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This project aims at a cost-effective efficiency enhancement of Si solar cells towards their theoretical maximum of about 29% by moving away from the diffused-junction paradigm. This will reduce the energy fabrication costs on the €/kWh level and thereby increase the competiveness and profitability of photovoltaic systems. Crystalline Si (c-Si) solar cells are since decades the most established photovoltaic technology. Their main advantages are long lifetime (>25 years), non-toxicity and the high abundance of Si. However, for full competitiveness with traditional sources of electricity, important new steps need to be taken to increase their performance. An innovative contacting scheme will be developed that eliminates the main loss mechanisms in c-Si solar cells arising from doped pn-junctions and the direct contact of metal with Si. The novel contacts will be broadband optically transparent, generate a highly passivating and carrier-selective interface to Si and will enable solar cells without doped pn-junctions. No cost-intensive patterning technique is required for the device fabrication and parasitic optical absorption, as present in Si heterojunction solar cells, will be minimized. The novel contacts consist of three layers: a 1-2 nm thick tunnelling SiO2 layer for chemical passivation of the Si surface, a wide-bandgap conductive metal oxide layer providing a specific energy band alignment, and a highly conductive transparent oxide (TCO) for carrier transport to external metal contacts and optimum light coupling into the solar cell device. The contacts will be used for the fabrication of Si solar cells which are devoid of doped pn-junctions and achieve both high open-circuit voltages and photo currents. The structure of the photovoltaic device will be optimized for the application in regular 1-sun modules and for both III-V/Si and perovskite/Si tandem cell applications with potential for flat-plate efficiencies well above 30%.

HoNESt (History of Nuclear Energy and Society) involves an interdisciplinary team with many experienced researchers and 24 high profile research institutions. HoNESt’s goal is to conduct a three-year interdisciplinary analysis of the experience of nuclear developments and its relationship to contemporary society with the aim of improving the understanding of the dynamics over the last 60 years. HoNESt’s results will assist the current debate on future energy sources and the transition to affordable, secure, and clean energy production. Civil society's interaction with nuclear developments changes over time, and it is locally, nationally and transnationally specific. HoNESt will embrace the complexity of political, technological and economic challenges; safety; risk perception and communication, public engagement, media framing, social movements, etc. Research on these interactions has thus far been mostly fragmented. We will develop a pioneering integrated interdisciplinary approach, which is conceptually informed by Large Technological Systems (LTS) and Integrated Socio-technical System (IST), based on a close and innovative collaboration of historians and social scientists in this field. HoNESt will first collect extensive historical data from over 20 countries. These data will be jointly analyzed by historians and social scientists, through the lens of an innovative integrated approach, in order to improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying decision making and associated citizen engagement with nuclear power. Through an innovative application of backcasting techniques, HoNESt will bring novel content to the debate on nuclear sustainable engagement futures. Looking backwards to the present, HoNESt will strategize and plan how these suitable engagement futures could be achieved. HoNESt will engage key stakeholders from industry, policy makers and civil society in a structured dialogue to insert the results into the public debate on nuclear energy.

Energy-Intensive Industries (EII) in Europe are characterized by very high energy production costs as well as by an important level of CO2 emissions. Energy production costs account for up to 40% of total production costs in some EII, while EII emissions represent a quarter of total EU CO2 emissions. EII are therefore directly concerned by the EU 2014 Energy/Climate Package, which sets a global objective of 40% reduction of GHG emissions and 27% increase of energy efficiency by 2030. The report on energy prices and costs for some energy-intensive sectors published by the European Commission showed for example that natural gas prices for European ceramic companies increased by around 30% between 2010 and 2012 and they were four times higher than in Russia and more than three times higher than in the USA. Similarly, electricity costs were two times higher in the EU than in the USA and Russia. Such figures clearly confirm that energy is a crucial element for the competitiveness of our industry. Therefore, an integrated approach to process innovation is proposed within ETEKINA project covering design, simulation, operating conditions and process management together with breakthrough technology for waste heat recovery. The overall objective of ETEKINA project is to improve the energy performance of industrial processes. For this to be possible, the valorisation of waste heat by a turnkey modular Heat Pipe Based Heat Exchanger (HPHE) technology adaptable to different industry sectors will be addressed within the project and demonstrated in three industrial processes from the non-ferrous, steel and ceramic sectors in order to demonstrate: (i) the economic feasibility of the solution, and therefore (ii) its market potential.

The EMB3Rs project will implement a bottom-up, user-driven and open source modelling platform to simulate alternative supply-demand scenarios for the recovery and reuse of industrial excess heat and cold (HC). EMB3Rs’ final users will employ the platform to determine the costs and benefits related with excess HC utilization routes, and to define the required implementation conditions for the most promising solutions. The platform will allow industrial users and other relevant stakeholders to autonomously and intuitively explore and assess the feasibility of new technology and business scenarios. This will benefit each individual producer/ consumer in a given industrial community but also enable win-win solutions between industries and final HC users in other sectors. The main aim is to reuse and/or trade excess thermal energy in a holistic perspective within an industrial process HC/energy system environment or framed in an HC network in regulated or liberalized markets. The resource and energy intensive industries (REII) and DHC networks will be able to use and rely on the EMB3Rs platform to investigate the revenue potential of using industrial excess HC as an energy (re)source. The REII will be able to evaluate the benefits of investing in low carbon options, such as the integration of renewable HC technologies and thermal storage, in industrial processes. Ultimately, by translating industrial excess HC into savings, revenues and increased overall system efficiency, EMB3Rs will allow the REII community to improve its competitiveness, foster and accelerate the decarbonisation of the HC market overall and contribute to the EU climate change mitigation goals. Namely by i) contributing to overcome the barriers for developing and deploying in HC solutions, i.e. reaching a critical mass of users, iii) identifying critical framework conditions and success factors and iv) promoting transfer and replication of solutions in other industrial sectors and iv) stimulating the convergence between energy, energy efficiency goals, CO2 reduction and business interests.

Global population’s growth is set to increase to 9.8 B people by 2050 . This raises concerns regarding the energy demand as more and more energy and food will be needed. Energy production currently mainly relies on fossil sources, which will soon be depleted and seriously threaten the environment. Sustainable wind energy production represents a valid potential alternative, but is still either centralised or inefficient, thus not providing energy with a desirable continuity and capacity. This causes waste of resources and considerable risks of shut downs. Moreover, the loudness and death of birds and bats on the blades causes a lower integration of these solutions. AWP introduces Vertical Sky, the only vertical axis wind turbine for distributed and sustainable energy production. Thanks to the unique and proprietary pitch angle control system, Vertical Sky provides 3-fold noise reduction, 90% bird and bats death reduction, 25% easier transportation and 15% easier installation. This, along with the improved efficiency (0.47, comparable to large turbines) and power range (0.75-1.5MW), makes Vertical Sky the perfect solution for sustainable and decentralised energy production close to residential areas. AWP enables energy self-production makes energy available for anyone, anywhere. During the phase 1 feasibility study,AWP will establish a sound go-to-market strategy and supply chain, and will draft further development plans. During the second phase of the innovation project, AWP will perform engineering optimisation activities and validate the commercial potential in a pilot trial at a partner's facility before introducing the technology on the market.

According to United Nations, the world population will reach to 9.7 billion by 2050. Food, energy and water are three critical resources that must be managed if mankind is going to thrive. With these figures, we will need a 70-100% increase of food supply to maintain the current nutrition levels. Greenhouse farming is a solution to the food worldwide demands as it increases the food production per acre up to 100% compared to open field agriculture. However, Greenhouse farming also implies both strong energy cost and gas emission. Indeed, agriculture production accounts for 14% of global energy demand and, in 2004, for 13.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. On top of that, the world primary energy demand could increase by 50% by the middle of the century. Nowadays, buildings account for nearly 40% of the total energy consumption globally but it is estimated that potential energy savings in buildings could reach between 20% and 40% with new solutions. Solar panels enable energy savings; typically installed on the roof, but they do not offer versatility for other type of application, such as windows to allow the entrance of the light inside buildings or greenhouses. Our company has developed PanePower Solar Window (SW). PanePowerSW is a unique transparent (up to 70%) solar panel glass that generates clean energy through PV technology and more importantly allows the light to shine through greenhouses and commercial buildings windows. PanePowerSW contributes to the energy savings in buildings up to 30%, while in greenhouses, it enables the growing of the crop while reducing energy costs, quantified in 25% of the total operational costs. Thanks to Phase II project, we expect to reach the market in 2020, gaining sales of at least 20,000m2 in China and The Netherlands. By 2024, after our geographical expansion, we will reach cumulative revenues of ~€71 M; cumulative profits of €18.72M and, considering the costs of Phase 2 project in €2.13M, a ROI of 3.5.

FloatMast is a floating platform that performs the best wind data measurements for the most promising and advanced Blue Energy activity, Offshore Wind Parks (OWPs). These wind measurements are vital for the cost benefit analysis of OWPs as they are used in the estimation of the annual income. Moreover, the wind measurements are also critical to the definition of the Operation and Maintenance costs as they are used in the design specification of the OWP’s turbines, towers and foundations. The wind measurements collected by FloatMast are according to the highest industry standard (IEC 61400-12-1) and provide the greatest net benefit to the Developers of OWPs. It can perform wind measurements at a 70% lower cost, by combining the best features from the two existing solutions: the meteorological mast and the Lidar remote sensor device on a stable floating platform. Furthermore, it is re-usable and provides the added value of being re-deployed in other locations of interest. It can be used at all stages of the life cycle of the OWP, from the design phase to the development and operational phase and until the decommissioning phase, twenty years later. Moreover, the platform can perform multi-purpose measurements as it can incorporate oceanographic instruments and environmental sensors, providing a fully integrated solution for a complete monitoring of the OWP site. The innovation has been developed by two Greek SMEs, it has been patented and certified, tested in a tank test at a 1:25 scale model, constructed at 1:1 physical scale, launched to the sea and conducted a series of tests with perfect compliance. The design and hydrodynamic behavior of the platform have been proven and the next stage involves enhancements and upgrades. Finally, the platform must undergo a demonstration phase in the operational environment in order to provide the needed verification of its operational capabilities and advance the already 2,3 m Euros investment to the commercialization phase.

A realistic approach to increase the efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) devices above the Shockley-Queisser single-junction limit is the construction of tandem devices. PERCISTAND focuses on the development of advanced materials and processes for all thin film perovskite on chalcogenide tandem devices. This tandem configuration is at an early stage of development today. The PERCISTAND emphasis is on 4-terminal tandem solar cell and module prototype demonstration on glass substrates, but also current- and voltage-matched 2-terminal proof-of-concept device structures are envisaged. Key research activities are the development and optimization of top wide band gap perovskite and bottom low band gap CuInSe2 devices, suitable transparent conductive oxides, and integration into tandem configurations. The focus is on obtaining high efficiency, stability and large-area manufacturability, at low production cost and environmental footprint. Efficiency target is 30 % at cell level, and 25 % at module level. Reliability and stability, tested in line with International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards, must be similar as commercially available PV technologies. High manufacturability means that all technologies applied are scalable to 20×20 cm2, using sustainable and low-cost materials and processes. The cost and environmental impact will be assessed in line with International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and must be competitive with existing commercial PV technologies. Such a tandem device significantly outperforms not only the stand-alone perovskite and chalcogenide devices, but also best single-junction silicon devices. The development will be primarily on glass substrates, but also applicable to flexible substrates and thus interesting for building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) solutions, an important market for thin film PV. Hence, the outcome has high potential to strengthen and regain the EU leadership in thin film PV research and manufacturing.

PROBLEM: 1.1 billion people, most of whom live in developing regions of Asia and Africa, lack access to electricity. The primary light source for them are kerosene lamps, which are not only costly, but also has negative impact on human health, resulting in illness and even mortalities. Existing solar-powered products are too expensive for households with a $20 monthly income. Booming trends of mobile subscriptions and smartphone adoption in developing countries mean there is also a growing need to charge the phones. SOLUTION: Solet Technics has developed a prototype of a mobile solar power generator, PAWAME which offers a cheap and reliable access to electricity for off-grid households. The company is planning to distribute PAWAME solution using local agents, and infrastructure, payment system and brand recognition of Telcos, which enables fast market uptake and scaling of the product. It will also be easy and convenient for the user to pay for electricity via phone. The ‘rent-to-own’ model makes the product accessible to low income households: no upfront investments needed. User-friendly and unique product design enables simple usage for the end-user. Customer can login to see his payment plan information, usage data, etc. Unique product features also include theft protection – PAWAME sends its location and if somebody tries to force to open it, it is remotely notified and can be tracked and traced all the time. The device has been tailored to fit to the needs of both end-user and Telcos. NEXT STEPS: Thorough market analysis and an elaboration of a business plan is needed in order to define strategic commercialization. This feasibility study will be a crucial step towards commercialization of Solarize. Further in the future, Solet Technics plans to bring PAWAME to industrial readiness and maturity for introduction to the global market, providing solar electricity to more than 200 thousand households and generating profit of 3 million euros by the year 2020