Energy Systems and Environment Department - Current projects
Recognizing that current storage solutions are unable to stabilize enough the intermintent renewable energy production, new long term energy storage solutions are becoming mandatory. Current long-term energy storage is mainly provided by Pumped-Storage Hydroelectricity (PSH). Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) has appeared for decades as a credible alternative but its poor energy efficiency, the need of fossil fuels and the use of existing underground cavities as storage reservoirs have limited its development. Variations to CAES have shown low efficiency, losing a big percentage of energy as heat and mechanical losses.
Since the 2010s, there is a strong revival of scientific and industrial interest on CAES, led by China and the European Union (EU). For the EU, leading the new generation of high-efficient, low climate-impact and long-term energy storage research, is key to increase its energy independency.
The HyMES project explores hybrid modeling solutions to address the growing complexity of multi-energy systems and networks. By combining physical and data-based models, the project aims to improve the representation of energy dynamics and address the challenges of uncertainties and non-linearities in system models. HyMES also aims to develop a reference model for multi-energy networks.
Electrifying thermal processes as a solution for industry decarbonation.
The WAVEINCORE project aims to develop new desorption technologies applied to the thermal regeneration of amine-based solvents using microwave irradiation (MW) heating. Operating at temperatures below 100°C with the ability to use renewable electricity instead of superheated steam, a drastic reduction in energy penalty and solvent losses are expected, along with a gain regarding the quantities of water required for the process. Going beyond the established proof of concept, the innovative nature of the project lies in the optimized design of laboratory-scale demonstration prototypes, operating MW-assisted regeneration of amine solutions representative of advanced post- combustion CO2 capture processes. It also includes the development of phenomenological models describing the effect of MW radiation coupled with transfer mechanisms - reactions occurring during the regeneration of typical gas-solvent systems. The consortium brings together two research teams from the GEPEA laboratory, IMT Atlantique and ONIRIS, as well as the company SAIREM.
The project aims to develop cost-effective groundwater monitoring strategies, pollution prevention and abatement technologies, and an early warning system.
Despite the introduction of limits on the sulfur content of marine fuels, the contribution of maritime transport to PM 2.5 emissions is estimated to have increased by 45% in the Mediterranean Sea over the period 2006 to 2020. To limit the environmental and health impact of maritime traffic, the International Maritime Organization has imposed regulations to limit polluting emissions, in particular by defining sulphur emission control zones (SECA zone), aiming to target this reduction in port areas, and in areas where maritime traffic is dense near the coastal edges. But particulate and gazeous emissions of ships remain a major health and environmental issue.
In France, the contribution of maritime transport to air pollution appears to be low if we consider conventional emission inventories approaches. On the other hand, this pollution is localized, especially in port areas where ships perform regular maneuvers. Among the pollutants produced by ships, SOx, NOx and fine particles are considered to be the three most problematic pollutants in terms of environmental and health impact. This CAPNAV project supported by ADEME as part of the CORTEA call for proposals aims to better quantify and characterize particulate emissions, particularly in the different phases of ship maneuvering.
Supported by the European Commission to the tune of €5m, COCPIT stands for "scalable solutions optimisation and decision tool creation for low impact SAF production chain from a lIpid-rich microalgae sTrain",
Innovative processes and bioprocesses
Since the 2010s, microalgae have offered an interesting alternative for producing biofuel for aviation, although the low yields obtained and the compatibility in the energy mix between biofuels and fossil fuels have prompted refiners to turn to other solutions. The aim of the project is therefore to find innovative approaches to reducing the production costs of growing microalgae in photobioreactors, improving processes throughout the chain
This project brings together 10 academic and industrial partners* from 6 different countries:
- IMT Atlantique - GEPEA
- Nantes Université - France
- Universitat Rovira i Virgili - Spain
- Aalborg University - Danemark
- Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt - German Aerospace Center - Germany
- Agricultural University of Athens - Greece
- AlgoSource technologies - France
- HELLENiQ ENERGY - Germany
- Wings ICT Solutions - Greece
- ETA - Florence Renewable Energies - Italia