• Energy Research
• 2019 close

Over the lifetime of a wind turbine, operation and maintenance costs represent 25% of total levelised cost per kWh produced. The majority of these costs are attributed to the wind turbine’s blades, yet current methods of inspecting these blades are outdated and inefficient. Blade inspection procedures still largely relies on qualified inspectors roping down each blade to manually inspect for any flaws or defects present on the blade. This is clearly a very hazardous, time-consuming (5 hours), and expensive method (€1500). Other less used methods of blade inspection include capturing blade images from ground cameras and manual review by experts. However, poor image quality and strong backlight leaves many blade flaws undetected. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are now being used to take pictures of the blades from much closer up. Current UAV's however require dedicated experts for both flight control as well as image processing, analysis, and fault detection. Pro-Drone's integrated WindDrone Zenith’s solution is a breakthrough solution providing enabling 3-blade inspection in a single flight. Our technology solution is fully equipped with highly accurate inspection equipment hardware coupled with smart software. The software allows the UAV to be fly autonomously, avoid collisions, automatically detect any faults, and generate reports for the customer on each wind turbine inspected. Machine learning algorithms are used to continuously improve automated fault detection based on a growing database of captured images and their analysis. Our "BladeInsight" cloud reporting platform makes actionable reports available to our customers as part of this solution. Pro-Drone Zenith provides for a 50% direct cost saving, and decreases turbine inspection downtime by 6X, as compared to existing methods.

There are two types of wind turbines, a Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT) and a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT). A HAWT has high efficiencies, but also high costs of materials, transportation, installation and maintenance. A VAWT has low efficiency, but lower costs of materials, transportation, installation and maintenance. In comparison, a VAWT also offers a subtler design with reduced shadow flicker, bird strike, and noise. However, due to the low efficiency of a VAWT, it is not an economically commercial method of producing renewable energy. AB Power has developed a technology to increase the efficiency of a VAWT close to that of a HAWT without sacrificing the cost savings. This has led to a far cheaper method of harnessing energy from the wind than ever before. Due to the affordability of the VAWT, it will have a dramatic impact on the fight against climate change. The technology being developed at AB Power will make renewable energy available to more customers than ever before. Through the growth of AB Power, there will be a direct relationship with the reduction of UK emissions.

Production of a prototype internal blade inspection system for use inside Offshore Wind Turbine blades including a cost benefit analysis.

Thermal end-uses (space heating, hot tap water, cooling) represent a major part of electricity consumption in Europe and cause consumption peaks, often when electricity is expensive. Hot tap water is the only thermal end-use provided as a base load over a year and that is stored. Space heating and air conditioning are seasonal thermal end-uses with a high residential electricity consumption. They are not stored at the buildings scale to allow peak shaving of the residential electricity consumption. These statements show the interest to develop appropriate thermal energy storages, suitable for buildings, to reduce the electricity bill of end-users. ComBioTES will thus develop a modular compact thermal energy storage (TES) solution for heating, hot tap water and cooling fully adapted for electricity load shifting. A first modular TES will be able to store hot tap water to be converted into ice storage during summer (cooling needs). A second compact latent TES, using high performances (ΔH≈260kJ/kg) bio-based non-aggressive PCM, will store high heating energy amount, for space heating or hot tap water demands. As thermal end-uses in buildings are different regarding seasonal needs, this concept combines the advantage of a modular TES (high utilization rate) with the high volumetric energy density of a latent TES using a bio-based PCM (high compactness: ≥ 100kWh/m3 ΔT=50°C). The ComBioTES consortium and associated External Advisory Board (Idex, Danfoss and Passive House) involve all relevant key players in energy storage and management: RTOs for development and testing infrastructure and SMEs for manufacturing & commercialization of the technology, and representative of potential customers and end users (building owners &operators). In line with IC7, two partners from CHINA (The Institute of Electrical Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and The Henan Province GuoanHeating Equipment Co., LTD) will promote the ComBioTES concept in this country.

The world’s energy market, with an annual turnover of more than € 10 trillion, is in transition. Today’s renewables can replace 20-40% of fossil sources, however, their volatile energy output cause problems with grid stability and matching supply and demand. As a result, additional expenditure in the order of billions of € are required to expand the grid and adding storage solutions. EnerKíte offers a solution – tapping into an as of yet unused and stable energy source, providing twice the yield at half the cost to traditional horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWT). EnerKítes - a future product portfolio of Airborne Wind Energy (AWE) Systems will harness the powerful and steady winds high above the blade tips of today’s wind turbines. Proprietary control software and machine design will make EnerKítes autonomous and robust and matching renewable energy demands even during lull and at night. EnerKíte is a Berlin-based venture led by pioneers in the wind and kite industry. It has developed a 30 kW working prototype that has provided the longest autonomous operation (72 hrs+) of any AWE player in the world. The SME Phase 2 project focuses on optimizing and validating the EK200, a 100 kW unit, as the commercial market entry model. Working closely with the utility company ENGIE, we will ensure that the technology is matured while anchoring the commercialization journey. Our entry strategy is to provide green energy directly where there is demand. We will address the renewable mini-grid market with a volume of €bn 7.2 p.a. - sufficient for a proper business case itself. We will deploy rural wind-storage charging stations to boost the €bn 40 by 2025 eMobility market, growing with a CAGR of 47.9%. EnerKíte’s value chain is centred around certifiable designs, IP and know-how. The need for scalable manufacturing skillsets prompts dialogues with Voith (DE), Siemens (DE) and Vestas (DK). The innovation effort provides a €m 50.9 business opportunity already for 2021-2026.

Wind is proving to be a commercially viable source for generating electrical power. The UK is exploiting this opportunity with its consistent wind resource using wind turbines fixed to the seabed along its coastline up to 50 metres in depth. Other coastal regions around the world are considering offshore wind turbine projects and, despite some being too deep for fixed seabed wind turbines, floating wind turbines may provide the solution. 18 miles offshore Peterhead, Scotland, such a test program is in operation. Known as Hywind Scotland, the project deploys five interconnected floating turbines supplying sufficient electricity to power 20,000 UK households. The next step in development is to design floating foundation structures with commercial potential for mass production. Test level projects may then be scaled up to develop floating windfarms deploying hundreds of interconnected units supplying commercially viable electricity to the world's major coastal cities. Designs for the floating bases upon which the turbines stand remain a challenge. The Hywind floating bases must be assembled in deep water Norwegian fjords and specialist heavy lift floating cranes for construction which add to the project cost. Alternative floating base designs present different construction challenges such as large widths that make assembly and launch difficult using facilities found in typical ports. Also, the UK currently has to rely on intellectual property rights owned in the US, Norway, France and Japan to take advantage of this new technology. CPDSYS Ltd is investigating how to optimise floating wind turbine foundation design and intallation. It has developed the Drop Keel concept, a compact, shallow draft design which Atkins Engineering has analysed and identified as possessing operational performance and motion characteristics acceptable for commercial wind turbine operation. Scale model tank tests are planned with Strathclyde University for a 10MW capacity unit followed by further analysis to investigate the relationship between wave motion, aerodynamic performance and motion control systems. The objective is to produce a full scale Drop Keel foundation design protected by UK Intellectual property rights that not only supports renewable power opportunities in the UK's deeper coastal waters but also meets the demands of a global export market. CPDSYS is also investigating how the Drop Keel concept may support marginal deep water oil and gas fields by providing a source of electricity in remote marine locations that could assist with recovery of hydrocarbons similar to the way that pump jacks (nodding donkeys) power onshore oil wells.

Tackling climate change, providing energy security and delivering sustainable energy solutions are major challenges faced by civil society. The social, environmental and economic cost of these challenges means that it is vital that there is a research focus on improving the conversion and use of thermal energy. A great deal of research and development is continuing to take place to reduce energy consumption and deliver cost-effective solutions aimed at helping the UK achieve its target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050. Improved thermal energy performance impacts on industry through reduced energy costs, reduced emissions, and enhanced energy security. Improving efficiency and reducing emissions is necessary to increase productivity, support growth in the economy and maintain a globally competitive manufacturing sector. In the UK, residential and commercial buildings are responsible for approximately 40% of the UK's total non-transport energy use, with space heating and hot water accounting for almost 80% of residential and 60% of commercial energy use. Thermal energy demand has continued to increase over the past 40 years, even though home thermal energy efficiency has been improving. Improved thermal energy conversion and utilisation results in reduced emissions, reduced costs for industrial and domestic consumers and supports a more stable energy security position. In the UK, thermal energy (heating and cooling) is the largest use of energy in our society and cooling demand set to increase as a result of climate change. The need to address the thermal energy challenge at a multi-disciplinary level is essential and consequently this newly established network will support the technical, social, economic and environmental challenges, and the potential solutions. It is crucial to take account of the current and future economic, social, environmental and legislative barriers and incentives associated with thermal energy. The Thermal Energy Challenge Network will support synergistic approaches which offer opportunities for improved sustainable use of thermal energy which has previously been largely neglected. This approach can result in substantial energy demand reductions but collaboration and networking is essential if this is to be achieved. A combination of technological solutions working in a multi-disciplinary manner with engineers, physical scientists, and social scientists is essential and this will be encouraged and supported by the Thermal Energy Challenge Network.

Maintenance costs are one of the largest problems in the wind energy market, adding to up to 40% of total wind turbine costs. Blades take the lion’s share of this, with 20-30% of all maintenance costs. Our solution, eolACC is the first condition-based monitoring on-blade sensor system to combine 3 features: blade crack detection, pitch angle measurements and blade icing detection. Monitoring all these features will save wind turbine owners up to €2.9 M across the turbine lifetime, recovering the investment in eolACC in the first 2 months. We studied the target market and competitors. Forecasts predict the wind power O&M market will grow to €22 bn by 2025. eolACC has full Freedom to Operate in our target markets of Europe, North America and Asia. We currently have over 50 customers which have purchased over 200 of our ice detection sensor system, many of which have been asking for an all-in-one solution as eolACC. We will leverage our connection with them to first expand into France, Belgium and the DACH region in 2021, then the rest of Europe and North America in 2022 and Asia in 2023. Our strategy will be to sell our product first to turbine owners directly, and then through large OEMs. We already have registered interest from several of our current customers (Enercon, e.on. Tecnocentre eolien, EVN, Verbund) to implement eolACC into their systems. We will use our current clients, our connection with Phoenix Contact and local sales partners to assist our dissemination efforts. We require a 24-month project with a budget of €1.62 M to bring eolACC to market. Our Work Plan is composed of 3 Technical Work Packages, one Commercial and one for Project Management. Our Phase 2 project will also result in the creation of 6 new jobs. The project is highly profitable, bringing a 4.01 ROI up to 2024 for the €1.62M required to bring our innovation to market. This will translate into a payback period of 2 years and total revenues of almost €12M per year to 2024.

MAX phases are 2D-layered hexagonal carbides or nitrides that can exhibit very high mechanical damage tolerance at high temperatures. In common with ceramics, they are significantly less activated than metals by fast neutron irradiation. Hence they have potential applications in structural applications for advanced nuclear fission. However, the structure/property relationships and mechanisms of damage accumulation in MAX phases need to be better understood for microstructure-based modelling to support the design and development of materials and engineering components. Strain mapping by both image analysis and diffraction has revolutionized studies of deformation in structural materials. Together, they can provide excellent knowledge of both the elastic and plastic strain states within complex structures, which are internally "strain gauged" in three-dimensions with high spatial resolution. Image correlation tools applied to tomographs can measure three-dimensional deformation and total strain states with high precision. Diffraction analysis to measure elastic strains within bulk materials is also routine with neutrons and also on high energy synchrotron X-ray beam-lines. The project aims to use X-ray and neutron diffraction and imaging to map, in situ and in 3D, both the total and elastic strains under load and at elevated temperature, and thereby perform novel studies of the mechanisms of strain accommodation in bulk MAX phase materials for nuclear energy, with emphasis on the effects of strain history, microstructure texture and material heterogeneity, in order to improve material reliability and performance. The objectives of the project are to study, in particular, the differences between phase pure and commercial purity MAX phase materials from the TiAlC system, including the application of high resolution electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) to study the transfer of strain between grains and phases, which may be affected by the texture that is introduced during processing. This project interacts closely with a parallel project, starting at the same time, that is conducting studies of strain accommodation in MAX phase materials for advanced nuclear energy at the microscale, using high temperature nano-indentation and high resolution microscopy. This project collaborates with SCK-CEN (Belgium) who are developing MAX phases for nuclear applications in conjunction with the European Energy Research Alliance Joint Programme in Nuclear Materials that aims to develop materials for next generation sustainable nuclear energy. The project also connects with the H2020 Il Trovatore programme on Innovative cladding materials for advanced accident-tolerant energy systems, in which standard mechanical testing (including studies of irradiated materials) are being conducted by SCK-CEN, together with electron-microscopy microstructure characterisation by EBSD and Transmission electron microscopy. This project falls within the EPSRC Energy Research Theme (Nuclear Power).

More and more wind turbines are reaching the end of their designed service life. Due to economic factors, it is in the operator's interest to keep their wind turbines operating beyond their designed service life, as long as the safe operational requirements are met. This process is known as lifetime extension. Whilst relatively well-established practices exist for the lifetime extension of the structural members, the electro-mechanical and drivetrain are often overlooked. Therefore, this PhD will look at developing a methodology, analysis tools and the framework for the lifetime extension of the wind turbine drivetrains.