• Energy Research
• OA Publications Mandate: Yes close
• 2018 close

The reasoning which emerges the need for creating WindiBox is to effectively tackle the existence of limited wind turbine applicability for wind energy generation in buildings on a global scale. There is an obvious technological gap in the market, covering the exploitation of low speed air flows, especially in urban environments and areas where the dynamics of air are low and do not allow the installation of common wind turbines. According to the requirements imposed by the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive all new buildings must be nearly zero-energy by the end of 2020. All new public buildings must be nearly zero-energy by 2018. The WindiBox device is comprised of a vertical axis wind turbine, enclosed inside a box-shaped, convergent-divergent casing (diffusers). This casing has been proven to augment the rotational speed of the wind turbine by a factor of at least 2.5, compared to a stand-alone turbine and additionally, enhancing its power output by at least 3 times. WindiBox size of 1m height – 2.5m width – 4m length offers power outputs ranging from 2700-3400kWh annually for wind speed 5m/s. The casing is also utilized to act as an environmental shield for minimal noise and vibration emissions since its extended surface area can be exploited for the addition of insulation. WindiBox overcomes the technological limitations of existing solutions in the market as well as the targeted milestones for CO2 emissions imposed by the European Union. What differentiates WindiBox from the competition is that it offers an unparalleled cost-effective solution of ROI less than 4.5 years for 5m/s with exceptional performance characteristics, disrupting the existing market of renewables. Our goal is to bring the WindiBox solution to market, after preparing an elaborate business plan. According to our initial plan, within 5 years from WindiBox commercialization, revenues will reach an annual total of approximately 19.2 million euros and net profits estimated at 30%.

The NESTER proposal aims in upgrading the scientific and innovation performance of the Cyprus Institute (CyI) in the field of Solar-Thermal Energy (STE). The upgrade will be achieved by embedding the Institute’s activities in a network of excellence, which will provide access to the latest know-how and facilities, train CyI’s scientific and technical personnel and link it with the European Industry. The substantial investments made/planned by CyI in infrastructure and personnel will thus become more efficient and competitive allowing claim to international excellence. The geopolitical placement of Cyprus offers excellent opportunities for cultivating a research and innovation niche in Solar Technologies. At the same time the remoteness of the corresponding centres of Excellence of EU is a major impediment. The NESTER proposal strives to enhance the advantages and ameliorate the disadvantages of this geographical placement. The NESTER network comprises of three leading institutions in the field of solar energy research (CIEMAT, ENEA, PROMES/CNRS and RWTH – Aachen). They possess a formidable know how in this field and operate some of the most important facilities, worldwide. The resulting enhanced capabilities and status of CyI would in turn reflect positively on developing the knowledge economy of Cyprus. It will also enhance the positioning of Cyprus as an important player in applied scientific research at the interface of the European and Middle East/North Africa regions. A number of activities are proposed in a detailed program which includes training and knowhow transfer, seminars and networking events with European and EMME partners, summer school activities, and public outreach and awareness and networking events. It is designed to ensure sustainability, evolution and continuation of the activities including the cooperation among the partners well beyond the expiration of the three-year funding period.

NewTREND seeks to improve the energy efficiency of the existing European building stock and to improve the current renovation rate by developing a new participatory integrated design methodology targeted to the energy retrofit of buildings and neighbourhoods, establishing energy performance as a key component of refurbishments. The methodology will foster collaboration among stakeholders in the value chain, engaging occupants and building users and supporting all the refurbishment phases through the whole life cycle of the renovation. The methodology will be supported by an online platform to ease collaborative design, which will play the role of exchanging information and facilitating dialogue between the different stakeholders involved in the retrofit process. It will store all the information useful to the design of the retrofit intervention in a cloud based interoperable data exchange server, i.e. the District Information Model server, which has the ability to and export multiple file formats thanks to semantic web technologies. A Data Manager tool will be developed to guide the designers in the data collection phase, which might be a complex task for retrofit projects where information and drawings are scattered or even not available. The NewTREND platform will be a tool for collaborative design allowing evaluation of different design options at both building and district level through dynamic simulations via a Simulation & Design Hub. Design options, including district schemes and shared renewables will be presented to the design team, together with available financing schemes and applicable business models, in a library which will build on lessons from past and ongoing R&D projects. The NewTREND methodology and tools will be validated in three real refurbishment projects in Hungary, Finland and Spain where the involvement of all the stakeholders in the design .process, will be evaluated and specific activities will be dedicated to inhabitants and users