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The SmartBay NIAP fund was made available in 2012 through Dublin City University over a two year period to enable researchers to access the SmartBay Ireland National Test and Demonstration Facility in Galway Bay. Research proposals were invited for funding under a number of activity types that are in line with the objectives of the SmartBay PRTLI Cycle 5 programme. This fund provided small awards (typically €2-25K) to research teams through a national competitive process, which was open to all higher education institutions on the island of Ireland. There were both open and biannual calls. The SmartBay NIAP fund was established to enable researchers in academia and industry to access the SmartBay Ireland national test and demonstration infrastructure. Proposals to access the infrastructure were brief and required information on the researcher(s), a description of the proposed research and its potential impact to the research team arising from the access to SmartBay Ireland. Marine Institute

Modern conceptions of progress, based on the dominant Cartesian reductionist paradigm, are associated with a linear drive towards ever greater ascendancy, order, organisation, homogeneity, hegemony, performance, efficiency, and control. Similarly modern conceptions of progress are associated with positivist approaches to overcoming and extinguishing disorder, inchoateness, uncertainty, redundancy and risk. In this framework, diversity is conceived as a threat to system organisation, efficiency and control. Many contemporary conceptions of sustainability and sustainable development, framed within this paradigm, envisage sustainability as aligning with such ideas of progress. By this narrative, sustainable systems are achievable through ever greater efficiency, through for example, technological prowess, improved organisational structure/control, taming of “big data” and through risk reduction/extinction. Similarly, corporate sustainability would be advanced through growth, mergers and acquisitions, rationalisation, pruning of smaller operations/sites within firms, layoffs, increased corporate control, accountability and managerialism. “Bigger is better” is the apposite maxim. From a complex systems perspective however, a very different picture is evident. In the ecological domain, sustainable ecosystems have been quantitatively shown to be those which maintain an appropriate (context, time and space dependent) dynamic balance between opposing tendencies of ascendancy and efficiency on one hand and diversity and redundancy on the other (Ulanowicz, 2009; Goerner et al., 2009). Ecological biodiversity is an absolute requirement for ecosystem endurance since it facilitates system resilience in the event of significant perturbation (whether sudden shock or longer term stress). For example, a species which can feed on a selection of available prey species is more resilient against partial ecosystem destruction/prey extinction than one which relies on a single species for food. While the latter scenario represents a situation of greater efficiency, it is also more rigid and less resilient. Moreover, while the tendencies of complex systems towards ascendancy (organisation, efficiency) and disorder (redundancy, diversity) are antagonistic at local levels, they are in fact mutually dependent at higher levels (Ulanowicz et al, 2009): “A requisite for the increase in effective orderly performance (ascendency) is the existence of flexibility (reserve) within the system. Conversely, systems that are highly constrained and at peak performance (in the second law sense of the word) dissipate external gradients at ever higher gross rates”. This model has been mirrored across techno-economic and social domains wherein similar sustainability models have been proposed (e.g. Stirling, 2011). This framework has manifested itself in research outputs across virtually every discipline, where in different guises sustainable and persistent systems have been shown to require a balance between tendencies of control, structure and organisation and those of diversity and disorder.

Limestone calcined clay cements (LC3) are blended cements that combine clinker, limestone, calcined clay and gypsum. The availability of the materials required to produce LC3 and the good performance that it achieves, makes LC3 suitable as a sustainable replacement of Portland cement. Significant advances have been made to assess the properties of LC3, compare it to other common blended cements and establish benchmark characterization procedures. However, there are still open questions that are relevant for a successful adoption of this technology and consequently, to make a better use of the resources available. This research project addresses some of these questions related to processing, blend design and microstructural development of LC3 cements. The effect of calcite impurities in calcined clay reactivity was explored. It was found that at calcination temperatures below the recrystallization threshold, an intermediate produce was formed between kaolinite and calcite. A slight reduction in reactivity was observed, which can be mostly offset by reducing the calcination temperature of the clay and extending the residence time. The effect of using grinding aids was studied at the grinding/classification stage and also during hydra-tion. The use of grinding aids significantly improves the efficiency of dry classification of clay particles, which could prevent overgrinding and increase yield in closed circuit milling units. Furthermore, the use of alkanolamines was shown to be effective to enhance the formation of hemicarboaluminate and monocarboaluminate and thus increase strength. LC3 cements require optimization of the calcium sulfate (gypsum). There is an increase in the sulfate needed relative to the clinker content. The mechanism that explains this increased sulfate demand was found to be linked to the enhancement of alite reaction due to filler effect and the adsorption of sulfate in C-A-S-H, rather than the aluminate content of the calcined clay. In addition, the reaction rate of C3A and the dissolution rate of the sulfate source used are also important to describe the sulfate balance of a cementitious system in general. The effect of hemicarboaluminate and monocarboaluminate on mechanical properties of LC3 was also studied. Metakaolin and sulfate content were found to influence significantly the kinetics of AFm for-mation. Furthermore, the precipitation of AFm between 2 and 3 days of hydration were directly linked to the strength increase observed. The amount of initial space in the system determines the extent to which hydration takes place at a high rate. Afterwards, the porosity refinement leads to a decrease in reaction rate. However, evidence for a continued reaction of metakaolin in the long term was found. The insights presented in this thesis provide new knowledge that enables a better use of LC3 in the field. Together, they also show the robustness and versatility of this technology, and deliver guidelines for future developments and field implementation of LC3.

The rapid growth of clean technologies to address climate change has emphasized the increasing complexity of materials, some of which face criticality and potential supply disruptions. Inte- grated assessment models (IAMs) used for designing illustrative mitigation pathways (IMPs) lack comprehensive information on material annual demand projection. This study focuses on the demand for the rare earth element neodymium (Nd) until 2050 in wind power and transporta- tion sectors. The assessment is based on the three most ambitious IMPs, namely “Low Energy Demand” (LD), “Sustainability Pathways” (SP), and “Rapid Technology Change” (Ren), from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Assessment Report 6 (AR6). The results show that Nd demand steadily increases in all scenarios, but the magnitude and growth rates vary. The LD scenario exhibits the lowest material needs in passenger transport due to shared road transport and rail preferences, consequence of a focus on final energy use changes, while the SP scenario presents the highest growth in material demand. The Ren scenario, char- acterized by fast electrification and energy intensity improvements, represents a middle-ground scenario for material demand with good opportunities for recycling. This study underscores the significance of considering material demand in scenario design and highlights the importance of better assessing crucial external factors used for material stock determination in the future. The findings contribute to improving scenario design precision and the understanding of material use implications, providing valuable insights for climate policies and resource management strategies.

Organic soils develop under waterlogged conditions, leading to a reduced decomposition of biomass. Over the last millennia this led to the development of a large carbon (C) pool in the global C cycle. Drainage, necessary for agriculture and forestry, triggers rapid decomposition of soil organic matter (SOM). While undisturbed organic soils are C-sinks, drainage transforms them into C-sources. Climate, drainage depth and land-use are considered the main factors controlling SOM decomposition. However, there is still a large variation in decomposition rates among organic soils, even when climate, drainage and land-use conditions are similar. This thesis investigates the role of SOM composition on peat decomposability in a variety of differently managed drained organic soils. Peat samples from 21 organic soils managed as cropland, grassland and forest soils situated in Switzerland were incubated at 10 and 20 °C for more than 6 months. During incubation, we monitored CO2 emissions and related them to soil characteristics, including bulk density, soil pH, soil organic carbon (SOC) content, and elemental ratios (C/N, H/C and O/C). The incubated samples lost between 0.6 to 1.9% of their SOC at 10 °C and between 1.2 to 42% at 20 °C over the course of 10,000 h (>1 yr). This huge variation occurring under controlled conditions suggests that, besides drainage depth, climate and management, SOM composition is an underestimated factor that determines CO2 fluxes measured in field experiments. In contrast, correlations between the investigated soil characteristics and CO2 emissions were weak. Furthermore, there were no land-use effects. Such effects were expected based on the measured SOM characteristics and IPCC data. Temperature sensitivity of decomposition decreased with depth, indicating an enrichment of recalcitrant SOM in topsoils. This finding stands in contrast to findings in studies of undisturbed organic soils and Further it suggests that future C loss from agriculturally managed organic soils will be similar considering warmer climate conditions. Cultivation of organic soils is accompanied by inputs of young organic carbon (YOC) from plant residues. The amount of YOC inputs, their potential to compensate for oxidative peat loss as well as their lability are unknown. Studying the δ13C signatures in the topsoil of a managed organic soil revealed that at least 19 ± 2.4% of the SOC originate from YOC being accumulated recently. Yet, the accumulation rates are substantially smaller than average peat loss rates on the studied soils. Remarkably, the percentage of YOC in decomposing SOC was 53 ± 0.1%, indicating that YOC is more labile than bulk SOC. These findings are supported by the 14C age of emitted CO2 being younger than that of SOC. Inputs of fresh organic matter (FOM) to soil are known to induce priming effects, i.e. an altered decomposition of resident SOM. The effect of FOM addition on peat decomposition of agriculturally used organic soils has seldom been quantified experimentally. Therefore, we incubated soil samples from managed organic soils over three weeks with and without adding corn straw as FOM. The 13C and 14C signatures of SOC and emitted CO2 enabled us to apportion the amount of decomposed corn, as well as to estimate relative effects of corn addition on the decomposition of SOC from old peat and from YOC. FOM addition induced negative, positive and neutral priming of SOC decomposition. Further, the relative contribution of peat SOC to the overall CO2 release consistently decreased after FOM addition, suggesting that young and old C pools in managed organic soils respond differently to the addition of fresh plant residues. A combination of those two findings indicates that FOM addition can effectively reduce the decomposition of old peat. The results of this thesis suggest that agricultural use of organic soils has a tremendous effect on the composition and decomposability of SOC in organic soils. Furthermore, they show that also crop species known for their carbon sequestration potential are not likely to counteract peat losses caused by drainage. Therefore, agricultural management of organic soils without the risk of losing vast amounts of SOC seems unrealistic and thus, CO2 emissions from organic soils are not likely to decrease in the future. This means that they remain a big issue of concern for future generations in order to counteract climate change.

Based on the planning of activities proposed by the regional project with a territorial approach (PRET)") “Contributions for the sustainable development of the geographic zone Central and Eastern Valley of the province of Catamarca” from INTA; and as part of the line "Strategic Communication", workshops were held with the aim of reflecting on communication actions in the territory covered by the project. For the construction of the communication strategy, workshops were held to reflect on the scope of communication. The first was held in November 2013, the second during 2014 and the last in 2016. The systematization of the workshops was planned in two stages. The initial one referred to the work as an instance of interaction of knowledge and, the second stage, to the socialization of what had been worked on up to that moment. Unforeseen actions were generated from the workshops, but they arose from the recognition of the staff towards the communication team. This factor involved organizing other meetings with topics that the same people considered necessary to address, such as conflict resolution, work stress, teamwork, which required specialists in the subject. In the territory, the work demanded different times. The interaction was promoting and strengthening intersubjective and interinstitutional links working towards a common goal or project. Communication was a key factor. Finally, it should be noted that beyond recognizing the need to address communication from a multidimensional approach, doubt and uncertainty, as well as the deepening of the subject, were aspects that were strongly present in the workshops, for those of us who went on this complex journey. It also presents us with a great challenge to continue rethinking and reflecting on our daily work from strategic communication. Fil: Mansilla, Rodolfo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Catamarca. Agencia de Extensión Rural Paclin; Argentina Fil: Iriarte, Daniela Beatriz. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Catamarca; Argentina Fil: Cassin, Walter Luis. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Catamarca; Argentina Fil: Caeiro, Rafael Enrique. Instituto Nacional Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Catamarca; Argentina EEA Catamarca

Thermodynamics and heat engines are the core disciplines which enabled the development of the thermo-industrial society during the 20th century. Liquid hydrocarbon fuels are one of the easiest and most convenient solutions offered by the thermophysical constraints of our world. However, an alternative to these dense energy carriers is required to enable a transition to a low carbon transport sector. Climate change mitigation, local air pollution reduction and energy independency are some of the key advantages that hydrogen fuel cell and battery electric vehicles can bring in this context. Beyond a shift from fossil fuels, the entire value chain, from primary energy to powertrains must be reconsidered, redesigned and redeployed to include renewable energies, robust powergrids, charging stations and electric powertrains. The prominent role of the infrastructure in terms of energy efficiency is demonstrated in chapter 2, introducing a grid to mobility segmentation for life cycle studies. In addition, the shortcomings of local and off-grid solutions are highlighted in the same chapter. Nevertheless, the grid integration also requires innovative solutions to comply with the physical constraints of current networks. In particular, the role and the sizing of stationary buffer batteries is detailled in chapter 3. The stochastic nature of charging events is used to develop a battery sizing algorithm including grid tie constraints. This research was intrinsically motivated by the perspective of infrastructure operators. A full scale demonstrator is at the core of the scientific questioning of this thesis. The design, the construction and the operation of a grid to mobility demonstrator is reported in chapter 4. Including a 200 kW / 400 kWh Vanadium redox flow battery, a 50 kW alkaline electrolyser, and a hydrogen refueling station, this demonstrator enabled a better understanding and characterization of process engineering, of control and programming and of electrochemical phenomenons. In particular, the data analysis on the electrolysis side and purification solutions are reported in chapter 5. Finally, the intrinsic characteristics of air driven gas boosters, a robust small scale compression solution, are analyzed in chapter 6 and the challenges for a full scale hydrogen mobility are discussed with an economic and logistics perspective.

Proceedings of the GCSM 2012 10th Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing ISBN:978-605-63463-0-9

The current climate and environmental policy efforts require comprehensive planning regarding the upgrade of the energy supply and infrastructures in cities. Planning comprises e.g. the determination of locations for new power generating facilities like photovoltaic, geothermal and decentralized combined heat and power stations, the widespread introduction of e-mobility solutions and hence the grid development as well as large-scale energetic building refurbishments. A holistic approach integrating extensive complex information is essential for the strategic planning of the different measures. In order to establish interoperability and data exchange between the different planners, stakeholders, and tools, an open information standard is required. To answer this need, an international group of urban energy simulation developers, geo- information scientists and users from 11 European organizations is developing an Application Domain Extension (ADE) Energy for the OGC open standard CityGML. This paper presents the collaborative development of this new open urban information model, including its genesis, objectives, structure and next planned steps.