Van der Aalst Energy Process Intelligence Laboratory
The laboratory focuses on Energy Process Intelligence for new power systems, studying multi-object operational processes formed by coupled business activities, physical operations, information interactions, and decision-control behaviors.
Laboratory Profile
Building process awareness, anomaly explanation, and decision support for energy operations.
The Van der Aalst Energy Process Intelligence Laboratory, named after Professor Wil van der Aalst, the “Godfather of Process Mining”, is established at North China Electric Power University. The laboratory addresses key challenges in representing business activities, physical operations, information interactions, and decision-control processes across source-grid-load-storage operations and coordination within a unified process-aware framework.
The laboratory aims to make energy operational processes visible, anomalies explainable, and decisions controllable. Its work spans multi-object process representation, anomaly explanation and risk analysis, and human-in-the-loop safe optimization.
By connecting process mining, object-centric process mining, explainable process intelligence, and operational needs of new power systems, the laboratory develops trustworthy intelligence for source-grid-load-storage operations and coordination.
Inauguration Ceremony of the Van der Aalst Energy Process Intelligence Laboratory
On May 26, 2026, North China Electric Power University held a ceremony to appoint Prof. Wil van der Aalst as Honorary Professor and inaugurate the Van der Aalst Energy Process Intelligence Laboratory. Prof. van der Aalst is an internationally renowned computer scientist and a founding figure of process mining.
According to the university report, President Tianshu Bi welcomed Prof. van der Aalst to NCEPU and highlighted his foundational contributions to process intelligence and process mining. She noted that the inauguration would support international research collaboration, frontier discipline development, and intelligent energy and power research.
During the ceremony, President Bi presented Prof. van der Aalst with the NCEPU Honorary Professor certificate. The two then jointly unveiled the laboratory plaque.
Research Directions
The laboratory organizes its research around the chain of representation, explanation, and optimization.