energy – Pagina 2 – Progress in Research

Muspell project to pioneer next-gen thermal energy storage system

Posted on 12/10/202306/08/2024 by Erik Franco

The consortium comprising of Swisspod Technologies, EURAC Research, Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, the National Institute of Chemistry in Slovenia, the Politecnico di Milano and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya has received a €3.5M Pathfinder grant by the European Innovation Council (EIC): €3.1 million by the European Commission, supplemented by an additional €400,000 contribution from the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research, and Innovation (SERI).

The funding will drive the development of the Muspell project, a novel, state-of-the-art Thermal Energy Storage System (TESS) — an important component of a sustainable and reliable energy system. The project has commenced in October 2023 and is set to span a duration of 4 years.

Muspell aims to introduce to the market a more efficient mid-to-long term TESS, transcending the limitations of current available systems. By adopting an innovative approach grounded in material research, the consortium sets out to engineer a compact, highly flexible and modular system that offers increased energy density and seamless integration of heat-pump capabilities. The novel TESS will unlock new avenues of application across energy-intensive industries — from manufacturing, textile, food processing, and construction materials, to transportation, energy and environmental services industries.

A TESS allows for efficient storage and usage of thermal energy, providing flexibility, energy management, cost savings, as well as environmental benefits as it can integrate renewable energy sources. The operation of this system involves receiving thermal energy input from various sources like waste/excess heat, solar thermal collectors, electricity, and storing it in a suitable medium, such as a thermo-chemical or a phase-change material. When the stored energy is needed, the TESS transfers it to the desired application at the required temperature level.

This groundbreaking initiative aligns with multiple Sustainable Development Goals, facilitating access to clean energy while simultaneously mitigating the carbon footprint associated with various industries. By emphasizing material development and optimization, as well as system level innovation, the project is committed to achieving high performance while minimizing environmental impact to the greatest extent possible.

The novel TESS will also serve as a cutting-edge thermal battery, enabling the efficient capture, storage, and usage of waste heat generated during industrial processes. Thus, the system not only curtails energy waste, but also mitigates the environmental impact associated with greenhouse gas emissions.

The Politecnico di Milano leverages its expertise in innovation and technology management to prioritize energy efficiency, technological assessment, and renewable solutions for the industrial sector. In collaboration with Swisspod and EURAC Research, we are going to conduct interviews and gather market insights on the application scenarios of TESS, while analyzing the system’s integration into a broader ecosystem.

Polimi considers it extremely important to perform an analysis on the potential markets of the technology that Consortium is going to develop. The activity aims at analyzing technological and economic fit of the TESS in different application sectors as well as evaluating its environmental and economic impacts.
Simone Franzò, Senior Assistant Professor

Ultra-fast response of carbon atomic wires to light discovered

Posted on 08/09/202306/08/2024 by Erik Franco

A study resulting from the collaboration between the Department of Energy and the Department of Physics of Politecnico di Milano and the Department of Chemistry of the University of Bologna has been published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society as the cover article.

The team of researchers made a discovery that sheds new light on the properties of wire-shaped carbon nanostructures, also known as ‘polyynes’. Composed of few carbon atoms, these wires could revolutionise technological applications due to their extraordinary mechanical, thermal and electronic properties.

This study lays the foundation for new technological opportunities. Understanding how these nanostructures interact with light is crucial to exploiting their full potential in areas such as opto-electronics and renewable energy,
Giulio Cerullo and Margherita Zavelani-Rossi, co-authors of the article

At the heart of the research is the study into how these nanostructures react to light. Using state-of-the-art technology and ultra-short laser pulses, the researchers synthesised these structures in a controlled manner and examined their optical properties in detail. This allowed them to reveal the mysteries of the reactions triggered by light in these nanostructures.

The most surprising findings arise from the speed of the processes observed. In particular, when hit by light, these nanostructures rapidly switch from an excited state to a more stable one, all in an incredibly short time, just 200 millionths of a billionth of a second.

This discovery has significant implications for technology. Understanding how these nanostructures react to light could pave the way for new applications, such as advanced electronic devices and solar energy conversion technologies.

Carbon nanostructure research is a complex and upcoming field. Our findings represent a step forward in the understanding of these structures and their potential applications.
Carlo Casari, co-author of the article

Read the study online

Environmental benefits of floating offshore wind farms

Posted on 12/07/202306/08/2024 by Erik Franco

Offshore wind farms, on which great expectations are placed for decarbonising electricity production, ensure environmental benefits throughout their life cycle. This emerges from a study published in the international journal Sustainable Production and Consumption in which researchers from Politecnico di Milano analysed the potential environmental impacts of a floating offshore wind farm undergoing authorisation off the coast of Sicily.

The analysis included the phases of procurement of materials, transport of components, assembly and installation with specialised vessels, maintenance during operation, disassembly and end-of-life.

Overall, the results of the analysis provide a rough indication, which is useful for becoming aware of the environmental loads of a renewable electricity generation system and comparing it with other energy sources.

Results show that comparing 1 GWh of energy taken from the national grid with 1 Gwh of energy produced by the wind farm, the overall impacts of wind power are significantly reduced for almost all impact categories analysed: in the ‘climate change’ category, the benefit is a 92% reduction in impacts, and worsening is only observed in the ‘abiotic depletion’ category (+95%). Furthermore, this technology would allow to avoid generating energy from fossil fuels, and therefore, as the results show, related investments would be quickly repaid in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and energy, in 2 and 3 years, respectively.

Scientific literature is still insufficient when it comes to life cycle analysis (LCA) of offshore wind farms with large turbines (over 15 MW) installed on floating structures reflecting recent industry developments and current market trends. However, in order to assess their true environmental sustainability, it is important to analyse renewable electricity generation technologies from a life-cycle perspective.

Authors of this study are, Mario Grosso, professor in Solid Waste Management and Treatment; Lucia Rigamonti, professor in Methodologies for Life Cycle Thinking; and Gaia Brussa, researcher at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

The study online

Digital twin: the SmartWins Project

Posted on 05/06/202306/08/2024 by Erik Franco

The SmartWins project, financed by the European Commission, aims to strengthen the capacity of Kaunas University of Technology (Lithuania) in research and development activities on the topic of digital twin in the construction sector, and on methods and technologies for assessing the energy performance of buildings. The aim is to facilitate the transition to a smart, sustainable and zero-emission built environment.

Politecnico di Milano, represented by the Department of Energy, is among the project’s five global partners. Our role is to contribute to the project by sharing knowledge and training activities.

Training activities have recently begun. Professors, researchers and laboratory technicians took turns with a series of speeches and lectures on key topics related to energy efficiency in buildings. The quality of confined environments; electrically and thermally activated heat pump technology; RELAB laboratory activities; technologies for controlled contamination environments; underfloor heating systems combined with displacement ventilation systems; assessment of indoor environmental conditions; phygital and cognitive buildings were discussed.

But what are digital twins? They are digital representations of real physical objects or objects to be built. Their purpose is to provide a digital representation useful for design, implementation, simulation, integration, verification, monitoring, maintenance, etc.

The main parts that constitute a “digital twin” are: the physical object and the context in which it operates, their digital representation and the communication channel between the physical and digital object.

Among the various sectors where the “digital twin” approach can offer great benefits is the construction sector, allowing operators to simulate various scenarios and assess their impact on building performance. For example, simulating the impact of using different building materials, technologies for heating, cooling, ventilation or visual comfort. This allows the most efficient solutions to be identified in the design phase and control parameters to be optimised in the operational phase.

This approach is not yet fully developed or widespread in the built environment sector, but it has the potential to revolutionise the way we design, construct and operate buildings. Communication and collaboration between the various parties involved in the building lifecycle can thus be improved: by providing a common platform for data sharing and collaboration, errors can be reduced, efficiency can be improved and it can be ensured that everyone is working towards the same goals.

The other project partners are: KTU, Centre for Research and Technology-Hellas (CERTH), Contecht, Innotrope.

SmartWins website

Photonic chips for low-power neural networks

Posted on 15/05/202306/08/2024 by Erik Franco

A study by the Politecnico di Milano and Stanford University, published in the journal Science, shows that it is possible to create extremely efficient neural networks using photonic chips.

Neural networks are distributed computing structures inspired by the structure of a biological brain and aim to achieve cognitive performance comparable to that of humans. They are used in many areas, such as speech and image recognition and synthesis, autonomous driving and augmented reality systems, bioinformatics, genetic and molecular sequencing, and high-performance computing technologies.

Neural networks are trained with a large amount of known information, on the basis of which they become able to adapt their behaviour, working autonomously. However, their training is an extremely energy-intensive process.

Researchers from the Politecnico’s Photonic Devices Lab and Polifab, the university’s micro- and nano-technology centre, in collaboration with researchers from Stanford University, have sought a solution and developed a silicon microchip just a few square millimetres in size with an integrated photonic accelerator that allows calculations to be performed very quickly – in less than a billionth of a second – and efficiently. Thanks to this photonic chip, neural network operations take place with considerable energy savings.

In addition to neural networks, it will be possible to use this device as a computing unit for multiple applications where high computational efficiency is required, e.g., for graphics accelerators, mathematical coprocessors, data mining, cryptography and quantum computers.

The study online

HERCCULES: decarbonization project coordinated by LEAP

Posted on 17/02/202306/08/2024 by Erik Franco

HERCCULES has started, an international research project stemmed from an ambitious idea by researchers at LEAP (Piacenza Energy and Environment Laboratory) and Politecnico di Milano. The consortium made up of 23 partners will work for 5 years with the aim of demonstrating the feasibility of the entire CO₂ Capture, Utilisation and Storage chain (CCUS) in the regions of southern Europe with a high industrial density, in this case in the Po Valley and Greece. The primary focus is the decarbonisation of cement production and waste-to-energy, two strategic sectors for the circular economy.

The project intends to trigger concrete actions to contain CO₂ emissions. It will aim to accelerate the application of the CCUS in Mediterranean Europe, leveraging on the transport and storage initiatives already under construction in Italy and Greece and developing innovative capture technologies that are not only efficient, but also particularly flexible and replicable, in order to be adaptable to the technological evolutions of the reference industrial sectors.

The technological, infrastructural, safety, regulatory and financial aspects will be addressed with a multidisciplinary approach, which will allow the creation of industrial communities capable of exploiting the synergy between the processes of the CCUS supply chain. Universities, research centers and consulting companies will develop business models of HERCCULES technologies sized for future full-scale applications.

Finally, one of the objectives of HERCCULES will be to improve information on the CCUS theme: communication experts will organize educational and training events to communicate methodologies and technological solutions with schools, stakeholders and policy makers, with the aim of accompanying the transition of our industrial sectors towards a sustainable future for the European environment and economy.

HERCCULES was funded by the program Horizon Europe and has the support of numerous industrial partners. The application of CO₂ capture technologies is an essential element for the achievement of carbon neutrality by 2050 based on the scenarios outlined by the European directives and the recommendations of the Commission itself.

CONSORTIUM PARTNERS
LEAP (coordinator), EU CORE Consulting (Italy), Energan Oil&Gas (Greece), Buzzi Unicem (Italy), Titan cement (Greece), Sumitomo SHI FW (Finland), Air Liquide (Italy), Fraunhofer ISI (Germany), Politecnico di Milano (Italy), BCG (Italy), CSIC (Spain), Celitement (Germany), Università di Utrecht (Netherlands), Wietersdorfer Alpacem (Austria), Artidek (Ukraine), Shogenergy (Estonia), Università di LUT (Finland), TPI (Italy), ClustER Greentech (Italy), CRES (Greece), A2A Ambiente e A2A Spa (Italy), ENI (Italy).

EspLORE: exploring properties of carbon-atom wires with application-oriented approach

Posted on 22/12/202206/08/2024 by Erik Franco

Linear carbon atomic wires are one-dimensional carbon-based systems that are a subject of great interest, due to their special thermal, optical, electronic and mechanical properties, and therefore their possible applications in various fields.

The EspLORE project, coordinated by Prof. Carlo S. Casari of the Department of Energy at the Politecnico di Milano, and funded by the European Research Council (ERC) with a Consolidator Grant, aims to develop innovative materials by exploiting the potential of carbon atomic wires, exploring their possible applications in advanced technologies within the energy sector.

As part of the project, research was carried out into the response of carbon chains to a particular UV light excitation, a type of light that these materials readily absorb. The vibrational response of the carbon chains and the influence that UV light had on their electronic properties was investigated using the IUVS Synchrotron Light Line equipment at the “Elettra” Synchrotron in Trieste.

The uniqueness of these carbon atomic wires and of the investigation technique used has allowed us to better understand their fundamental properties, providing a strong basis for their future applications in various fields.
Prof. Carlo S. Casari

The results of the study, carried out by Prof. Casari and the ESPLORE project team in collaboration with Professors Chiara Castiglioni and Matteo M. S. Tommasini of the FunMat Lab (Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta” of the Politecnico di Milano) and Barbara Rossi of the “Elettra” Synchrotron in Trieste, were published in the prestigious international scientific journal Nature Communications in an article entitled “Electron-phonon coupling and vibrational properties of size-selected linear carbon chains by resonance Raman scattering”.

The structural simplicity of these atomic wires allows for an elegant and rigorous verification of one of the fundamental theories of resonant Raman spectroscopy, here applied for the first time to transitions involving multiple vibrational quanta.
Matteo Tommasini and Chiara Castiglioni

After 5 years of work, the EspLORE project has achieved its main goal: to explore the properties of carbon-atom wires with an application-oriented approach.

Here are other important results:

the PROTECHT project, which aims to exploit the results of EspLORE research for possible business opportunities, has received an ERC Proof of Concept Grant;
the ENIGMA project, an outcome of the EspLORE activity, has won the 2021 Switch2Product innovation challenge, the 2022 Startcup Lombardia and the special LIFTT award in the context of the 2022 National Innovation Award (PNI)

The EspLORE project website

URBEM: a national database of reference buildings to assess energy saving measures

Posted on 02/12/202206/08/2024 by Erik Franco

The URBEM (Urban Reference Buildings for Energy Modelling) project is financed by the Ministry of Universities and Research (MUR) as a Project of Significant National Interest (PRIN). With participation from 10 Italian universities coordinated by professor Francesco Causone of the Politecnico di Milano’s Department of Energy, the project aims to create a national database of reference buildings to be used with UBEM (Urban Building Energy Modelling) tools capable of assessing energy saving measures for major building stocks through dynamic simulations involving several buildings simultaneously.

This database will make it possible to reduce uncertainty in results of UBEM simulations, providing a reference tool and a methodology of analysis for public authorities (and other property stock owners), who will be helped in their management of building assets, conservation activities and the promotion of policies and incentives.

In the current phase, researchers are defining and characterising the building and energy databases available at the national, regional and local levels. This will be followed by a data mining and data analysis phase and then the implementation of the reference buildings within urban-scale energy simulation software.

URBEM project website

Researchers from the Department of Energy in Tunis

Posted on 22/11/202206/08/2024 by Erik Franco

Researchers from the SESAM group (Sustainable Energy Systems Analysis and Modelling) of the Department of Energy of the Politecnico di Milano held a workshop on “Science Diplomacy and Evidence-Based Policymaking” in Tunis on 26 October, followed by a three-day technical training addressed to members of a Tunisian consortium for energy-economy modeling as well as faculty members and students of the National Engineering School of Tunis (ENIT).

The activity, which involved SESAM researchers Diana Shendrikova, Francesco Tonini and Giacomo Crevani, coordinated by Prof. Matteo Vincenzo Rocco, was conducted within the framework of the project “DIAPOL-CE – Policy Dialogue and Knowledge Management on Low Emission Development Strategies”, commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) and implemented Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

DIAPOL-CE assists policymakers in building national energy and low-emission development strategies on the best available knowledge and strengthens the link between decision-makers and academia in countries of Western Asia and Africa.

ANSELMUS: safety assessment of heavy liquid metal cooled nuclear systems

Posted on 18/11/202206/08/2024 by Erik Franco

The Politecnico di Milano is one of the partners of ANSELMUS (Advanced Nuclear Safety Evaluation of Liquid Metal Using Systems), a four-year project funded by the research and training programme of the European Atomic Energy Community EURATOM.

The project aims to significantly contribute to the safety assessment of heavy liquid metal (HLM) cooled nuclear systems, in particular ALFRED and MYRRHA, two experimental lead fast reactor (LFR) projects that combine the advantages of a fast reactor system, which reduces the impact of nuclear waste, with intrinsic safety properties due – among other things – to the high boiling point of lead and its chemical inertness.

The study of innovative technologies that are able to guarantee high standards of efficiency and safety in the field of nuclear energy takes on particular importance in the current energy context. The importance of low-carbon energy sources in the challenge against climate change underlines the importance of the presence of nuclear energy in the European energy mix for a sustainable future.

The contact person for the project for the Politecnico di Milano is Professor Marco Ricotti, professor of nuclear plants; the ANSELMUS project, in addition to the Department of Energy, will also involve that of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering.
The researchers at the Politecnico di Milano will contribute to the project with a technical-economic-financial analysis to assess the possibility that this type of reactor can operate in a modulation of power through cogeneration. The activity will focus on the possible configurations of the Balance of Plant and ancillary systems for the production of hydrogen and energy storage. Economic modelling will be able to estimate the cost of construction and cogeneration for LFR plants by parameterizing these costs to the power of the plant. Furthermore, risks and opportunities from a financial point of view will be identified in order to derive a business model suitable for the development and implementation of this technology.