• Energy Research

Currently, offshore wind structures are constructed using normal strength steel members with yield strength of around 355 MPa. Larger section sizes are required to resist the higher load levels encountered in progressively deeper waters. This substantially increases cost, complicates logistics, generates installation difficulties, and causes greater environmental impacts. HSS material has the twin advantages of reducing the self-weight of structures and accruing associated cost savings. The installation costs typically represent up to 20% of the capital expenditure of an offshore wind farm. There is a need for more compact and lighter structures that can be easily sited on the seabed by standard installation vessels with lower crane capacity. Furthermore, the use of HSS provides increased structural resilience against strong cyclic loading in deep water environments, and reduces welding time due to reduced wall thickness. The benefit of HSS in static loading capacity is obvious, due to its increased strength. But there is a concern on deformation capacity for HSS connection, due to its lower ductility than normal-strength steel. In addition, the fatigue strength of HSS, especially at welded connections, remains an open question. HSS-WIND will investigate the application of HSS in offshore wind tubular platforms. The tubular joint is a common structural element in offshore wind platforms, and severe cyclic load, induced by wave and wind in the harsh offshore environment, may lead to fatigue fracture and failure at the vicinity of the welds. Reliable estimation of fatigue behaviour and resistance of HSS welded tubular connections constitutes an engineering challenge, essential for the platform structural integrity. HSS-WIND provides the basis of constructing offshore wind platforms using advanced HSS material, thus facilitating further harvest of renewable energy in deeper waters.

This project aims at developing a solar heat storage process to cover the needs of a building. The process under study is based on the absorption principle. It can store heat over different time lengths and could go up to an inter-seasonal storage, as heat is stored as a chemical potential and this storage type is not subject to heat losses. This concept has been previously studied under the PROSSIS ANR STOCK-E project. A dynamic model has been developed and a prototype has been built to demonstrate the feasibility of this process. However, several points still have to be tackled before the process can reach the market stage, and these subjects will be dealt under the present proposal: - This technology should be introduced at the most efficient level on the market: a market study and case studies will be performed, and process specifications will be delivered by our industrial partner. - The chosen absorption couple (LiBr/H2O) presents interesting thermodynamic parameters but is toot expensive to be used at a wide scale. The study of innovative absorption couples and their characterization will be performed to solve this issue. - he cristallisation of the solution inside the storage tank has proven to be necessary to increase the storage density, and thus reduce the storage tanks size and cost: this cristallisation has to be reversible and controlled. The crystallization kinetics and the forms of the crystals will be measured to optimize the shape of the solution storage. - The process control has to be improved, both at a process level and at the global solar system level. At the process level, the aim is to reduce the electric consumption of the internal pumps and improve the storage density by a better control of the process parameters. At the larger level, the aim is to combine this long term storage with the other components of a solar thermal system (solar collectors, short-term water storage, etc) to optimize its global energy efficiency. - The heat exchangers chosen are based on the falling film technology, to cope with the constraints of the system functioning. However, the heat exchangers were designed as shell-and-tube and this design could be improved, to reduce further the size of the reactor and improve the heat and mass transfers, with specific plate heat exchangers design. New exchangers will thus be designed, caracterised at the plate level and the global exchanger level, to improve the power provided by the process and its compactness.

GEV Wind Power is one of Europe's leading wind-turbine maintenance companies with teams working on more than 40 wind farms both on and offshore every year. With a presence throughout Europe and North America, GEV Wind Power is a truly global service provider. We understand that it is important to wind energy maintenance companies to find new ways of delivering core services to reduce the cost of energy provision. To realise this vision, we commit significant financial resources to in-house R&D and are constantly looking at technologies that fit well for Wind Energy. We have now developed a patented habitat solution that retrofits to market available access platforms. This creates the perfect protective working environment for blade maintenance and repairs to be completed. Maintenance productivity is increased and, with the added benefit of 24 hour working, GEV Wind Power are able to eliminate the cost uncertainty of weather downtime and will help wind farm owners reduce maintenance costs, improve Annual Energy Production (AEP) and the competitiveness of wind generated energy. Trials completed onshore with our Ventura Habitat prototype using two different access platforms (Power Climber and Kaeufer) in varying weather conditions and ranging between 30 metres and 100 metres high, with successful deployment demonstrating the flexibility and operability of the Habitat in a real-life environment. The overall objective of this development project is to create a commercially ready Ventura Habitat system, with validated results through field trials. This will enable us to achieve our overall commercial objective to become the leading blade maintenance services provider in Europe and North America. We forecast a total revenue of €20 million and a profit of €5 million 5 years post-commercialisation, with a breakeven on investment after 3.43 years and an ROI of 150%.

The Energy Data Innovation Network (EDI-Net) will use smart energy and water meter data to accelerate the implementation of sustainable energy policy. It will do this by increasing the capacity of EU public authorities to act quickly and decisively. The capacity will be increased by the provision of just the right amount of intelligible information, by training and exchange of experiences of Public authorities and by provision of tools and support to implement and monitor their sustainable energy plans. To move beyond the traditional technical energy manager approach to use the information to engage with decision makers, finance mangers and building users. To make energy more “visible”. To make energy and water date “more exciting” to buildings users. Innovation in terms of using big data analytics to address issues at scale. Big data; thousands of EU public buildings; information for decision makers, finance managers and building users; benchmarking of EU public buildings; and monitoring implementation of Sustainable Energy Action Plans or local Climate Protection Plans. The core of EDI-NET is the analysis of smart meter data from buildings, from renewable energy systems and from building energy management systems (BEMS) using Big Data analytics technologies. The attractive fruit around this core is an online forum to spread knowledge and facilitate exchange of experience and best practice through peer to peer education in a friendly and useful way. The tree that supports and ripens the fruit is the existing European network of Climate Alliance that builds the capacity of EU public authorities to more effectively implement sustainable energy policies. We recognise the smart meter data, by themselves, will not implement sustainable energy policy. However, when combined with on-line discussion forum, local campaigns, awareness raising and peer to peer knowledge transfer it can achieve savings of between 5 and 15 percent; at least 16 GWh/yr, worth over 1.5 M€.

DROP-IT proposes combining optoelectronics and photonics in a single flexible drop-on demand inkjet technology platform by means of exploiting the enormous potential of lead-free perovskite (LFP) materials. Specifically, novel crystalline structures beyond conventional ABX3 LFP (double-perovskites and rudorffites) will be computationally screened and chemically synthesized with superior properties as LFPs proposed in the literature. A(Sn-Ge)X3 (A=organic,Cs; X=Cl,Br,I) materials will be considered for initial benchmark devices. The future of DROP-IT technology is envisioned at long-term in the fields of photovoltaics, lighting and printed integrated photonics. This will be possible by developing highly innovative fabrication routes (inkjet printing towards Roll-to-Roll) of LFP pioneering materials (in bulk and nanoscale) by low-cost, high throughput, sustainable, large-scale fabrication techniques on flexible substrates (PET, f.e.) to revolutionize future power, lighting and communication systems. DROP-IT major novelty relies on the innovative use of newly synthesized LFPs in combination with the use of affordable, mask-less, drop on demand inkjet printing onto flexible substrates. The targeted breakthroughs towards the long-term vision of our technology will be based on the following challenges: (1) Theoretical screening of different LFP compound families and chemical synthesis of most suitable ones in the form of nanocrystals and polycrystalline thin films, (2) Formulation of specific and suitable inks of these materials for (3) Inkjet printing of thin films on flexible substrates and (4) Development of stable optoelectronic and photonic devices (solar cells with 12-15% and LEDs with 14-18% efficiencies, amplifiers-lasers with low threshold) as proofs-of-concept for a future technology based on new inorganic LFPs and charge transport layers. DROP-IT is supported by a strong and interdisciplinary consortium with complementary expertise to achieve these objectives.

Understanding citizen acceptance of the Energy Union, responsiveness to socioeconomic incentives for increased ownership, and prosumerism requires a multidisciplinary understanding of social systems and inclusiveness and robustness of policymaking depends on having empirically and theoretically grounded methodological tools to assess and adapt policy strategies. SMARTEES addresses this need by an iterative process: (1) integration of theories and methodologies of social innovation and agent-based socio-economic simulation in a comprehensive, flexible framework; (2) unprecedented data collection and integration in five trans-European case clusters in the domains of consumer-driven regenerative energy production, energy efficiency in buildings, low-carbon regional transport and consumer empowerment; (3) dynamic, multilevel agent-based models of successful innovation transfer; which ultimately lead to (4) a policy sandbox which allows a realistic prospective analysis of existing and future policy and market incentive scenarios. Each case cluster addresses a particular social innovation and consists of two reference cases and 4-5 followers. This enables SMARTEES to study the upscaling and replicability in different contexts. The policy sandbox is developed in a co-constructive process with users on the case level and in policymakers workshops on the European level. By doing this, SMARTEES contributes to robust and adaptive future policymaking, understanding of barriers and sources of resistance, the effects of the Energy Union on vulnerable consumer groups, genders and cultures. Furthermore, SMARTEES substantially drives advancement of social innovation and social simulation research by dynamic modelling of supply chains, companies, social groups, cities and neighbourhoods. In addition to making all modelling code and findings publically available, SMARTEES also ensures long term impact of the project by developing a commercialized version of the policy sandbox tool.