The EU building stock has large potential to increase its energy efficiency with solutions that can be integrated to existing dwellings and through different measures. One of them is optimizing the use and management of thermal energy by allowing it to be stored, levelling demand peaks and increasing use of renewables affected by intermittency such as solar-based heating. The MiniStor project aims at designing and producing a novel compact integrated thermal storage system for achieving sustainable heating, cooling and electricity storage that can be adapted to existing systems in residential buildings. It is based on a high-performing CaCl2/NH3 (calcium chloride/ammonia) thermochemical material reaction combined with parallel hot and cold phase-change materials for flexibility and usage year-round. It also stores electrical energy in a Li-ion battery that responds to grid signals and can sell to the electrical grid. The system is managed by a smart Building Energy Management System that connects to the Internet of Things. The system can have as input energy obtained from a variety of renewable energy sources such as hybrid photovoltaic thermal panels. This arrangement is demonstrated and validated in four demonstration sites (Ireland, France, Greece and Hungary), testing its effectiveness at different local climatic conditions and facilitating market replication. The system provides stability, performance and use of at least 20 years, an estimated compact storage material volume of 0.72 m3, reduced net energy consumption in a building by at least 44% and a return-on-investment period of 6.7 years, using high energy density storage materials that reach storage densities up to 10.6 times higher than water.

The UK has fallen significantly behind other countries when it comes to adopting robotics/automation within factories. Collaborative automation, that works directly with people, offers fantastic opportunities for strengthening UK manufacturing and rebuilding the UK economy. It will enable companies to increase productivity, to be more responsive and resilient when facing external pressures (like the Covid-19 pandemic) to protect jobs and to grow. To enable confident investment in automation, we need to overcome current fundamental barriers. Automation needs to be easier to set up and use, more capable to deal with complex tasks, more flexible in what it can do, and developed to safely and intuitively collaborate in a way that is welcomed by existing workers and wider society. To overcome these barriers, the ISCF Research Centre in Smart, Collaborative Robotics (CESCIR) has worked with industry to identify four priority areas for research: Collaboration, Autonomy, Simplicity, Acceptance. The initial programme will tackle current fundamental challenges in each of these areas and develop testbeds for demonstration of results. Over the course of the programme, CESCIR will also conduct responsive research, rapidly testing new ideas to solve real world manufacturing automation challenges. CESCIR will create a network of academia and industry, connecting stakeholders, identifying challenges/opportunities, reviewing progress and sharing results. Open access models and data will enable wider academia to further explore the latest scientific advances. Within the manufacturing industry, large enterprises will benefit as automation can be brought into traditionally manual production processes. Similarly, better accessibility and agility will allow more Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) to benefit from automation, improving their competitiveness within the global market.

Sunamp pioneered and patented the Heat Store and Processor (HSP) architecture which combines Phase Change Material (PCM) for thermal storage and heat upgrading. In the HESPER project (Heat Store & Processor for Emissions Reduction) developed in the IDP8 framework Sunamp Ltd, Zytek Automotive Ltd and University of Edinburgh intend to demonstrate via tests of HSP at the vehicle sub-system and system levels that: 1.CO2 emission from internal combustion engine (ICE) used in conventional, start/stop, hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles can be drastically reduced by thermal pre-conditioning of the cylinder head and catalytic converter; 2. range extension and homogeneity (specifically in variable weather conditions) for electrified vehicles (HEVs, PHEVs, BEVs) can be achieved, avoiding electric battery oversizing; 3. fuel cells startup in cold climate can be facilitated and stresses on electrochemical components reduced; 4. the overall system related to thermal management can be drastically simplified; 5. materials at the core of the technology are safe in automotive environments; 6. the technology can achieve Technology Readiness Level 5 for automotive applications.

Sunamp pioneered and patented the Heat Store and Processor (HSP) architecture which combines Heat Pumping and Phase Change Material (PCM) Heat Storage. Originally developed for static applications such as solar thermal, this project investigates the benefits HSP can deliver in two critical automotive applications: 1. Reduction of emissions and enhanced fuel efficiency for Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles 2. Range extension (specifically in variable weather conditions) for Electric Vehicles (EVs) Known HSP characteristics are mapped against these challenges to calculate potential performance. Sunamp is expecting to partner in the automotive space to take the technology to market.

Europe’s electricity sector is experiencing severe transformations: modernization of the electricity system is vital for achieving Europe’s energy targets, and smart grids and flexible electricity systems are essential for this modernization. On this respect, the SMILE project will demonstrate different innovative technological and non-technological solutions in large-scale smart grid demonstration projects in the Orkneys, Samsø and Madeira islands, paving the way for their introduction in the market in the near future. The technological solutions vary from: integration of battery technology, power to heat, power to fuel, pumped hydro, electric vehicles, electricity stored on board of boats, an aggregator approach to demand side management (DSM) and predictive algorithms. The pilots will demonstrate operation of the distribution grid under stable and secure conditions to implement solutions for demand response, intelligent control and automation of distribution networks; they have high shares of RES in the electricity grid or have planned increasing shares in the next years. All of them will demonstrate stable grid operation with use of storage solutions and smart integration of grid users from transport. Each pilot will test the most appropriate solutions for local specificities, and common lessons with cross-cutting valence will be derived. Involving projects on islands will ease engaging residents in SMILE. Indeed, islanders are usually sensible to provide availability to test solutions impacting their daily life. Finally, two of the pilots are not total energy islands, thus representing smart grids located on the mainland and not limiting replication potential to other island locations only. SMILE consortium is composed by 19 partners from 6 EU countries: all the value chain actors needed to efficiently implement the 3 projects have been involved and an innovation management approach will guarantee a wider exploitation and replication of technological solutions.