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Motasem Sami (Bani Mustafa) is from Jordan and joined Ulster in June 2018 and passed his viva in February 2022.

As well as academic qualifications in Renewable Energy/Mechanical Engineering (MSc) and Mechatronics Engineering (BSc), Motasem has 10+ years experience in Home Automation, HVAC and Solar PV.

His PhD on 'Battery Energy Storage Systems in Hospitals for Flexibility, Resilience and Arbitrage' addresses the health sector as an effective tool to manage the increase of intermittent renewable energy sources, and as a new provider for grid flexibility by using behind-the-meter (BTM) battery energy storage system (BESS) within its facilities.

The evaluation has also extended to appraise the associated benefit of using the same BTM BESS to increase the resilience of the hospitals against power loss or instantaneous power disturbance.

What attracted you to complete your PhD in this area?

As an engineer with 10 years’ experience, 6 years of them were in the photovoltaic (PV) solar systems, I have faced issues in the real life with customers who are willing to install solar PV at their facilities but could not do this due to the limitation of the available capacities on the grid. This led to a decrease in the sales of PV systems in the Jordanian market and made me miss a lot of opportunities.

I have addressed this issue in my dissertation during my M.Sc. in the Renewable Energy, which was about studying a PV-BESS hybrid system that allows the integration of more PV in some areas that cannot host new PV capacity by managing the PV export to the grid using the BESS.

What attracted you to study at Ulster University?

I was looking for an institution in the UK that is specifically addressing the development of using batteries for the future with higher shares of renewable energy sources, and Ulster University was one of very few institutions that was addressing this issue.

Furthermore, Ulster University was awarded a fund (SPIRE2 Project) to do wide research in this area that got my interest, so simply, Ulster University was the best ever option to apply for.

What attracted you to study at Ulster University?

I was looking for an institution in the UK that is specifically addressing the development of using batteries for the future with higher shares of renewable energy sources, and Ulster University was one of very few institutions that was addressing this issue.

Furthermore, Ulster University was awarded a fund (SPIRE2 Project) to do wide research in this area that got my interest, so simply, Ulster University was the best ever option to apply for.

What were your expectations for study and were these met?

To learn about trending issues with the increase of renewables and how to solve part of it using storage technologies. In addition to learn other non-technical aspects related the big image, like policy and regulations.

I was lucky to study this issue in Northern Ireland which is a leader worldwide in the highest instantaneous renewable and interconnection powers. What is more important, I have met a wide range of professionals within the field, most of them are within Ulster University/Centre for Sustainable Technologies (CST), and the rest were from their partners and connections within the field.

What were the highlights/lowlights of the programme?

The CST has offered everything I need to finish my research, and supported me to publish a journal article in a journal with an impact factor of 6.6, which was a dream for me. In addition, I have attended a conference in Romania (UPEC2019) and presented a full conference paper, which was a new experience for me.

My supervisors and the SPIRE2 team supported me and understood my situation during the hard time of COVID19 outbreak, especially for a married PhD researcher who is taking care of a child.

How has the PhD influenced your career aspirations?

My PhD is in one of the trending topics worldwide especially with the future targets for emissions’ reduction. I have noticed that most of my colleagues who finished their PhDs within SPIRE that they secured jobs before their final submission of the thesis. Some of them worked in the industry, and some in the academia, which opened a wide range of opportunities.

What’s next for you?

I am leaving back home to my country (Jordan) for a personal circumstance related to the health condition of my mother, especially after a long time of interruption of two and half years due to the COVID19 outbreak.

I am intending to come back to Norther Ireland this this summer (2022) to attend the graduation ceremony.

Very recently, I have been offered a position as lecturer (Assistant Professor) in one of the private universities in Jordan (Middle East University) in the Department of Renewable Energy Engineering.

After all, I would love to keep in touch with my supervisors, SPIRE2 team, and other CST staff, which they were my big family for the last 4 years. I owe them a lot!

Publications

  1. “Evaluation of a battery energy storage system in hospitals for arbitrage and ancillary services” Bani Mustafa, M., Keatley, P., Huang, Y., Agbonaye, O. , Ademulegun, O. & Hewitt, N. Journal of Energy Storage 43, 103183
    • Available Online: 13/9/2021 DOI : 10.1016/j.est.2021.103183
  2. “Value of demand flexibility for providing ancillary services: A case for social housing in the Irish DS3 market”. Agbonaye, O., Keatley, P., Huang, Y., Bani Mustafa, M., Ademulegun, O. & Hewitt, N.
    • Utilities Policy 67, 101130 Published: December 2020
    • DOI: 10.1016/j.jup.2020.101130
  3. “Design, Valuation and Comparison of Demand Response Strategies for Congestion Management”. Agbonaye, O., Keatley, P., Huang, Y., Bani Mustafa, M. & Hewitt, N.
    Energies 13 (22), 6085
    Published: November 2020
    DOI: 10.3390/en13226085
  4. “Energy Storage on a Distribution Network for Self-Consumption of Wind Energy and Market Value”.
    Ademulegun, O., Keatley, P., Bani Mustafa, M. & Hewitt, N.,
    Energies 13 (11), 2688
    Published: May 2020
    DOI: 10.3390/en13112688
  5. “Energy Storage for Increasing Self-Consumption of Wind Energy and Market Value on A Distribution Network”. Ademulegun, O., Keatley, P., Bani Mustafa, M. & Hewitt, N.
    14th INTERNATIONAL POSTGRADUATE RESEARCH CONFERENCE 2019: Contemporary and Future Directions in the Built Environment-Page (371-382)
    Published: February 2020
  6. “Universities as a source of grid flexibility: A case study”.
    Bani Mustafa, M.  ,  Keatley, P.  , Huang, Y., Agbonaye, O., Vorushylo, I. & Hewitt, N.
    2019 54th International Universities Power Engineering Conference (UPEC2019)
    Published: November 2019
    DOI: 10.1109/UPEC.2019.8893557
  7. “Techno-Economic Evaluation of On-Grid Battery Energy Storage System in Jordan using Homer Pro” (Based on my MSc thesis). Khasawneh, H., Bani Mustafa, M., Al-Salaymeh, A. & Saidan, M
    2019 AEIT International Annual Conference (AEIT)
    Published: November 2019 
    DOI: 10.23919/AEIT.2019.8893416
  8. “Value of Demand Flexibility for Providing Ancillary Services: A Study of the Irish DS3 Market”.
    4th Annual APEEN Conference 2019: Energy Demand-Side Management and Electricity Markets

    Published: October 2019

    1. Agbonaye, O.
    2. Keatley, P.
    3. Bani Mustafa, M.
    4. Ademulegun, O.
    5. Huang, Y.
    6. Hewitt, N.
  9. “BUSINESS MODELS FOR THE DISPLACEMENT OF OIL BY HEAT PUMPS AND ENERGY STORAGE IN SOCIAL HOUSING” Agbonaye, O., Vorushylo, I., Huang, Y., Bani Mustafa, M., Keatley, P.
    Abstract in UKERC Annual Conference 2019: Local Energy Systems in National and International Contexts-Oxford, United Kingdom