• Energy Research
• OA Publications Mandate: Yes close
• 2019 close

The future energy system is challenged by the intermittent nature of renewables and requires therefore several flexibility options. Still, the interaction between different options, the optimal portfolio and the impact on environment and society are unknown. It is thus the core objective of REFLEX to analyse and evaluate the development towards a low-carbon energy system with focus on flexibility options in the EU to support the implementation of the SET-Plan. The analysis are based on a modelling environment that considers the full extent to which current and future energy technologies and policies interfere and how they affect the environment and society while considering technological learning of low-carbon and flexibility technologies. For this purpose, REFLEX brings together the comprehensive expertise and competences of known European experts from six different countries. Each partner focusses on one of the research fields techno-economic learning, fundamental energy system modelling or environmental and social life cycle assessment. To link and apply these three research fields in a compatible way, an innovative and comprehensive energy models system (EMS) is developed, which couples the models and tools from all REFLEX-Partners. It is based on a common database and scenario framework. The results from the EMS will help to understand the complex links, interactions and interdependencies between different actors, available technologies and impact of the different interventions on all levels from the individual to the whole energy system. In this way, the knowledge base for decision-making concerning feasibility, effectiveness, costs and impacts of different policy measures will be strengthened, which will assist policy makers and support the implementation of the SET-Plan. Stakeholders will be actively involved during the entire project from definition of scenarios to dissemination and exploitation of results via workshops, publications and a project website.

Energy provision is a big challenge for our Society, being the present production/consumption paradigm not sustainable. To change current trends, a large increase in the share of Renewable Energy Sources (RESs) is crucial. The effectiveness of Thermal Energy Storage (TES) poses Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) systems at the forefront, as the first dispatchable option among all intermittent RESs. In order to realize the CSP potential, the efficiency of the adopted Power Conversion Units (PCUs) must grow over 50%, entailing temperature levels of the order of 1000 °C: promising solutions are based on Brayton thermodynamic cycles. This project stems from the observation that no existing TES option can be coupled to such PCUs and/or work at these temperatures, and aims at filling this gap. Three interrelated research objectives are proposed, to prove the feasibility and assess the potential of 1. an innovative CSP concept whereby (i) the receiver is co-located with the TES vessel, (ii) the solar radiation is directly absorbed by the liquid storage medium, and (iii) the thermal power is withdrawn from the TES by bubbling a gas through it, which can thus be used as working fluid in a Brayton cycle. An efficient and simple system results, without irradiated metal tubes, secondary fluid loops, heat exchangers, valves, nor pumps; 2. the adoption of common glass-forming compounds as novel TES materials. These are nontoxic and inexpensive (mainly sand), and the related know-how is already available from the glass manufacturing field, whose deep synergies with the CSP sector will be explored in a multi-disciplinary perspective; 3. the CSP systems resulting from the integration between receiver–TES and PCUs. The envisaged approach combines advanced theoretical and experimental research activities to achieve these goals. The final scope is to inaugurate a new branch in the field of solar systems, with the potential of enabling the CSP plants we need to ensure a bright Future.

Today the glass lenses and solar panels have a low durability and are easily stained with undesirable fingerprint, oil, dust and environmental pollutants decreasing the efficiency of their optical properties and generating and extra cost and time for their cleaning. In addition, the most current approaches for achieving an amphiphobic material (repels water and oil) rely on fluorinated compounds such as perfluoroalkyl sulfonates (PFAS)s. However, these fluorinated compounds may be carcinogenic for animal and humans at relatively high dose levels with strong evidence for connection between exposure to them and several forms of cancer. There is a necessity to find an effective, self-cleaning material with a high durability that provides glass surfaces with a high resistance to ngerprinting. In response, our companies ONYRIQ (ON) and ADVANCED NANOTECHNOLOGIES (AD) have developed NaDam-G (Nanocoating Deposition of amphiphobic and fluorine free material on Glass), an innovative technology consisting of a fluorine-free(avoiding the damage to health and environment), anti-fingerprint (avoidance of fingerprint and smudges) and self-cleaning (inherent ability to remove dirt), polymeric material covalently bonded on glass by Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition (PECVD). NaDam-G imparts high-durability for optical lenses and solar panels (increasing the efficiency by 3.5 % and generating an extra 25% of electricity) while being self- cleaning reduces cost and time consuming. Having validated the reliability of the NaDam-G system at the pilot scale, we now want to finalise its development and achieve market preparedness. In Phase 1 we aim to carry a Feasibility Study to warrant the project from a technical, commercial and financial point of view. Besides the crucial benefits that it will bring to nanocoating sector, NaDam-G will boost the growth of ON and AN, expecting to gain € 43million profits and 26 new people after 5 years in the market, reaching a ROI of 16.3.

HYPER TOWER is a very promising project that will lead to a radical increase in the wind turbine tower height and consequently to an increase in the energy potential harvested by wind structures. The project reaches its aims of constructing taller, more robust and economical towers by realizing 6 work packages that are formulated and developed in 2 years. In approaching the "20-20-20" targets, more and more energy has to come from sustainable energy sources and since "The taller the wind tower is, the greener the energy is", a constant trend of taller wind energy structures is observed. The civil engineers' challenge of constructing taller structures, with heavier machinery hanging at greater heights has led to the need of evolution of a new tower configuration that can reassure the structure's robustness along with a feasible construction schedule. Hyper Tower proposes the elaboration of a new-age tower cross-section and construction methodology, which are elaborated within the project's work packages. Assessment of existing tower configuration is performed, the proposal of a new-age tower section is elaborated, numerical and experimental results are assessed and compared to traditional tower configuration results and the final tower configuration is formulated.

Thermal energy storage is a useful method to adjust temporal mismatch between the demand and supply of solar energy systems, and latent thermal energy storage (LTES) using phase change material (PCM) has drawn increasing attentions for its high energy storage density and small temperature variation. Molten salt is a promising candidate for solar energy storage media at middle temperature range (140~300 oC). However, the low thermal conductivity of pure salt hampers the development of this technology. This proposal aims to introduce high conductive nanoparticles (NP) to improve the stability and thermo-physical properties of conventional PCMs for solar energy storage, termed as NPMSSES. Molten salts will be used as the matrix, and NPs (i.e., nickel, graphite platelet nanofibers and graphene) or expanded graphite (EG) will be introduced. It is a highly challenging yet exciting project that unites and advances the boundaries of three state-of-the-art disciplines: functional nanoparticles / nanocomposite, solar energy storage, and multiscale modelling. This work will address four main tasks: i) synthesis and characterization of NP-PCMs with good stability ii) identification thermo-physical properties of NP-PCMs under high temperature; iii) investigating their operational and heat transfer characteristics in a LTES system, including shell-tube and fluidized bed types, and iv) multiscale modeling thermo-physical properties of composite PCMs. My strong experience in experimentation with PCM and heat transfer and the vast knowledge on advanced nanomaterials synthesis and characterisation, and multiscale modelling of the host university will create the optimal environment to deliver the objectives of NPMSSES. The fellowship will be highly beneficial to establish myself as an independent researcher. It is expected that significant innovation should be made in the area of NP-PCM fabrication and mechanistic understanding of heat transfer mechanisms.