while we decarbonise our energy system, it can also adapt to low-probability but high-impact events.”
For Marta Victoria, the appointment also marks a significant personal achievement. “Becoming a professor represents recognition of all the work and effort I have put into delivering high-quality research, supervision and teaching,” she says.
Integrating technologies for a carbon-neutral future
Marta Victoria’s research sits at the intersection of energy system modelling and resilience. Her work focuses on how different technologies can be integrated into coherent, robust systems supporting a carbon-neutral future. “I find it fascinating to think about systems — how technologies fit together and how to connect the pieces of the puzzle,” she says. “Energy system modelling requires combining very different knowledge domains, from meteorology to economics, from power flows to complex networks, and from climate science to environmental policy.” Her research aims to identify how large shares of wind and solar can be integrated while maintaining reliability, including which technologies and strategies are needed to reach carbon neutrality and withstand extreme conditions.
A core question is how to define and design for extreme events. “What is the ‘extreme event’ we should design our energy system for?” she asks. “What is the one-in-100-year event we should use for design?” The answer depends on system flexibility, including storage, interconnectors and backup generation. Designing adaptable systems will be crucial.
Marta Victoria is currently leading the DFF Sapere Aude project EXTREMES, investigating how extreme weather affects wind- and solar-based systems. The project explores: What weather conditions challenge the system most? How long can energy droughts last? How often do they occur, and how will climate change affect them? “In the project, our aim is to build a fundamental understanding of extreme weather events and their implications,” she says. “At the same time, we explore strategies to increase resilience. For example, near-optimal solutions that may be slightly more expensive but more robust.”
Educating future engineers and shaping tomorrow’s energy systems
Alongside her research, Marta Victoria teaches the course Integrated Energy Grids, focusing on the design and operation of networks transporting electricity, gas and heat, and how they support renewable integration. “Energy systems are becoming increasingly interconnected and complex,” she says. “Students must understand how infrastructures interact if we are to succeed with the green transition.”
Looking ahead, she sees wind, solar and electrification as central to both climate mitigation and energy security. “These technologies are our best strategy to reduce emissions and energy imports,” she says. However, she emphasises increasing complexity: “We need to accelerate wind, solar and electrification while carefully considering resilience. The goal is not to slow down, but to move faster while managing risks.”
Open data and collaboration in energy system research
Marta Victoria also emphasises the importance of open science and transparent data for high-quality research. In energy system modelling, access to reliable data is essential for transparency, reproducibility and collaboration. “System modelling requires breaking down silos and ensuring access to transparent data,” she notes. Open-access grid data supports planners, companies and researchers, and plays a role in preparedness and response. Marta Victoria has contributed extensively to the open European energy system model PyPSA-Eur, now widely used by companies, institutions and research groups.
As the energy transition accelerates and systems grow more complex, her work points towards a future where openness, collaboration and resilience are not just ideals, but prerequisites — and where designing for the unexpected may become as important as designing for efficiency.