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The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) has set a target to achieve carbon-neutral building stock and generate 80% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2050. While Model Predictive Control (MPC) can contribute significantly to energy flexibility in buildings, its remote implementation remains relatively unexplored, especially in the residential sector. The purpose of this research is to demonstrate the reliability, robustness, and computational efficiency of a cloud-based application of an MPC called Smart Energy Management (SEM) on a multi-family residential building. The SEM was tested on a virtual building model in TRNSYS using an open-source distributed event streaming platform for data exchange and synchronization. Simplified models for thermal behavior prediction, including an R3C3 model of the building, were developed in C++. The SEM was evaluated in eight scenarios with varying weather conditions, optimization criteria, and runtime periods. The results demonstrate that the SEM maintains stability and robustness over a 2-week period with a 15-minute planning resolution while ensuring thermal comfort. The C++ implementation of the optimization algorithm enables SEM deployment on low-spec servers, supporting cost-effective applications in real buildings with minimal intervention.

The potential for global forest cover The restoration of forested land at a global scale could help capture atmospheric carbon and mitigate climate change. Bastin et al. used direct measurements of forest cover to generate a model of forest restoration potential across the globe (see the Perspective by Chazdon and Brancalion). Their spatially explicit maps show how much additional tree cover could exist outside of existing forests and agricultural and urban land. Ecosystems could support an additional 0.9 billion hectares of continuous forest. This would represent a greater than 25% increase in forested area, including more than 200 gigatonnes of additional carbon at maturity.Such a change has the potential to store an equivalent of 25% of the current atmospheric carbon pool. Science , this issue p. 76 ; see also p. 24

Published online: 08 June 2023 Regulatory sandboxes are generally seen as an important tool to make policy and regulation evolve with the changes in our energy system and to create an equal playing field for new technologies and business models that arise with the energy transition. Although an increasing number of legal frameworks on regulatory sandboxes are being implemented in Europe, the pioneers in the Netherlands decided to close their sandbox program. These contradictory events lead to questions about the potential of regulatory sandboxes to bring innovation to the European energy sector. This paper contributes to this discussion by examining the experiences with regulatory sandboxes in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Norway and Spain. We compare approved sandbox projects based on their scope and regulatory derogations to identify areas of innovation and regulatory learning brought by regulatory sandboxes. We also examine the legal frameworks of the concerned countries to evaluate the interaction between the implementation of the framework and its potential to bring innovation. In this way, we develop best practices on the topics of regulatory sandboxes and their imple[1]mentation frameworks.

Le développement rapide dans le domaine des cellules solaires à pérovskite aux halogénures organométalliques (PSC) a conduit à un rapport d'efficacité de conversion d'énergie >25 %. Cependant, leur déploiement à grande échelle et leurs efforts de commercialisation possibles sont actuellement limités en raison de la présence de matériaux de transport d'électrons traités à haute température (ETM) tels que le TiO2 et le coûteux matériau de transport de trous (HTM) dans les appareils de pointe. En utilisant Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator (SCAPS)-1D, nous avons tenté de proposer des matériaux sélectifs de charge à faible coût comme ETM et HTM, qui peuvent offrir des performances photovoltaïques élevées. Pour cela, l'évaluation du TiO2, du ZnO et du SnO2 en tant qu'ETMS a été validée. En outre, le rôle de l'épaisseur des ETM a également été étudié dans un CSP utilisant CH3NH3PbI3 comme capteur de lumière et Spiro-OMeTAD comme HTM. Nos résultats de simulation suggèrent que 90 nm de couche de SnO2 sont plus performants que l'ETM pour la fabrication de dispositifs. En outre, dans notre quête pour éviter l'utilisation de Spiro-OMeTAD, différents HTM organiques et inorganiques (P3HT, CuSbS2, Cu2O, CuSCN) ont été étudiés, et en particulier l'épaisseur HTM a été optimisée pour des performances élevées. Nous avons constaté qu'en utilisant la configuration FTO/SnO2 (90 nm)/MAPbI3/CuSCN (100 nm)/Au, un pce de 26,74 % avec un Voc de 1180 mV peut être obtenu. Le rôle de la fonction de travail de la cathode métallique a également été étudié pour remplacer l'électrode d'or (Au) coûteuse. El rápido desarrollo en el campo de las células solares de perovskita de haluro organometálico (PSC) ha dado lugar al informe de una eficiencia de conversión de energía de >25%. Sin embargo, su despliegue a gran escala y posible esfuerzo de comercialización están actualmente limitados debido a la presencia de material de transporte de electrones procesado a alta temperatura (ETM) como el TiO2 y el costoso material de transporte de huecos (HTM) en los dispositivos de última generación. Al emplear el Simulador de Capacitancia DE Células Solares (SCAPS)-1D, intentamos proponer materiales selectivos de carga de bajo costo como ETM y HTM, que pueden ofrecer un alto rendimiento fotovoltaico. Para ello, se validó la evaluación de TiO2, ZnO y SnO2 como ETMs. Además de esto, también se investigó el papel del espesor de los ETM en un PSCS utilizando CH3NH3PbI3 como recolector de luz y Spiro-OMeTAD como HTM. Nuestros resultados de simulación sugieren que 90 nm de capa de SnO2 supera a la ETM para la fabricación de dispositivos. Además, en nuestra búsqueda para evitar el uso de Spiro-OMeTAD, se han investigado diferentes HTM orgánicos e inorgánicos (P3HT, CuSbS2, Cu2O, CuSCN), y específicamente se optimizó el espesor de HTM para un alto rendimiento. Hemos encontrado que mediante el uso de la configuración de FTO/SnO2 (90 nm)/MAPbI3/CuSCN (100 nm)/Au se puede lograr un PCE de 26.74% con un Voc de 1180 mV. También se estudió el papel de la función de trabajo del cátodo metálico para reemplazar el caro electrodo de oro (Au). The rapid development in the field of organo-metal halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) has led to the report of power conversion efficiency of >25%. However, their large-scale deployment and possible commercialization endeavor are currently limited due to the presence of high-temperature processed electron transport material (ETM) such as TiO2 and the expensive hole transport material (HTM) in the state-of-the-art devices. By employing Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator (SCAPS)-1D, we attempted to propose low cost charge selective materials as ETM and HTM, which can deliver high photovoltaic performance. For this, the evaluation of TiO2, ZnO and SnO2 as ETMs was validated. Besides this, the role of thickness of ETMs was also investigated in a PSCs using CH3NH3PbI3 as light harvester and Spiro-OMeTAD as HTM. Our simulation results suggests that 90 nm of SnO2 layer outperforms as ETM for device fabrication. Furthermore, in our pursuit to avoid the usage of Spiro-OMeTAD, different organic and inorganic HTMs (P3HT, CuSbS2, Cu2O, CuSCN) have been investigated, and specifically the HTM thickness was optimized for high performance. We have found that by using the configuration of FTO/SnO2 (90 nm)/MAPbI3/CuSCN (100 nm)/Au a PCE of 26.74% with a Voc of 1180 mV can be acheived. The role of metal cathode work function was also studied to replace the expensive gold (Au) electrode. أدى التطور السريع في مجال الخلايا الشمسية بيروفسكايت هاليد المعادن العضوية (PSCs) إلى تقرير كفاءة تحويل الطاقة بنسبة >25 ٪. ومع ذلك، فإن نشرها على نطاق واسع ومساعي التسويق المحتملة محدودة حاليًا بسبب وجود مواد نقل الإلكترون المعالجة عالية الحرارة (ETM) مثل TiO2 ومواد نقل الثقوب باهظة الثمن (HTM) في الأجهزة الحديثة. من خلال استخدام محاكي سعة الخلايا الشمسية (SCAPS) -1D، حاولنا اقتراح مواد انتقائية منخفضة التكلفة مثل ETM و HTM، والتي يمكن أن توفر أداءً كهروضوئيًا عاليًا. لهذا الغرض، تم التحقق من صحة تقييم TiO2 و ZnO و SnO2 مثل ETMs. إلى جانب ذلك، تم التحقيق أيضًا في دور سماكة ETMs في PSCs باستخدام CH3NH3PbI3 كحاصدة للضوء و Spiro - OMeTAD كـ HTM. تشير نتائج المحاكاة لدينا إلى أن 90 نانومتر من طبقة SnO2 تتفوق على ETM لتصنيع الجهاز. علاوة على ذلك، في سعينا لتجنب استخدام Spiro - OMeTAD، تم التحقيق في HTMs عضوية وغير عضوية مختلفة (P3HT، CuSbS2، Cu2O، CuSCN)، وعلى وجه التحديد تم تحسين سمك HTM للأداء العالي. لقد وجدنا أنه باستخدام تكوين FTO/SnO2 (90 نانومتر)/MAPbI3/CuSCN (100 نانومتر)/Au يمكن تحقيق PCE بنسبة 26.74 ٪ مع Voc قدره 1180 مللي فولط. كما تمت دراسة دور وظيفة عمل الكاثود المعدني لتحل محل القطب الذهبي الغالي (Au).

The main aim of the Horizon Europe Fit4Micro Project is to develop a microCHCP unit running on sustainable liquid biofuels. The application of this unit is foreseen at multi-family houses and at remote or off-grid locations. This technology will lead to very high electrical efficiencies (>40%) and a flexible heat/power ratio. Moreover, the usage of a truly advanced and RED II compliant biofuel will guarantee a high GHG emission reduction. This flexible hybrid energy system is based on a double-shaft micro gas turbine (mGT) combined with a novel humidification unit, and will be able to provide renewable heating, cooling and power production, mainly for domestic usage. The Fit4Micro solution contributes to make Europe the first enabled circular, climate-neutral and sustainable economy. Proceedings of the 31st European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 5-8 June 2023, Bologna, Italy, pp. 514-516

STC power control of PV modules supply requires testing large samples of modules with low uncertainty. This paper analyses the feasibility of outdoor measurements with the modules kept at their operating positions. The classical procedure of recording I-V curves and translating them to STC in accordance with IEC 60891 using the cell temperature directly observed at a few points of the rear of the module entails uncertainties larger than 3% (k=2), which is too much for this procedure being accepted in quality controls with contractual consequences. A convenient procedure for overcoming this barrier consists in comparing the I-V curves of a tested and a reference module of the same type, both working under the same operating conditions. The latter is mostly secured if they are in adjacent positions. However, when the procedure is applied to large samples of PV modules kept in their operating position, the distance between both modules can reach tens of meters and significant inter-module temperature differences can arise. An artifice for counterbalancing these differences consists of estimating the temperature of the tested module and the “true” temperature of the reference module, as deduced from the V OC measurement, by the temperature difference observed at their respective back-sheets in a central position. This allows the measured power values to be corrected and provides clues to estimating the uncertainty of the results. This procedure has been applied in seven testing campaigns, carried out at commercial PV plants. Dedicated instrumentation, based on two radio linked I-V tracers, allowing the simultaneous measurement of the I-V curves and of the temperature at the centres of the reference and the tested modules, has been developed for that. The resulting uncertainties are slightly larger than those corresponding to high-quality solar simulators, but still low enough for dealing, in practice, with strict quality control requirements.

This document is the deliverable D1.1 of the project POLYPHEM. It is planned in the framework of the Work Package 01 (R&D ON SOLAR RECEIVER). Task 1.1 of the POLYPHEM project deals firstly with the choice of a more competitive metallic alloy than the reference one, the alloy 600, in order to manufacture the solar receiver modules, more precisely, the environment protective layer. Secondly, the mechanical properties and microstructure of the best alloy and the reference one are examined using representative mock-ups. This deliverable presents the main results of the POLYPHEM Task 1.1.