Storage

Storage

  • Innovative photocatalysts integrated in flow photoreactor systems for direct CO2 and H2O conversion into solar fuels

    Project dates: 01. Jul 2021 - 30. Jun 2025

    Objective

    NEFERTITI will develop an innovative highly efficient photocatalytic system enabling a simultaneous conversion of CO2 and H2O into solar fuels (ethanol and alcohols with longer chain such as (iso)propanol) and thus provide a breakthrough alternative to transform CO2 into valuable products for energy and transport. NEFERTITI aims to integrate novel heterogeneous catalysts (Covalent organic frameworks and metal oxides combined with metallic nanoparticles) and luminescent solar concentrators into two Photocatalytic flow reactors sourced by sunlight energy. The reaction mechanisms for the photocatalytic CO2/H2O conversion and C-C bond formation will be defined and optimised. As this has never been done before, NEFERTITI will develop a completely new way of producing such compounds in a continuous manner having a significant impact on the scientific understating of this technology. Modelling of C-C bond formation from activated intermediates will then determinate the reaction pathways, barriers and selectivity for C-C, C-O and C-H bonds. By increasing the sunlight conversion efficiency and improving light-harvesting and charge separation, NEFERTITI will overcome the remaining technological challenges, improve the competitiveness of the photocatalytic technologies and enable a carbon-neutral production of solar fuels in a single-step process as an alternative to traditional multi-step processes. Novel photocatalytic materials, optical and chemical light-harvesting components and flow reactors will be designed, developed and integrated in a system reaching a TRL4 at the end of the project. Economic and sustainability assessment throughout the entire life cycle will consider socio-economic and environmental impacts, as well as workers’ health & safety to maximize productivity and resource efficiency and minimize the risks. The consortium is composed of an experienced multidisciplinary team from EU, China and USA, supported by an international Advisory Board.

    Partners

    Number of partners: 10
    Site numbers:

    FUNDACIO PRIVADA INSTITUT CATALA D'INVESTIGACIO QUIMICA

    NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND GALWAY

    STRATAGEM ENERGY LTD

    UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

    UNIVERSIDAD DE BURGOS

    FUNDACION PARA EL DESARROLLO Y LA INNOVACION TECNOLOGICA

    SOCAR TURKEY ARASTIRMA GELISTIRME VE INOVASYON ANONIM SIRKETI

    ACONDICIONAMIENTO TARRASENSE ASSOCIACION

    CHEMTRIX BV

    PEKING UNIVERSITY

    Key Exploitable Results

    • TRL

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  • A Ferrosilicon Latent Heat Thermophotovoltaic Battery

    Project dates: 01. Jun 2022 - 31. May 2026

    Objective

    THERMOBAT will develop an innovative Latent Heat Thermophotovoltaic (LHTPV) battery for long duration storage (10 to 100 hours) and combined heat and power (CHP) generation. The system stores electricity in the form of latent heat at very high temperatures (1200 deg C) using a new kind of ferrosilicon alloy with very high energy density (> 1 MWh per m3) and converts it back to electricity and low-temperature heat (< 70 deg C) on-demand using solid-state Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) devices. The value proposition is the supply of a very cheap system (< 10 Euro per kWh) that has a very high energy density (> 400 kWh per m3), high global efficiency (> 90 %), that is safe, flexible, compact, silent, recyclable, scalable, and able to produce clean heat and electricity on demand. The dispatchable CHP generation capability of the LHTPV battery will be demonstrated in a sport center that is managed by one of the largest Spanish companies dedicated to the design, maintenance, and operation of infrastructures. THERMOBAT builds on the results (demonstrated proof of principle) achieved within the FET-OPEN project AMADEUS in which a small lab-scale prototype of the system was built and tested. THERMOBAT will bring LHTPV technology closer to commercialization by developing scalable, low-cost, and environmentally friendly processes for the manufacturing of the key components of the LHTPV battery. In addition, we will focus on accelerating tech-to-market activities through Thermophoton, a recently established UPM spin-off company that will receive UPM's know-how and will develop a detailed business plan to make the innovation fully marketable. This tech-to-market plan is also a continuation of another EU funded project named NATHALIE (FET Innovation Launchpad) in which the market and the potential application of the invention on industrial, commercial, and institutional buildings have been analyzed.

    Partners

    Number of partners: 7
    Site numbers:

    FOSECO NEDERLAND BV

    THERMOPHOTON SL

    ENTECH ENERGITEKNIK AB

    FERROGLOBE INNOVATION SL

    FERROVIAL SERVICIOS SA

    NORGES TEKNISK-NATURVITENSKAPELIGE UNIVERSITET NTNU

    UNIVERSIDAD POLITECNICA DE MADRID

    Key Exploitable Results

    • TRL

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  • Solar Energy Storage PERovskites

    Project dates: 13. Nov 2017 - 12. Nov 2020

    Objective

    Solar energy, attractive source of energy being it free and endless, can be converted into electricity by means of a Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) plant. However, the biggest limit of such technology is the intermittency and the diurnal nature of the solar light. For their future development, CSP plants need to be coupled with storage system. Among the existing thermal storage systems, the ThermoChemical Storage (TCS) is one of the most promising technology and it is based on the exploitation of the reaction heat of a reversible chemical reaction. Just recently, perovskite systems have drawn increasing interest as promising candidates for TCS systems. Perovskites are generally indicated as ABO3, with A and B the two cations of the structure and with O the oxygen. They exhibit a continuous, quasi-linear oxygen release/uptake within a very wide temperature range. Their reduction being endothermic consists in the heat storage step, while the exothermic oxidation releases heat when it is required. The overall objective of the proposal is to study more earth abundant compositions (Ca-, Fe-, Mn- or Co-based) of perovskites for identifying one or more promising candidate storage medium for the design and the realization of a prototype of a multilevel-cascaded TCS system. It aims at solving the no-easy solution problem of the wide temperature range to be covered by a TCS system for CSP plant by using perovskites with different operating temperatures cascaded from the lowest operating temperature to the maximum one. As main result it could bring the TCS systems to a level closer to the market scale. The research project will be developed in collaboration with the IMDEA Energy Institute and the Materials Science and Engineering Department of Northwestern University. This project idea is totally in line with the current strict global energy and environmental politics and also with the Horizon 2020 objectives.

    Partners

    Number of partners: 3
    Site numbers:

    NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY

    AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS

    Fundacion IMDEA Energia

    Key Exploitable Results

    • TRL

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  • Intelligent Control of Energy Storage for Smart Buildings and Grids

    Project dates: 01. Mar 2017 - 31. Aug 2018

    Objective

    The ICE project will demonstrate that energy regulation services can be provided to the smart grid in a technically reliable and financially lucrative fashion by utilizing a combination of smart commercial buildings and commercial batteries. The key to out-competing traditional solutions with such a service is the provision of energy storage at low capital and operational costs, which the ICE solution does via a novel hybrid storage concept that mixes the inexpensive virtual storage capacity, but slow response, of smart commercial buildings, with fast, but expensive, electrical battery systems. The ERC project BuildNet has developed advanced algorithms to manage such a hybrid system that drastically reduces the required capex-intensive battery system compared to alternative solutions. ICE will take the first step towards commercialization of this concept via a production-ready demonstration of all components of the solution, and a detailed analysis of the resulting deployment and operational costs.

    Partners

    Number of partners: 1
    Site numbers:

    ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FEDERALE DE LAUSANNE

    Key Exploitable Results

    • TRL

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  • Take the mystery out of battery life.

    Project dates: 01. Jul 2019 - 31. Jan 2020

    Objective

    "Energy accounts for 60% of global greenhouse gas emissions and this share continues to further deteriorate. Rapid transition to renewable resources and electric vehicles seemingly could be a good cure but require a lot of rechargeable batteries for higher efficiency. The key challenge in this context is to understand how battery storage performance may be optimized, explore new ways of used battery application and maximize useful lifetime of the storage equipment. To address these challenges, we offer our intelligent cloud-based proprietary analytical SW solution which is monitoring the primary (single use) and secondary (rechargeable) batteries with various chemistries. The data will be subject to further processing and subsequently form the basis for the 3 services: Evotchi, ABEL and BaLiMa. Evotchi, a service watching over battery performance, identifies anomalies within time series of data from BMS and then provides personalized recommendations to users. ABEL (Average Battery End of Life) creates prediction based on AI/ML calculations about the forthcoming end of life of specific battery system. The service will also guarantee that the data will not be manipulated, thus unlocking new market opportunities (including new financing options) for used electric vehicles and energy storage systems in other industrial applications as parties will know the objective condition of the battery. BaLiMa (Battery Lifecycle Management), in turn, will recommend the best moment for repurposing the equipment, i.e. when the battery ceased being a good fit for its primary use scenario but fully capable of taking on secondary life and serving to another purpose. This service will provide recommendation for optimal timing of final disposal of the battery. We are confident that BatteryCheck not only delivers on UN's Climate Action goal (SDG#13) and Affordable and Clean Energy goal (SDG#7) but it also helps foster circular economy by prolonging effective utilization of all raw materials used in batteries since the beginning until the end."

    Partners

    Number of partners: 1
    Site numbers:

    BATTERYCHECK S.R.O.

    Key Exploitable Results

    • TRL

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  • Innovative tank design and groundbreaking infrastructure model to enhance the availability of renewable energy by collecting, storing and transporting hydrogen, biomethane, nitrogen and LNG

    Project dates: 01. Apr 2019 - 31. Aug 2019

    Objective

    The depleting reserves and the increasingly high cost of extraction are making oil difficult to access. The development and promotion of abundant and clean alternatives such as liquid hydrogen, liquid biomethane, nitrogen (all renewable fuels) and LNG is becoming a necessity. These gaseous fuels are among the serious options to be considered. Hydrogen, for example, can be produced anywhere where there is water and a source of electricity. And hydrogen-fueled vehicles emit no greenhouse gases or other pollutants. During combustion, hydrogen produces only water vapour. However, these fuels have significant infrastructure and transport limitations. Hydrogen is currently expensive also because is difficult to handle and store. The same applies to fuels like LNG. The current method of transporting LNG and other gas-based fuels like hydrogen, biomethane and nitrogen, is the cryogenic tanker. Specialised driver/operator training, and expensive equipment is required to handle these tanker—trailers and as such, there is often limited infrastructure for them outside states with large petrochemical industries. This limited transport infrastructure has, in turn, led to limited support infrastructure. GGLS has developed the GBG™, lightweight composite tanks for collecting, transporting and storing cryogenic materials, specifically gaseous fuels. These patented tanks can be used as an integral part of a system to maintain a continuous cryogenic gas supply or as on board fuel tanks for use in road vehicles, particularly heavy trucks, coaches, buses and vans or for rail, marine and aircraft applications. GBG™ innovative tanks are capable of revolutionising the collection, distribution and storage at the point of use of renewable fuels in both cryogenic and gaseous forms. Indeed, rather than transferring fuel, the GBG™ system is based on exchanging tanks, which are more safely and securely refilled under controlled conditions.

    Partners

    Number of partners: 1
    Site numbers:

    GLOBAL GAS LOGISTIC SOLUTIONS LTD

    Key Exploitable Results

    • TRL

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  • 2D Trifunctional Catalysts for Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage

    Project dates: 01. Jun 2020 - 03. Dec 2022

    Objective

    The World is currently in a state of an energy and climate crisis. The World’s fossil fuel reserves are predicted to be depleted in the next century. Due to this and the increase in global warming, EU policies have called for the decrease use of carbon-based fossil fuels and the development of alternative energy resources. Hence, it is of paramount importance to conduct research into alternative energy conversion and storage technologies now. Electrolytic water splitting is an attractive process for producing clean hydrogen which can be used in a fuel cell to make electricity. The electrochemical energy needed for water splitting and fuel cells could be generated by materials that can hold efficient charge in the electrochemical double layer or in Faradaic regions e.g. supercapacitor materials. Unfortunately, these technologies (electrolysers, fuel cells and supercapacitors) are still under major research as the ‘state-of-the-art’ catalysts currently used are uneconomical. The development and rational design of new, cheap and active electrodes as tri-functional catalysts for these three alternative energy technologies is one avenue to explore to reach the goals set out by the various EU polices. 2D Transition Metal Oxide (TMO) materials may be the answer to this problem, as when compared to their bulk counterparts, 2D materials are more conductive and exhibit interesting properties. Currently, in the literature there are no trifunctional catalysts for the aforementioned alternative energy applications based on 2D TMO materials (source: Scopus, terms: 2D TMO materials/water splitting/ fuel cells/ supercapacitors). Hence this fellowship will investigate just that. The proposed multifunctional energy storage and conversion catalysts, in this fellowship, will be a first in the energy/materials field and will contribute a plethora of knowledge to current literature. I, the applicant, along with the Nicolosi group have the combined tools and knowledge to achieve this.

    Partners

    Number of partners: 1
    Site numbers:

    THE PROVOST, FELLOWS, FOUNDATION SCHOLARS & THE OTHER MEMBERS OF BOARD, OF THE COLLEGE OF THE HOLY & UNDIVIDED TRINITY OF QUEEN ELIZABETH NEAR DUBLIN

    Key Exploitable Results

    • TRL

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  • Solar Energy to Biomass - Optimisation of light energy conversion in plants and microalgae

    Project dates: 01. Mar 2016 - 31. Aug 2020

    Objective

    In the face of the increasing global consumption of fossil resources, photosynthetic organisms offer an attractive alternative that could meet our rising future needs as clean, renewable, sources of energy and for the production of fine chemicals. Key to the efficient exploitation of these organisms is to optimise the conversion of Solar Energy into Biomass (SE2B). The SE2B network deals with this optimisation in an interdisciplinary approach including molecular biology, biochemistry, biophysics and biotechnology. Regulation processes at the level of the photosynthetic membranes, integrating molecular processes within individual proteins up to flexible re-arrangements of the membranes, will be analysed as a dynamic network of interacting regulations. SE2B will yield information about the similarities and differences between cyanobacteria, green algae, diatoms and higher plants, the organisms most commonly employed in biotechnological approaches exploiting photosynthetic organisms, as well as in agriculture. The knowledge gained from understanding these phenomena will be directly transferred to increase the productivity of algal mass cultures for valuable products, and for the development of sophisticated analytic devices that are used to optimise this production. In future, the knowledge created can also be applicable to the design of synthetic cell factories with efficient light harvesting and energy conversion systems. The SE2B network will train young researchers to work at the forefront of innovations that shape the bio-based economy. SE2B will develop a training program based on individual and network-wide training on key research and transferable skills, and will furthermore disseminate these results by open online courses prepared by the young researchers themselves.

    Partners

    Number of partners: 12
    Site numbers:

    UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI VERONA

    STICHTING VU

    COMMISSARIAT A L ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES

    UMEA UNIVERSITET

    JOHANN WOLFGANG GOETHE-UNIVERSITAET FRANKFURT AM MAIN

    UNIVERZITA PALACKEHO V OLOMOUCI

    PSI (PHOTON SYSTEMS INSTRUMENTS), SPOL. SRO

    WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY

    RIJKSUNIVERSITEIT GRONINGEN

    QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON

    PHYCOSOURCE

    TURUN YLIOPISTO

    Key Exploitable Results

    • TRL

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  • High Performance Seasonal Solar Energy Latent Heat Thermal Storage Using Low Grade, Low Melting Temperature Metallic Alloys

    Project dates: 01. Nov 2016 - 31. Oct 2018

    Objective

    Energy storage technologies have long been a subject of great interest to both academia and industry. The aim of this project is to develop a novel, cost effective and high performance Latent Heat Thermal Energy Storage System (LHTESS) for seasonal accumulation of solar energy in increased quantities. The major barrier for currently used Phase Change Materials (PCMs, organic and hydrated salts) is their very low heat conduction coefficient, low density, chemical instability and tendency to sub-cooling. Such inferior thermo-physical properties result in the LHTESS having large dimensions and not having a capacity to provide the necessary rate of heat re-charge and discharge, even with highly developed heat exchangers. The new approach to overcome the above issues is the deployment of low grade, eutectic low melting temperature metallic alloys (ELMTAs). The ELMTAs are currently produced for application in other areas and have not been actively considered for the thermal energy accumulation with the exception of very limited studies. Their heat conduction is two orders of magnitude greater than that of conventional PCMs, they are stable and provide the thermal storage capacity which is 2-3 times greater per unit of volume. The project consists of both theoretical and experimental investigations. A range of low grade ELMTAs for application in LHTESS will be selected and Differential Scanning Calorimetry will be used to measure their thermal properties. Thermal cycling tests of such alloys will be conducted. Numerical investigations of heat transfer and flow in the LHTESS with ELMTAs will be performed. Experimental studies of heat transfer and flow in a laboratory prototype of the LHTESS with ELMTAs will be conducted. As outcomes of investigations, dimensionless heat transfer correlations will be derived and design recommendations for a practical solar energy seasonal LHTESS with the low grade ELMTA will be produced for project industrial partner

    Partners

    Number of partners: 1
    Site numbers:

    UNIVERSITY OF NORTHUMBRIA AT NEWCASTLE

    Key Exploitable Results

    • TRL

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  • From discovery to scale up of cluster based electrolytes for Ultra-high energy storage flow batteries

    Project dates: 01. Mar 2018 - 31. Aug 2019

    Objective

    Large scale energy storage demands are set to increase dramatically during the next years due to the expansion of renewables. One of the most promising large-scale electrical storage technologies are Redox Flow Battery (RFB) systems, which can convert electrical energy to chemical energy and back again. Here the electrolyte is an electro-active species where the chemical energy is converted to electricity in a flow cell. RFBs can act as both batteries and a fuel generation device depending on the needs of the user, which is advantageous because they can be recharged without replacing the electro-active material. The vanadium RFB is a promising technology, but is critically limited by only being able to store one electron per species giving a low energy density (~20 W h kg-1) and poor stability restricting many applications. Using the artificial intelligence driven discovery system of the ERC Advanced Grant SMART-POM, we aimed at the discovery of new metal oxide molecular polyoxometalate (POM) clusters showing unexpected properties. For instance, we found a molecule that can store > 10 times more electrons reversibly than the vanadium RFB making these the molecules the most reduced molecules ever discovered. Here we want to make a major step in translating this ground-breaking outcome of SMART-POM from discovery of new clusters, to scale up so the molecule can be tested in a flow battery device set up. The heart of any flow battery is the electron storage redox electrolyte. The more electrons the electrolyte can store reversibly the higher the energy density and we aim here to beat the state of the art by at least an order of magnitude aiming >1000 Wh L-1 (at this point applications in electric cars are possible). We will licence the technology with the University of Glasgow spin out company, Astrea Power, as a partner to co-develop the innovation with several potential multinational companies as customers who are eager to utilize the technology.

    Partners

    Number of partners: 1
    Site numbers:

    UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW

    Key Exploitable Results

    • TRL

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The EIRIE platform has been developed under the PANTERA project which has received funding from the European Union´s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under GA No : 824389

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