• Energy Research
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Solar Energy is the most abundant renewable energy source available for our Planet. Light energy conversion into chemical energy by photosynthetic organisms is indeed the main conversion energy step, which originated high energy containing fossil deposits, now being depleted. By the way, plant or algae biomass may still be used to produce biofuels, as bio-ethanol, bio-diesel and bio-hydrogen. Microalgae exploitation for biofuels production have the considerable advantages of being sustainable and not in competition with food production, since not-arable lands, waste water and industrial gasses can be used for algae cultivation. Considering that only 45% of the sunlight covers the range of wavelengths that can be absorbed and used for photosynthesis, the maximum photosynthetic efficiency achievable in microalgae is 10%. On these bases, a photobioreactor carrying 600 l/m-2 would produce 294 Tons/ha/year of biomass of which 30% to 80%, depending on strain and growth conditions, being oil. However this potential has not been exploited yet, since biomass and biofuels yield on industrial scale obtained up to now were relatively low and with high costs of production. The main limitation encountered for sustained biomass production in microalgae by sunlight conversion is low light use efficiency, reduced from the theoretical value of 10% to 1-3%. This low light use efficiency is mainly due to a combined effect of reduced light penetration to deeper layers in highly pigmented cultures, where light available is almost completely absorbed by the outer layers, and an extremely high (up to 80%) thermal dissipation of the light absorbed. This project aims to investigate the molecular basis for efficient light energy conversion into chemical energy, in order to significantly increase the biomass production in microalgae combining a solid investigation of the principles of light energy conversion with biotechnological engineering of algal strains.

FIThydro addresses the decision support in commissioning and operating hydropower plants (HPP) by use of existing and innovative technologies. It concentrates on mitigation measures and strategies to develop cost-efficient environmental solutions and on strategies to avoid individual fish damage and enhancing population developments. Therefore HPPS all over Europe are involved as test sites. The facilities for upstream and downstream migration are evaluated, different bypass systems including their use as habitats and the influence of sediment on habitat. In addition existing tools and devices will be enhanced during the project and will be used in the experimental set-ups in the laboratories and at the test sites for e.g. detection of fish or prediction of behavior. This includes sensor fish, different solutions for migration as e.g. trash rack variations, different fish tracking systems, but also numerical models as habitat and population model or virtual fish swimming path model. Therefore a three-level-based workplan was created with preparatory desk work at the beginning to analyze shortcomings and potential in environment-friendly hydropower. Following the experimental tests will be conducted at the different test sites to demonstrate and evaluate the effects of the different options not covered by the desk-work. Thirdly, these results are fed into a risk based Decision Support System (DSS) which is developed for planning, commissioning and operating of HPPs. It is meant to enable operators to fulfill the requirements of cost-effective production and at the same time meet the environmental obligations and targets under European legislation and achieve a self-sustained fish population.

The aim is to develop and install a pre-commercial wave energy converter (WEC) of 1MW power, the WAVESTAR C6-1000 device, with main targets the device industrialization and the demonstration of wind and wave energy applications. The utility company Parkwind, which develops, builds and operates wind farms in the North Sea, is committed to the achievement of WAVESTAR’s next development stage. Parkwind provides the installation site with grid connection for the first full-scale WAVESTAR WEC, located within a Belgian offshore wind farm. The UPWAVE project consortium has been developed through the establishment of strong synergies and partnerships, by bringing together key European industrial players and European universities represented by wave energy experts whose overall objectives focus on: 1) Reduction of the device’s cost by introducing new design, components and materials. Cost optimization is achieved through new methods on deployment, installation, operation and maintenance. 2) Improvement of the energy efficiency by developing a more advanced Power Take Off based on a second generation digital hydraulic system and innovative control strategy. 3) Integration of wave energy converters in wind farms by considering the interaction between wave and wind devices in terms of operation, cost reduction and maximization of environmental benefits. Public research programs, industrial cooperation and technology transfer from the offshore industry (offshore wind, oil and gas) ensure the development of manufacturing processes, automation and optimisation of the WAVESTAR C6-1000 WEC. New certificates and standards will be made available for the wave energy industry. After the completion of the UPWAVE project, the cost of wave energy will be significantly reduced to a level in line with the cost of offshore wind energy (around 15 c€/kWh). The WAVESTAR C6-1000 demonstrator device will lead to a commercial WEC and a hybrid renewable energy device (wind and wave).

According to the Integrated Roadmap of the Set-plan, and to reach the new EU target of 27% of renewable energies in 2030, there is the need to rapidly expand the use of all renewable energy sources in Europe to accelerate the fight against global climate change. This requires the acceleration of development of new options that are emerging today, particularly, technologies that solve the key issue of energy storage. The next-CSP Project is a response to this need and addresses significant improvements in all three elements targeted by the LCE-07-2016 call related to concentrated solar power: heat transfer fluids, which can be used for direct thermal energy storage; the solar field; and high temperature receivers allowing for new cycles. The proposed fluidized particle-in-tube concept is a breakthrough innovation that opens the route to the development of a new generation of CSP plants allowing high efficiency new cycles (50% and more) and 20% improvement of CSP plant efficiency. The Next-CSP technology that cumulates the know-how acquired during the CSP2 FP7 EU project on the particle-in-tube technology can be rapidly cost-competitive and introduced in the market. A cost reduction by 38% is expected with respect to current CSP electricity cost. The project will demonstrate at industrial pilot scale (TRL5) the validity of the particle-in-tube concept atop the Themis facility solar tower. A 4-MWth tubular solar receiver able to heat particles up to 800°C will be constructed and tested as well as the rest of the loop: a two-tank particle heat storage and a particle-to-pressurized air heat exchanger coupled to a 1.2 MWel gas turbine. A commercial scale power plant (150 MWel) will also be designed on the basis of experimental and simulation results and associated costs assessed. The consortium includes 6 companies that will lead the development of the first worldwide demonstration of this innovative technology and pave the way for future commercial exploitation.

The excessive energy consumption that Europe is faced with, calls for sustainable resource management and policy-making. Amongst renewable sources of the global energy pool, wind energy holds the lead. Nonetheless, wind turbine (WT) facilities are conjoined with a number of shortcomings relating to their short life-span and the lack of efficient management schemes. With a number of WTs currently reaching their design span, stakeholders and policy makers are convinced of the necessity for reliable life-cycle assessment methodologies. However, existing tools have not yet caught up with the maturity of the WT technology, leaving visual inspection and offline non-destructive evaluation methods as the norm. This proposal aims to establish a smart framework for the monitoring, inspection and life-cycle assessment of WTs, able to guide WT operators in the management of these assets from cradle-to-grave. Our project is founded on a minimal intervention principle, coupling easily deployed and affordable sensor technology with state-of-the-art numerical modeling and data processing tools. An integrated approach is proposed comprising: (i) a new monitoring paradigm for WTs relying on fusion of structural response information, (ii) simulation of influential, yet little explored, factors affecting structural response, such as structure-foundation-soil interaction and fatigue (ii) a stochastic framework for detecting anomalies in both a short- (damage) and long-term (deterioration) scale. Our end goal is to deliver a “protection-suit” for WTs comprising a hardware (sensor) solution and a modular readily implementable software package, titled ETH-WINDMIL. The suggested kit aims to completely redefine the status quo in current Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition systems. This pursuit is well founded on background work of the PI within the area of structural monitoring, with a focus in translating the value of information into quantifiable terms and engineering practice.

THERMOS (Thermal Energy Resource Modelling and Optimisation System) will develop the methods, data, and tools to enable public authorities and other stakeholders to undertake more sophisticated thermal energy system planning far more rapidly and cheaply than they can today. This will amplify and accelerate the development of new low carbon heating and cooling systems across Europe, and enable faster upgrade, refurbishment and expansion of existing systems. The project will realise these benefits at the strategic planning level (quantification of technical potential, identification of new opportunities) and at the project level (optimisation of management and extension of existing and new systems). These outcomes will be achieved through: a) Development of address-level heating and cooling energy supply and demand maps, initially for the four Pilot Cities, and subsequently for the four Replication partners - establishing a standard method and schema for high resolution European energy mapping, incorporating a wide range of additional spatial data needed for modelling and planning of thermal energy systems, and their interactions with electrical and transport energy systems; b) Design and implementation of fast algorithms for modelling and optimising thermal systems, incorporating real-world cost, benefit and performance data, and operating both in wide area search, and local system optimisation contexts; c) Development of a free, open-source software application integrating the spatial datasets with the search and system optimisation algorithms (trialled and tested through the public authorities representing four Pilot Cities); d) Supporting implementation of the energy system mapping methodology, and subsequently the use of the THERMOS software, with a further four Replication Cities/Regions, from three more EU Member States; e) Comprehensive dissemination of mapping outputs and free software tools, targeting public authorities and wider stakeholders across Europe.

THE GOAL We will derive new and fundamental insight in the relation between nano-scale structure and the performance of 3rd generation solar cells, and determine how to apply this in large-scale processing. THE CHALLENGES We currently have a superficial understanding of the correlations between structure and performance of photovoltaic heterojunctions, based on studies of small-scale devices and model systems with characterization techniques that indirectly probe their internal structure. The real structures of optimized devices have never been “seen”, and in devices manufactured by large-scale processing, almost nothing is known about the formation of structures and interfaces. THE SCIENCE We will take a ground-breaking new approach by combining imaging techniques where state of the art is moving in time spans on the order of months, with ultrafast scattering experiments and modelling. The techniques include high resolution X-ray phase contrast and X-ray dark-field tomography, in situ small and wide angl

The MPC-: GT project brought together a transdisciplinary team of SMEs, large industry and research institutes, experienced in research and application of design and control systems in the combined building and energy world. Based on prior research, supported by (joint) EU and national projects, and practical experience the bottlenecks where identified that prevent at this moment a real breakthrough of geothermal heat pumps (GEO-HP) combined with thermally activated building systems (TABS) - GEOTABS. Solutions, which need to be implemented in an integrated way, were identified and sufficient proof of concept was gathered to join forces in a RIA. The innovative concepts aim at increasing the share of low valued (low-grade) energy sources by means of using low exergy systems on the one hand and aim at upgrading low/moderate temperature resources on the other hand. The overall solution consists of an optimal integration of GEOTABS and secondary supply and emission systems. To allow for an optimal use of both the GEOTABS and the secondary system, a split will be made between a so-called “base load” that will be provided by the GEOTABS and the remaining energy needs that should be supplied by the secondary system. A generic rule, eliminating case-by-case simulation work, will be developed. The second part of the proposed solution aims at a white box approach for Model Predictive Control (MPC) to generate a controller model with precomputed model inputs such as disturbances and HVAC thermal power to avoid case by case development. Research is needed to assess the overall performance and robustness of such an approach towards uncertainties. As such, the MPC-: GT consortium believes to have identified an integrated solution that will provide a near optimal design strategy for the MPC GEOTABS concept using optimal control integrated design. The solution will support the industry, especially the SME members, to expand their activities and strengthen their competitiveness.