• Energy Research
• OA Publications Mandate: Yes close
• 2017 close

Market trends show clearly that the wind energy sector keeps growing up in Europe and worldwide. However, this industry faces serious investor confidence which hinders many wind projects from taking off. The viability, profitability and trustworthiness of any wind energy project is crucial to make the project bankable and de-risk the investment for our clients, namely utilities, investors, greenfield developers, consultants, wind turbine manufacturers and operators. At MeteoPole Zephy-Science we have developed a disruptive, opensource wind modelling software package called ZephyTOOLS to help our clients in performing critical tasks during wind farm project development. We have recently made a step ahead and launched ZephyCloud, a cloud-based simulation platform that brings unlimited computational power to accelerate ZephyTOOLS calculations and enables users to gain a significant amount of time (hours instead of weeks!) and reduce dramatically the IT costs thanks to our pay-per-use model. On top of it, we aim to build ZephyCloud-2, a major evolution of the current ZephyCloud platform towards an integral solution for wind analysis and optimization along the entire project lifecycle by (1) scaling up ZephyCloud and building a completely new user experience based on web applications, (2) opening our advanced cloud calculation engine to third-party developers thus encouraging open innovation and (3) extending our toolbox ZephyTOOLS with innovative post-construction applications that will help our clients to optimize wind turbine performance and reduce O&M costs. ZephyCloud-2 is the result of our willingness to reduce natural uncertainties and maximize the economic value of wind energy sites. With Phase 2, we will be able to accelerate the development of our next-generation wind power simulation and analysis cloud platform with the aim of boosting the deployment of renewables and contributing to the achievement of EU and global objectives for clean energ

A step change in our noise mitigation strategies is required in order to meet the environmental targets set for a number of sectors of activity affecting people through noise exposure. Besides being a hindrance to our daily life and subject to regulations, noise emission is also a competitive issue in today’s global market. To address these issues, new technologies have been emerging recently, based on radically new concepts for flow and acoustic control, such as micro-electro-mechanical devices (MEMs), meta-materials, porous treatment of airframe surfaces, airfoil leading-edge or trailing-edge serrations, micro-jets, plasma actuation, … Some of these new ideas appear nowadays promising, but it now appears to this consortium that the development and maturation of novel noise reduction technologies is hindered by three main factors. The first factor is an insufficient understanding of the physical mechanisms responsible for the alteration of the flow or acoustic fields. In absence of a phenomenological understanding, modelling and optimization can hardly be successful. Secondly, tight constraints (safety, robustness, weight, maintainability, etc.) are imposed to any novel noise mitigation strategy trying to make its way to the full-scale industrial application. Thirdly, there is an insufficient knowledge about the possibilities that are nowadays offered by new materials and new manufacturing processes. With this project, we intend to setup a research and training platform, focused on innovative flow and noise control approaches, addressing the above shortcomings. It has the following objectives: i) fostering a training-through-research network of young researchers, who will investigate promising emerging technologies and will be trained with the inter-disciplinary skills required in an innovation process, and ii) bringing in a coordinated research environment industrial stakeholders from the aeronautical, automotive, wind turbine and cooling/ventilation sectors.

Traditional vertical axis wind turbines have been poorly adopted in urban environments. Customers face problems such as the unaesthetic appearance, noise, and inefficient energy output. To address the environmental impacts caused by current wind turbines, EOW2-Wind Ltd. has developed the Evolution of Wind (EOW), a range of customisable dual-axis vertical micro wind turbines suitable for urban use with efficient energy and low-noise output. The unique design of the dual-axis EOW turbines means they operate in low wind conditions of 2-3 metres/second with a low noise output of 18dB. The turbines which stand with close proximity to the ground have a unique deflector shield capable of diverting counterproductive wind contributing to a more energy efficient system. Beyond the power generating capabilities of the EOW, the customisable design of the system allows for the turbine to be adjusted according to the users energy requirements. During the Phase 1 feasibility study the project will focus on establishing a complete supply chain, a sound business model and commercialization strategy, a planning of all activities for deploying a large scale pilot with 10 turbines installed in different locations, as well as the elaboration of an industrialization and marketing plan.

The EU promotes the use of renewable energy for the reduction of CO2 emissions as part of the EU’s effort to protect the natural environment. It aims to reduce carbon emissions by 60% relative to the 1990 level by 2050 and increase the use of renewable energy to 20% by 2020. Buildings account for about 40% energy consumption in the EU and the use of renewable energy for heating and cooling of buildings will be important in achieving this goal. Transformation of the EU new-existing building stock towards low/zero energy buildings requires effective integration and full use of the potential yield of intermittent renewable energy sources. Thermochemical heat storage (THS) can play a pivotal role in synchronizing energy demand and supply, on both short and long term basis. The proposed solar powered thermochemical heat storage (Solar-Store) system will integrate solar collector, evaporative humidifier and heat pipe technology with a novel THS reactor design for seasonal storage of solar energy. The proposed system will deliver efficient, low-cost THS that can be fitted in the limited space in dwellings. The fellowship aims to benefit from Prof. Yijun Yuan’s recent work in energy storage systems, making use of sorption materials and solar thermal technology. Professor Yuan's considerable industrial and academic experience will make valuable contribution to the EU host organisation in terms of technology/knowledge transfer, PhD student/young researcher training and IP/commercialisation of new technologies. The partner organisations will also involve to this interaction (secondments) to enhance the effectiveness of the fellowship. Combining the skills and experience of UNOTT, Prof. Yuan and partner organisations and presenting them to the next generation of researchers and professionals in industry through the comprehensive programme of knowledge transfer activities proposed in this project will lead to a step change in the development of future products in this area.

The main objective of the project is the organization of the international conference 10th Year Anniversary SET Plan - Central European Energy Conference 2017. The 10th Year Anniversary SET Plan conference will be once again conjoined with the 11th annual Central European Energy Conference (CEEC 2017) and organised in Bratislava, Slovakia. The conference has an ambition to create a prestige international platform offering a floor for open discussion about the most important issues regarding current EU energy policy and research and innovation policy between relevant stakeholders. The conference will examine achievements in the implementation of the Energy Union with a special focus on the Low Mobility Package, State of Play of the negotiations of the 2016 Winter Packages, and the outcome of the 2017 Tour of Europe. In particular, the research and innovation achievements in Europe in the past 10 years that have supported the development of clean, sustainable, efficient and affordable energy technologies for low carbon energy systems in Europe. The conference will pay special attention to evaluation of the role of Central European member states, including their contribution to the implementation of the goals of the Energy Union and the Integrated SET-Plan. The conference will bring together researchers and policymakers from various member states, in particular, from the region of Central Europe, as well as a range of stakeholders from international organizations, research organisations, business, municipalities and civil society to encourage open debate around key energy issues. The program of the conference will consist of ten main panels, five parallel workshops held in a form of dinner sessions, poster session, and will also include side events.

Over the lifetime of a wind turbine, operation and maintenance costs represent 25% of total levelised cost per kWh produced. Half of this cost concerns the blades. Blade inspection procedures still rely on qualified inspectors roping down each blade: a hazardous, time-consuming (5h) and expensive method (1500€). ProDrone’s integrated solution delivers a fully equipped Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-based platform for capturing, processing and analysing inspection data, enabling a turbine downtime lower by 6 times and a cost saving of over 50%. Pro-Drone is targeted at wind park operators who seek a reduction in the cost of blade inspection and additional revenues from decreased downtime. Within the overall project, Pro-Drone intends to fully automate the UAV blade inspection process eliminating human intervention in the drone’s take-off and landing phase; optimization of the post-processing algorithm for automatic fault recognition; and complete a sound demonstration and validation of the technology in operation with wind turbine operators. There is over 154 GW of installed wind energy capacity in the EU (over 60.000 wind turbines) and 433 GW globally (314.000 wind turbines!) which can asily adopt this solution and benefit from safer and more economical turbine analysis. The Pro-Drone will effectively contribute to the European 2030 targets of at least 27% renewable energy in final energy consumption at European level and an anticipated €1 million plus will be saved on the total amount of energy installed in EU.

The benefits of high efficiency concentrated solar power (CSP) and photovoltaic (PV) are well known: environmental protection, economic growth, job creation, energy security. Those technologies can only be applied properly in regions with annual mean radiation values higher than 1750 kWh/m2 per year. CSP has advantages in front of PV: possible 24h continuous electricity production, electricity and heat generation, heat for distributed in cogeneration plants. Within CSP, four technologies have been currently developed: parabolic trough collector (PTC), tower solar power, Stirling/ dish collector and linear Fresnel collector with its advance type named compact linear Fresnel collector. In 2015, there is global 4GWe production (96% PTC), almost 3GWe are under construction. However for huge deployment, a reduction of Levelized Cost of Electricty (LCOE) is imperative for industry consolidation, when nowadays is around 0.16 – 0.22 €/KWh depending on the size plant, Direct Normal Irradiance and the legal framework of site installation. CSP main components: solar field for solar to thermal conversion, power block for thermal to electrical conversion, and thermal storage system are the key to reduce LCOE. IN-POWER project will develop High efficiency solar harvesting CSP architectures based on holistic materials and innovative manufacturing process to allow a Innovation effort mainly focus in advanced materials such as High Reflectance Tailored Shape light Free glass mirror, High working temperature absorber in Vacuum Free receiver, optimized Reduced Mass support structure allow upgrading current solar field. IN-POWER reduce environmental impact also by reducing THREE times standard thermal storage systems by novel thermal storage materials; and a amazing reduction FOUR TIMES the required land extension in comparison of current mature PTC power generation with the same thermal power output. IN-POWER solution will bring LCOE below 0.10 €/KWh beyond 2020.

RIVER-POWER is a disruptive technology able to efficiently convert the water flow kinetics energy in electricity thanks to a turbine innovative design derived from the wind power technology. The new technology enlarges the hydropower potentialities, being able to exploit the zero-head water flows with mini-micro applications (nominal power < 1 MW) and thus allowing the exploitation of new electricity production sources. RIVER-POWER initiative objectives are: • producing the zero-head kinetics energy driven hydroelectric turbines with the following technical targets: production = 4200 kWh/kW; efficiency = 45%; electricity production cost < 7 c€/kWh; investment < 2.000 €/kW; trigger speed < 1 m/s; minimization of the environmental impact reducing the civil works; easy and cheap installation. • Fabricating and testing a integrated prototype (nominal power = 50 kW), to be proved in operational environment, in order to reach the TRL 9 at the end of the testing phase. • Industrializing the RIVER-POWER plant, protecting the intellectual right and launching the technology industrial production and commercialization. During the feasibility study, the Proposer EOL Power will assess in detail the technical, economical and financial viability of the initiative, quantifying the production costs and the market price, involving suppliers and potential end-users, developing a market strategy and a 5-years financial projections.

Alerion Technologies commercialises turnkey data solutions for extreme environments through proprietary RPAS that are autonomous and intelligent. After a Feasibility Study, Alerion has decided to focus on windmill inspection market, due to its high barrier of entry, and geographical proximity to important customers that can accelerate international growth. According to the EWEA windmill operations and maintenance represents 30% of the cost of windpark project, and NREL (U.S. Department of Energy) estimates cost of windmill inspections €22K/ MW for onshore and €67K/ MW offshore. Nowadays, most windmill inspection tasks are performed using high-rise equipment and specially trained altitude workers. These solutions are expensive, time consuming, and inefficient for most cases, while effective autonomous and automatic damage identification tool such as an RPAS is a highly desirable solution across the industry. Alerion has estimated that the potential market for autonomous windmill inspection with RPAS is currently €830M annually, with expected growth to €2.6B by 2025. The WEGOOI systems developed by Alerion Technologies will allow customers to drastically reduce windmill infrastructure inspection costs, increase damage assessment effectiveness, and eliminate health risks. This platform is especially suited for structures of difficult access such as windmills, and the company will adapt its technology to fit the exact needs of this market. Alerion has been testing its technological developments in windparks maintained by a multinational company and service provider, and it has already validated Alerion’s prototype RPAS, for its windmill inspections. The prototype version of WEGOOI is at TRL6, capable of inspecting one blade at a time and analysing images in a ground computer. The main goal of WEGOOI is to adapt the existing platform to inspect three blades in one flight and analyse images on-board in real time, and industrialise and commercialise the solution.

Currently about 47% of the total energy consumption in Europe is needed for space heating and water heating, also considering the industrial heat/process heat. The biggest potential to reduce CO2 emissions significantly is within the heating sector. The ambitious objectives of the European and the worldwide climate and energy policy can only succeed, if the increasing heat and cold supply is considered. The technology of the near-surface geothermal energy offers good prospects for big energy savings and the reduction of greenhouse emissions and also ensures an ideal room climate in summer and winter within buildings. Due to the complex installation, connection and function, existing system solutions (especially in the near-surface geothermal energy) could not establish at the market yet. Another unsolved problem is the large space requirement of the heat source system and the unfavorable cost/benefit relation. Therefore Holzammer Kunststofftechnik GmbH and GeoCollect GmbH developed an innovative geothermal heat absorber system called “GeoCollector”. Project output is the ability to produce the current Prototype GeoCollectors (TRL 6/7) in a way meeting the identified market requirements: - use of renewable energy - low installation effort, low investment costs - high surface extraction rate of heat from the ground, low land usage - best value for money, low amortisation rate, high quality - No approval procedure necessary This is to successfully enter the key user market of companies of the housing sector, industrial companies, public institutions and private owners of houses and properties. Europe’s corresponding high-volume market is valued at €530-€770 Mio. for this field of operation, continuously growing rapid. The GeoCollector project is integral part of HA´s and GC´s strategy of developing and producing permanently new solutions for geothermal energy systems to establish clean and sustainable heating and cooling systems in Europe and worldwide.