• Energy Research
• OA Publications Mandate: Yes close
• 2015 close
• 2020 close

The CyI Solar Thermal Energy Chair for the Eastern Mediterranean (CySTEM – Chair) proposal aims in consolidating and upgrading the already substantial activity at the Cyprus Institute (CyI) in Solar Energy, principally solar-thermal and related activities. This will be accomplished by attracting and installing a cluster of outstanding researchers, led by a professor of international stature to maximally utilize and upgrade the existing facilities, and pursue a program of excellence in Cyprus with local and regional focus in the region of Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East (EMME). The principal focus will be on Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) technologies for electricity production, desalination, air conditioning and heating, either in isolation or in multi-generation modes. The Chair shall be embedded in CyI’s Energy Environment and Water Research Centre (EEWRC), a Centre with intense activity in climate change (and adaptation strategies), water management, and sustainability. CyI, being a technologically orientated research and educational institution, will provide the CySTEM Chair the opportunity to contribute to other related important activities of techno-economic nature, such as the definition of a road map for Renewable Energy Sources (and Solar in particular) development in the area in light of the recent discoveries of substantial Natural Gas deposits in the Eastern Mediterranean. Following the template provided by the Commission, the proposal first presents the main objectives of the chair. This is arranged in subsections to describe what is proposed (research activities), who will carry it out (human capital), what infrastructure and tools will be employed to enable the realization of the proposed program and how the various tools and policies available to the program, including CyI’s educational programs, will be integrated and used to maximize its impact.

The Shockley Queisser (SQ) limits the efficiency of single junction photovoltaic (PV) cells and sets the maximum efficiency for Si PV at about 30%. This is because of two constraints: i. The energy PV generates at each conversion event is set by its bandgap, irrespective of the photon’s energy. Thus, energetic photons lose most of their energy to heat. ii. PV cannot harness photons at lower energy than its bandgap. Therefore, splitting energetic photons, and fusing two photons each below the Si bandgap to generate one higher-energy photon that match the PV, push the potential efficiency above the Shockley Queisser limit. Nonlinear optics (NLO) offers efficient frequency conversion, yet it is inefficient at the intensity and the coherence level of solar and thermal radiation. Here I propose new thermodynamic concepts for frequency conversion of partially incoherent light aiming to overcome the SQ limit for single junction PVs. Specifically, I propose entropy driven up-conversion of low energy photons such as in thermal radiation to emission that matches Si PV cell. This concept is based on coupling "hot phonons" to Near-IR emitters, while the bulk remains at low temperature. As preliminary results we experimentally demonstrate entropy-driven ten-fold up-conversion of 10.6m excitation to 1m at internal efficiency of 27% and total efficiency of 10%. This is more efficient by orders of magnitude from any prior art, and opens the way for efficient up-conversion of thermal radiation. We continue by applying similar thermodynamic ideas for harvesting the otherwise lost thermalization in single junction PVs and present the concept of "optical refrigeration for ultra-efficient PV" with theoretical efficiencies as high as 69%. We support the theory by experimental validation, showing enhancement in photon energy of 107% and orders of magnitude enhancement in the number of accessible photons for high-bandgap PV. This opens the way for disruptive innovation in photovoltaics

Waste heat recovery systems can offer significant energy savings and substantial greenhouse gas emission reductions. The waste heat recovery market is projected to exceed €45,0 billion by 2018, but for this projection to materialise and for the European manufacturing and user industry to benefit from these developments, technological improvements and innovations should take place aimed at improving the energy efficiency of heat recovery equipment and reducing installed costs. The overall aim of the project is to develop and demonstrate technologies and processes for efficient and cost effective heat recovery from industrial facilities in the temperature range 70°C to 1000°C and the optimum integration of these technologies with the existing energy system or for over the fence export of recovered heat and generated electricity if appropriate. To achieve this challenging aim, and ensure wide application of the technologies and approaches developed, the project brings together a very strong consortium comprising of RTD providers, technology providers and more importantly large and SME users who will provide demonstration sites for the technologies. The project will focus on two-phase innovative heat transfer technologies (heat pipes-HP) for the recovery of heat from medium and low temperature sources and the use of this heat for; a) within the same facility or export over the fence; b) for generation of electrical power; or a combination of (a) and (b) depending on the needs. For power generation the project will develop and demonstrate at industrial sites the Trilateral Flash System (TFC) for low temperature waste heat sources, 70°C to 200°C and the Supercritical Carbon Dioxide System (sCO2) for temperatures above 200°C. It is projected that these technologies used alone or in combination with the HP technologies will lead to energy and GHG emission savings well in excess of 15% and attractive economic performance with payback periods of less than 3,0 years.

The CREATE project aims to tackle the thermal energy storage challenge for the built environment by developing a compact heat storage. This heat battery allows for better use of available renewables in two ways: 1) bridging the gap between supply and demand of renewables and 2) increasing the efficiency in the energy grid by converting electricity peaks into stored heat to be used later, increasing the energy grid flexibility and giving options for tradability and economic benefits. The main aim of CREATE is to develop and demonstrate a heat battery, ie an advanced thermal storage system based on Thermo-Chemical Materials, that enables economically affordable, compact and loss-free storage of heat in existing buildings. The CREATE concept is to develop stabilized storage materials with high storage density, improved stability and low price, and package them in optimized heat exchangers, using optimized storage modules. Full scale demonstration will be done in a real building, with regulatory/normative, economic and market boundaries taken into account. To ensure successful exploitation, the full knowledge, value, and supply chain are mobilized in the present consortium. It will be the game changer in the transformation of our existing building stock towards near-zero energy buildings. WP1 Management,WP2 Cost Analysis and planning for future commercial products cost,WP3 System definition,design and simulation,WP4 Thermal storage materials optimization (key breakthroughs),WP5 Critical storage components and technology development (key breakthroughs),WP6 Thermal storage reactor design, implementation and test,WP7 System integration, experiments and optimization,WP8 Building integration and full scale demonstration,WP9 Dissemination and exploitation of results. CREATE will create viable supply chain by bringing together multiple scientific disciplines and industry. In other words, CREATE envisions a multi-scale, multi-disciplinary and multi-stakeholder approach.

The profound advantages of printed photovoltaics (PVs), such as their light weight, mechanical flexibility in addition to the small energy demand, and low cost equipment requirements for roll-to-roll mass production, characterise them as a dominant candidate source for future electrical power. Over the last few years, the discovery of novel solution processed electronic materials and device structures boosted PV power conversion efficiency values. Despite that, power conversion efficiency is not a 'stand-alone' product development target for next generation PVs. Lifetime, cost, flexibility and non-toxicity have to be equally considered, regarding the technological progress of solution processed PVs. The ambit of the Sol-Pro research programme is to re-design solution processed PV components relevant to the above product development targets. Based on this, processing specifications as a function of the electronic material properties will be established and provide valuable input for flexible PV applications. Adjusting the material characteristics and device design is crucial to achieve the proposed high performance PV targets. As a consequence, a number of high-level objectives concerning processing/materials/electrodes/interfaces, relevant to product development targets of next generation solution processed PVs, are aimed for within the proposed ERC programme.