• Energy Research
• 2025-2025close
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• 14. Life underwater close
• 13. Climate action close
• 11. Sustainability close

Creating and delivering products and services that promote sustainability is increasingly important in today’s economy. Novel services based on digital technologies and infrastructure can significantly contribute to sustainable development, as demonstrated by digitally enabled car-sharing services where increased asset utilization reduces production-related greenhouse gas emissions. However, there is still limited knowledge on how digital service innovation can purposefully be applied to promote sustainability. To address this gap, we conduct a systematic literature review and perform a qualitative inductive analysis of 50 articles on the impact of digital service innovation on social, environmental, and economic sustainability. We provide a comprehensive overview of real-world applications and identify five underlying mechanisms through which innovation with digital services can drive sustainable development. In doing so, we aim to pave the way to purposefully conceive, design, and implement digital services for sustainability.

Oxy-fuel carbon capture in power plants is a relatively new concept aiming at reducing carbon dioxide emissions from the plants. This is achieved by burning the fossil fuel using oxygen as oxidizer with no nitrogen, thereby rendering the exhaust gases very rich in carbon dioxide (after condensing water vapor by cooling), which facilitates its capture for environmental or commercial purposes. Despite the worldwide interest in oxy-fuel carbon capture, its progress is at risk given the large energy needed to separate oxygen from air in order to provide the oxidizer, thereby hindering further progress of this concept toward large-scale applications. This paper focuses on alleviating this drawback of oxy-fuel combustion by making it more attractive through combining it with another concept, namely magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) power generators. The end product is a power plant operating on a combined cycle composed of a topping MHD ultra-high-temperature cycle with direct electricity extraction from plasma, followed by a bottoming steam cycle with conventional turbo-generators. Different design aspects and simplified technical analysis for the MHD generator are presented.

The adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), including electric taxis and buses, as a mode of transportation, is rapidly increasing in cities. In addition to providing economic and environmental benefits, these fleets can potentially participate in the energy arbitrage market by leveraging their mobile energy storage capabilities. This presents an opportunity for EV owners to contribute to a more sustainable and efficient energy system while also reducing their operational costs. The present study introduces deterministic and single-stage stochastic optimization frameworks that aim to maximize revenue by optimizing the charging, discharging, and travel of a fleet of electric vehicles in the context of uncertainty surrounding both spatial and temporal energy prices. The simulations are performed on a fleet of electric delivery trucks, which have to make deliveries to certain locations on specific dates. The findings indicate the promising potential of bidirectional electric vehicle charging as a mobile grid asset. However, it is important to note that significant revenue is only realized in scenarios where there is substantial variation in prices between different areas, and when these price variations can be accurately forecasted with a high level of confidence.

By providing various services, such as Demand Response (DR), buildings can play a crucial role in the energy market due to their significant energy consumption. However, effectively commissioning buildings for such desired functionalities requires significant expert knowledge and design effort, considering the variations in building dynamics and intended use. In this study, we introduce an adaptive data-driven prediction scheme based on Willems' Fundamental Lemma within the building control hierarchy. This scheme offers a versatile, flexible, and user-friendly interface for diverse prediction and control objectives. We provide an easy-to-use tuning process and an adaptive update pipeline for the scheme, both validated through extensive prediction tests. We evaluate the proposed scheme by coordinating a building and an energy storage system to provide Secondary Frequency Control (SFC) in a Swiss DR program. Specifically, we integrate the scheme into a three-layer hierarchical SFC control framework, and each layer of this hierarchy is designed to achieve distinct operational goals. Apart from its flexibility, our approach significantly improves cost efficiency, resulting in a 28.74% reduction in operating costs compared to a conventional control scheme, as demonstrated by a 52-day experiment in an actual building. Our findings emphasize the potential of the proposed scheme to reduce the commissioning costs of advanced building control strategies and to facilitate the adoption of new techniques in building control.

Predicted changes in rainfall intensity due to climate change are likely to influence key soil health parameters, especially structural attributes and crop growth. Variations in rainfall intensity will impact crop production negatively. It is therefore imperative to investigate the interaction between predicted increases in rainfall intensity and key soil health parameters, particularly in relation to soil structural attributes and plant growth. The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of rainfall intensity on soil crust formation and mode of seedling emergence in soils dominated by primary minerals. Soil samples were collected from the top 200 mm, air dried and then packed uniformly into plastic pots, which were perforated at the bottom. Three maize seeds of equal size were planted in a triangular pattern in each pot at a depth of 30 mm, after which the pots were pre-wetted by capillary. The samples were then subjected to simulated rainfall at 3 intensities, i.e., 30, 45 and 60 mm/h, for 5 min. Rainfall intensity significantly (P < 0.05) affected crust strength and mean emergence day (MED), but not emergence percentage (EMP) and shoot length (P > 0.05). The 60 mm/h rainfall intensity resulted in the highest crust strength and MED. The strength of crust for all three rainfall intensities was influenced by quartz content, soil organic matter, clay and hematite. Most seedlings emerged through cracks, which resulted in rainfall intensity having no significant effects on seedling EMP and shoot length. We concluded that any increase in rainfall intensity is likely to increase the severity of crusting in these soils. However, soils with extensive cracking are likely to have higher EMP and lower MED and more vigorous seedlings despite the strength of the crust. As a result, post-planting tillage methods that enhance crust cracking may be employed to enhance seedling emergence and growth in these soils.

Le carbone noir est une petite particule d'aérosol (ou aérienne) de courte durée de vie liée au réchauffement climatique et aux effets nocifs sur la santé. Il est rejeté par la combustion incomplète de carburants à base de carbone (c.-à-d. les combustibles fossiles, les biocarburants ou le bois) sous la forme de matière particulaire très fine. Le carbone noir n'est pas rejeté seul, mais en tant que composante d'une matière particulaire d'un diamètre inférieur ou égal à 2,5 micromètres (PM2,5). En tant que membre du Conseil de l'Arctique, le Canada est engagé à produire un inventaire annuel des émissions de carbone noir. Ces données serviront à informer les Canadiens au sujet des émissions de carbone noir et à fournir des renseignements inestimables pour l'élaboration de stratégies de gestion de la qualité de l'air. Les données utilisées pour la compilation du rapport proviennent des sections de l'Inventaire des émissions de polluants atmosphériques (IEPA) en particulier pour les émissions de matières particulaires fines (PM2,5) provenant de sources liées à la combustion Renseignements supplémentaires Pour un complément d'information sur l'Inventaire des émissions de carbone noir du Canada, consulter : https://Canada.ca/carbone-noir Pour les émissions canadiennes d'autres polluants atmosphériques, se reporter à l'Inventaire des émissions de polluants atmosphériques : https://www.canada.ca/fr/environnement-changement-climatique/services/polluants/inventaire-emissions-atmospheriques-apercu.html Outil d'interrogation interactif de l'IEPA et carbone noir : https://pollution-waste.canada.ca/air-emission-inventory/?GoCTemplateCulture=fr-CA Soutien aux projets : Inventaire des émissions de carbone noir au Canada 2013-2023 Black carbon is a short-lived, small aerosol (or airborne) particle linked to both climate warming and adverse health effects. It is emitted from incomplete combustion of carbon-based fuels (i.e., fossil fuels, biofuels, wood) in the form of very fine particulate matter. Black carbon is not emitted on its own, but as a component of particulate matter less than or equal to 2.5 micrometres in diameter (PM2.5). As a member of the Arctic Council, Canada has committed to producing an annual inventory of black carbon emissions. This data will serve to inform Canadians about black carbon emissions and provide valuable information for the development of air quality management strategies. The data used to compile the report originate from sections of the Air Pollutant Emission Inventory (APEI) specifically fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions from combustion-related sources. Supplemental Information For more information on Canada's Black Carbon Inventory, please visit: https://Canada.ca/black-carbon For Canada's emissions of other air pollutants, please reference the Air Pollutant Emission Inventory: https://Canada.ca/APEI APEI and Black Carbon Interactive Query Tool: https://pollution-waste.canada.ca/air-emission-inventory Supporting Projects: Canada's Black Carbon Inventory for 2013-2023

Wave time series data collected at various locations throughout the waters of Inverness County by the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture's Aquaculture Division.

Successful applicants of the 2017-2019 Solar for Community Buildings Program, that enables eligible community groups and organizations to generate solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity on their roofs or properties