Motivation Maas van Apeldoorn

During my graduation project at the Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research (DIFFER), I focused on developing a simulation framework to support the design of self-driving laboratories (SDLs). These laboratories combine both physical and digital automation to autonomously conduct and evaluate experiments. This new paradigm has the potential to accelerate experimental research by several orders of magnitude and play a significant part in the energy transition. 

A key challenge in SDL development is that there are no best practices established yet for designing such a system, from the used equipment to the experimental workflows. In addition, making mistakes during the design phase can be costly and reduce the efficiency of the lab significantly. The simulation framework I developed aims to address this gap by enabling researchers and SDL designers to virtually test and evaluate their SDL designs before deployment. This reduces some of the risk involved with developing the system and aids in decision-making. 

The framework will be released as an open-source tool on GitHub in 2026, allowing both academia and industry to use it and build upon it. In addition, a scientific publication describing the framework is currently in preparation to be released alongside the tool in 2026. We presented the work at the NWO ICT.OPEN conference, and it was evaluated with a cum laude distinction by the Eindhoven University of Technology. 

During the project, I also contributed to DIFFER’s community by organizing short workshops on software tools and professional skills, sharing what I learned throughout my EngD with peers and colleagues. Working on such a challenging project that directly contributes to the energy transition has been all I wanted for my career for the past couple of years and I am grateful to have had this opportunity. 

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