Renewable energy expert and Consultant

Dr.Eng. Nugroho Agung Pambudi, M.Eng

Expert in geothermal, solar thermal, wind, and biomass energy — Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS), Indonesia

Turning the earth's heat, the sun, the wind, and biomass into reliable power and clean fuel — through rigorous thermodynamics, exergy, and techno-economic modeling.

200+
Publications
34
h-index · Scholar
28
h-index · Scopus
123
Scopus articles
Geothermal energy, a solar water heater, and a wind turbine feeding electricity into the power grid An illustrated landscape where geothermal heat, solar thermal collection, and wind generation converge through a transmission tower and flow as electricity to homes.
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About

Rigorous renewable energy engineering, built for real deployment.

I work across renewable energy conversion — turning the heat beneath our feet, the sun, the wind, and biomass into reliable power and clean fuel.

My focus is the engineering between a resource and a working plant — how a geothermal reservoir, a solar thermal field, or a stream of agricultural waste actually becomes electricity, process heat, or solid fuel. Much of this work uses the Organic Rankine Cycle to recover low- and medium-temperature heat that would otherwise be lost, paired with exergy (second-law) analysis to pinpoint exactly where useful energy is being destroyed.

On the biomass side, I study thermochemical routes — hydrothermal carbonization, gasification, and refuse-derived fuels — that upgrade waste into energy-dense fuel and syngas. Every system is grounded in detailed simulation with Python, EES, and CoolProp, then tested against techno-economic reality through LCOE and multi-objective optimization.

I earned my doctorate at Kyushu University, Japan, publish in leading Elsevier journals such as Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews and Renewable Energy, and serve as a reviewer and editor. I also advise industry and government on geothermal and bioenergy development — keeping the modeling honest by holding it to what can actually be built, financed, and operated.

Expertise

Six domains of renewable energy conversion.

From the wellhead to the working fluid — the systems I design, model, and optimize for converting renewable heat and flow into power.

Geothermal · ORC

Geothermal Power & Organic Rankine Cycle

Closed-loop and conventional geothermal systems — binary and flash configurations, coaxial wellbore modeling, and ORC design with optimal working-fluid selection.

Solar thermal

Solar Thermal Systems

Solar water heating and thermal collectors, including hybrid geothermal–solar configurations that deliver both heat and power.

Bioenergy

Bioenergy & Thermochemical Conversion

Hydrothermal carbonization, gasification, and refuse-derived fuels that turn biomass and waste into solid fuel and syngas.

Wind

Wind Energy Conversion

Wind energy capture and experimental, Python-based computational analysis of airflow-driven generation.

Waste heat · Polygeneration

Waste Heat Recovery & Polygeneration

Recovering waste brine and residual heat for combined power, freshwater (geothermal desalination), and direct-use applications.

Exergy · Techno-economics

Thermodynamic, Exergy & Techno-Economic Analysis

Second-law evaluation and multi-objective optimization (LCOE, NSGA-II, Pareto) that underpin every system I design.

Selected work

Models that earn their assumptions.

Simulation and optimization studies spanning closed-loop geothermal, biomass conversion, and plant-level economics.

Closed-loop · ORC

Closed-Loop Geothermal ORC Systems

Sealed wellbore systems generating electricity from medium-temperature heat without producing reservoir fluids — emphasizing thermal efficiency, working-fluid choice, and modular design.

Wellbore · Python

Coaxial Wellbore Model — Mataloko

A Python model of a closed-loop coaxial geothermal well, capturing transient heat extraction for the Mataloko field.

Optimization · NSGA-II

Multi-Objective Plant Optimization

NSGA-II optimization of geothermal power plants with Pareto-front analysis to balance output, efficiency, and cost.

Techno-economics

Triple-Flash Techno-Economic Analysis

LCOE, CAPEX/OPEX, and sensitivity analysis for triple-flash geothermal configurations.

Bioenergy · HTC

Hydrothermal Carbonization of Waste

Optimizing hydrothermal processing of biomass waste into higher-grade, energy-dense solid fuel.

Simulation

Gunung Lawu Well Simulation

Python simulation of geothermal wells at Gunung Lawu, supporting resource and performance assessment.

Publications

Selected peer-reviewed work.

A sample of recent technical articles. The complete, up-to-date list lives on Google Scholar.

2025 Renewable energy / freshwater security in urban areas through a geothermal-based desalination system: central composite design analysis and optimizationRenewable Energy · Elsevier 2025 Experimental and Python-based computational analysis of wind energy generation from relative airflow in a moving vehicleNext Research 2025 Optimization of hydrothermal processing for banana-peel waste: enhancing solid-fuel characteristics as a renewable energy sourceResults in Engineering 2024 The geothermal energy landscape in Indonesia: a comprehensive update on power generation, potential, and developmentRenewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews · Elsevier 2018 Geothermal power generation in Indonesia, a country within the Ring of Fire: current status and future developmentRenewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews · Elsevier
View all on Google Scholar →
Open code

Reproducible engineering.

Simulation and optimization code, openly available — built so the analysis can be checked, not just cited.

Browse all repositories on GitHub →
Beyond the lab

Giving quietly, built to continue.

Outside research, I help run the drPambudi Indonesia Foundation (Yayasan Derma Indonesia) — a non-profit, entirely family-funded initiative for social outreach and education, run without external fundraising as a sincere act of service rather than for recognition.

Sembako Peduli — monthly food aid

Basic food packages distributed every month in Jatibarang Kidul and Jatibarang Lor (Brebes) and Sukoharjo, reaching Kebumen and Boyolali as needs arise — funded entirely by the family to keep it sincere and sustainable.

Education scholarships

Scholarships for santri at Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) in Sukoharjo and East Java — small, consistent steps toward more equal access to education for high-achieving children from low-income families.

"Giving from the heart — not to be remembered, but to be continued." Visit the foundation → @ykdi.indonesia →
Contact

Open to collaboration.

For research partnerships, reviewing and editing, student supervision, or industry consultation on geothermal and thermal-energy systems — reach out.