Event details
- Dates: 15-26 June 2026
- Location: Forschungscampus MODAL @ ZIB Berlin
Are you an optimization expert or a developer in the field of energy system modeling? We invite you to participate in a high-impact hackathon focused on the integration of PIPS-IPM++ into modern modeling ecosystems.
We want to foster the development of interfaces to a broad variety of modeling systems. Thus, the Hackathon aims to increase the accessibility of PIPS-IPM++ by developing interfaces beyond its current GAMS implementation. We are looking for creative solutions to integrate this powerful solver into established energy system models and modeling systems.
We are looking for creative solutions to integrate this powerful solver into established energy system models and modeling systems.
The challenge
Help us make PIPS-IPM++ the go-to solver for massive LP problems across all platforms. Whether you are improving the API or building new language wrappers, your contribution will help energy system modelers compute faster solutions for complex global challenges.
Participants will work on creating new interfaces for:
- Modeling Systems: Such as Pyomo and JuMP.
- Energy System Models: For example, oemof, PyPSA.
- Programming Languages: Including Julia or Rust.
- Core Development: Supporting the creation of a C++ basis API.
If you are interested in participating but are still hesitant to register or have specific technical questions, we want to hear from you. Please reach out to us at pips2026@zib.de.
Timeline & Logistics
- Kick-off Event: June 15th, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM (Berlin time), held as a comprehensive video conference.
- Registration Deadline: June 8th (register online).
- Submission Deadline: June 22nd (presentation of results and git repository submission).
- Final Award Ceremony: June 26th in Berlin.
- Location: Hybrid. Participants can join online or in person at the ZIB in Berlin.
What We Provide
To support your development, we provide:
- PIPS-IPM++: access to the latest PIPS-IPM++ release and full documentation.
- Streamlined Setup: a dedicated Docker image.
- Sample Workflows: a sample workflow for solving large-scale energy system models.
- Expert Coaching: coaching sessions with project partners to guide your implementation.
During the hackathon, we will provide a dedicated infrastructure specifically designed to support Agentic Coding, ensuring you can deploy AI agent workflows.
There is now a tagged version v0.1.0 in the Gitlab repository. Users can also pull the tagged Docker image version with the command:
docker pull registry.gitlab.com/pips-ipmpp/pips-ipmpp/pips-ipmpp:v0.1.0
Prizes & Recognition
Following the project presentations on June 24th, we invite our Berlin-based participants to join us for a group dinner. The hackathon will conclude on June 26th with a final event to announce the winners.
- 1st Place: 1200 €
- 2nd Place: 500 €
- 3rd Place: 300 €
About MODAL
The Research Campus MODAL is one of ten national research campuses funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). It represents a unique ecosystem where cutting-edge theory meets critical industrial demand.
Established by Zuse Institute Berlin (ZIB) and Freie Universität Berlin, and in partnership with 12 leading companies, MODAL enables researchers from academia and industry to collaborate in joint labs to solve complex, high-impact optimization problems. Core applications include railway and gas transport, as well as information-based medicine.
The PEREGRINE PIPS-IPM++Hackathon is part of the project PEREGRINE funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) under grant number 03EI1082A-B.
