• Energy Research
• 2017 close

Small scale horizontal axis wind turbines and vertical axis wind turbines are unable to handle high winds or turbulent conditions. At very high speeds wind turbines shut down. Existing designs focus on external mechanical and electrical systems to reduce the output rather than exploit the attributes of low and high wind conditions. Turbines with static blades cannot effectively capture the direct wind energy for all the blades. Existing designs rely on a small proportion of the total blade area and typically feature a symmetrical profile (equal profile each side). Existing vertical axis machines have an inherent inefficiency because while one blade is working well, other blades are effectively pulling in the wrong direction- causing them to behave as a brake. Vertogen has identified a gap in the market for a variable pitch VAWT.

TubeICE project deals with the design, industrialization and commercialization of an innovative Phase Change Material (PCM) tubular shaped PTES unit, able to store energy within the range 22-27°C. TubeICE unit is composed by a pipe shell where a Positive Temperature Eutectic solutions is packed: in summer, the storage unit exploits the temperature gradient between night and days, being charged during the night (when temperature is lower) thanks to the solidification of the PCM and discharged during the day by the liquefaction of the material, thus allowing a reduction of air conditioning energy consumption; in winter, TubeICE increases the thermal inertia of the building, being charged through material liquefaction when thermal energy is available. The technology developed and proposed by PCMPro delivers breakthrough properties: • thanks to the development of the innovative PCM and to a compact innovative design, the energy density is 73 kWh/m3, much higher than competing technologies; • installing the storage unit on the ceiling area, 12 tubes can be packed per m2 using standard 50mm pipe brackets, giving a storage of 1.74 kWh/m2; • the application of an eutectic alloy leads to a constant charging and discharging temperature, with benefits in terms of conditioning quality and easiness in storage management; • as already demonstrated by the first pilot installations in a number of offices/shops and in an educational facility located at Coventry in U.K., the integration of TubeICE leads to a global energy consumption reduction within the range 10-40% depending on the location and the building properties, thanks to the maximization of free-cooling (and the consequent reduction of energy intensive mechanical cooling) and to the nighttime free storage. • TubeICE is maintenance free and assures a long durability (10 years and more).

With 37% of the overall consumption of electrical energy, industrial production is one of the most energy-intensive sectors in Europe. A major driver of both, energy consumption and energy costs are machine tools used the processing of materials, esp. in the automotive, mechanical engineering and aerospace segments. These machine tools are not only consuming huge amounts of energy, they also cause frequent power peaks, thus requiring very high connected loads. These peak loads have a negative effect on the European power grid stability, therefore, the provision of such high connected loads is very expensive. As pioneer in the electrification of forming machine tools, EBM has developed Enerstor – an electric energy power storage levelling module. This modular energy storage solution can be directly connected to any kind of machine tool, thus significantly reducing energy consumption of the machine tool and entirely levelling power peaks. This solution directly addresses current user needs of the European industry, including reduced energy costs through lower consumption and connected loads, higher flexibility in production, less emissions, and decreased investment costs. It helps the European industry and especially the segment for machine tools to stay competitive. With over 1,400 companies in Europe, the machine tools industry currently worth 25 bn € is very important for Europe in terms of employment and wealth. Innovative solutions are therefore crucial to further extend the industry’s position in the global market. In the feasibility study, a detailed analysis of the best-fitting market segments within the machine tools market will be conducted, including the involvement of pilot customers for the validation of the business idea, as well as the elaboration of a thorough business plan for commercialisation. The findings of the feasibility study will be integrated into the subsequent SME Phase 2 project to perfectly facilitate the market introduction of Enerstor.

The offshore wind market is a young and rapidly growing market, whose current project pipeline for 2025/30 would equal nearly 80 nuclear plants, mostly in Europe. The next decade and beyond may average 1,000 offshore towers/year worldwide, with an overall investment volume around 15-20.000 M€/year. This growing sector faces technological challenges, as it is set to move into deeper waters further offshore while being able to reduce the costs in order to reach a competitive LCOE (levelised cost of energy). For water depths above 40m (70% of the future market) approximately 40-50% of investment corresponds to the substructure (foundation and tower). Therefore a significant cost reduction in foundation/tower would drastically improve the overall cost of offshore wind energy. This project intends to develop and demonstrate in operative environment a full scale prototype of a revolutionary substructure system for offshore wind turbines. The concept consists in a self-installing precast concrete telescopic tower which for the first time ever shall allow for crane-free offshore installation of foundations, towers and turbines, thus overcoming the constraints imposed by the dependence on offshore heavy-lift vessels. It will allow for a full in-shore preassembly of the complete system, which is key to generate a highly industrialized manufacturing process with high production rates and optimized risk control. The main benefits expected are: • 30-40% cost reduction (both CAPEX and OPEX). • Large water depth applicability range for deep offshore (>45m water depth). • Supports increased turbine size (5-8MW). • Allows for large scale fast industrial deployment of foundations. • Reduces dependence on costly and scarce installation vessels. • Improved asset integrity (durability) This solution will imply a radical step forward for cost-effective and industrially deployable deep offshore wind.