A Multiobjective Optimization Perspective on the Stability of Economic MPC

We interpret economic MPC as a scheme that trades off economic performance and stability. We use this notion to design an economic MPC controller that exploits the inherent robustness of a stable auxiliary MPC controller to enhance economic performance. Specifically, we incorporate a flexible stabilizing constraint to the economic MPC formulation that preserves stability of the auxiliary controller. We use multiobjective optimization concepts to argue that the dual variable of the stabilizing constraint can be interpreted as a price of stability and we establish an equivalence between the proposed controller and regularized economic MPC controllers. We demonstrate that nontrivial gains in economic performance can be achieved without compromising stability.