Annual Activity Report 2012 - CCEM4 Forewords CCEM – Annual Activity Report 2012 CCCEM – CEM –...

Annual Activity Report2012

Imprint

CCEM – Annual Activity Report 2012

Published by

Competence Center Energy and Mobility CCEM

Concept by

Urs Elber

Editorial work, design and layout by

LUTZdocu, 8610 Uster (Peter Lutz)

Printed by

Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen

Available from

Competence Center Energy and Mobility CCEMc/o Paul Scherrer Institute5232 Villigen PSI, SwitzerlandPhone: +41 56 310 2792Fax: +41 56 310 4416E-Mail: [email protected]: www.ccem.ch

Copying is welcomed, provided the source is acknowledged and an archive copy sent to CCEM.

CCEM, February 2013

1CCEM – Annual Activity Report 2012

Forewords 3 CCEM – Networked Research for Transdisciplinary Challenges

5 Bucher Industries and the CCEM: skills as a natural resource – Swiss made

Mobility 7 NADiP NOX Abatement in Diesels

10 hy.muve Hydrogen Driven Municipal Vehicle

12 UFCEV Ultra-Fast Charging of Electric Vehicles

14 THELMA Technology-Centered Electric Mobility Assessment

17 Cohyb Customized Hybrid Powertrains

20 CatPor Catalysis in Porous Media for Automotive Applica-tions

22 DuraCAT Highly Durable Oxide-based Catalysts for Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells

24 NOx Reductions In-Cylinder Emission Reduction in Large Diesel Engines

Electricity 27 CARMA Carbon Dioxide Management in Power Generation

31 Battery Test Bench Acquisition of automated cell and battery test stations

32 DURSOL Exploring and Improving Durability of Thin Film Solar Cells

35 FAMSADI Swiss High Energy Density Batteries – From Advanced Materials to a Safe Device

37 HITTEC High Temperature Thermoelectric Converters for Electricity Generation in a SOFC System

39 PINE Platform for Innovative Nuclear Fuels

41 SwissKitePower Novel Wind Energy Extraction Technology

43 HydroNet 2 Modern Methodologies for the Design, Manufacturing and Operation of Pumped Storage Power Plants

Heat 49 AQUASAR Direct Re-Use of Waste Heat from Liquid-Cooled Supercomputers

53 SuRHiB Sustainable Renovation of Historical Buildings

Table of ContentsTable of Contents

running projects

in 2012 fi nalized projects

and Building

2 CCEM – Annual Activity Report 2012

56 UMEM Urban Multiscale Energy ModellingSustainable cities and urban energy systems of the future

59 ARCHINSOLAR Unique and Innovative Solution of Thin Silicon-Film Modules Building-Integration

Fuels 63 SunCHem Bio-Synthetic Natural Gas from Microalgae

66 Syngas Diagnosis Online Process Diagnostics for Operation Performance of a Biomass Gasifi cation Process

69 OPTIWARES OPTImization of the Use of Wood as a Renewable Energy Source

70 ARRMAT Attrition Resistant Reactive Bed Materials in Fluidised Beds

73 HyTech Sustainable Hydrogen Utilization

75 Solar-HTG Solar Assisted Hydrothermal Gasifi cation Process

77 WoodGas-SOFC II Integrated Biomass – Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Cogeneration

Education 81 MOSUM Mobility Support for Master’s in Nuclear Engineering

Novatlantis 83 novatlantis Sustainability at the ETH Domain – Promotion of Transdisciplinary Science

Register 91 List of Finalized Projects

93 List of Approved Upcoming Projects

94 Scientifi c Project Partners and Financing Institutions

Appendix 97 Presentations

107 Publications

115 Patents

116 CCEM – Events

3CCEM – Annual Activity Report 2012 Forewords

CCEM – Networked Research for CCEM – Networked Research for Transdisciplinary Challenges Transdisciplinary Challenges

With the new impulses created by the «Energy Strategy 2050», the discussion around energy is more vivid than ever. Depending on the initial situation and on assumptions for the many factors that will determine future energy needs, the scenarios how to ful-fi ll the demand span a wide range. However, in all of the scenar-ios, future developments of technologies are an important part.

Since 2006, the research activities of CCEM projects create new options for our energy future. Many of the projects generate evi-dence for potentials, advance the required technologies and pro-vide knowledge-based answers to an ideology-laden discussion. In the recent years, the transdisciplinary connection between dif-ferent types of technologies became even more important. So it is not alone new materials for building insulation that are in focus, but the building is considered as an active unit to harvest, store and convert energy. What if too much solar power is available lo-cally at times when it is not needed? Why not putting this energy into sustainable mobility? Or convert it to synthetic natural gas (SNG) to substitute fossil energy? Or store it and use it later lo-cally again as electric power? And combine district heating and cooling with local energy provision out of biomass? What about connecting natural gas networks, electric power and district heat-ing networks in a manner, that the excess of one can be used to fi ll the supply gaps in the other?

Networked research is not only about connecting technologies, it is about integrating research groups of different institutions and levels, industries, city and traffi c planners, building owners, investors, government, administrations and politics into a new shared understanding of a sustainable development of our en-ergy system. CCEM projects, which for example may range from detailed analysis of new materials in a fuel cell all the way to new mobility concepts for our society, may provide an important basis for the development of this vision.

Up to now more than 50 projects, of which over 30 are ongo-ing, have provided evidence for the need of this kind of collab-orative efforts at the interface between fundamental and applied research. The role of CCEM in integrating research groups from ETH-Domain and Universities of Applied Studies with Industry further completes the research value chain all the way to possible products. Analyzing the fi nancial success of the concept, one unit of CCEM «glue money» helped to generate the six-fold project volume, and the seed money provided by ETH-Domain is less than the contributions of industry. This proves the closeness of the chosen topics to industrial and societal needs.

Looking beyond Switzerland, ETH-domain researchers are well connected internationally and accustomed to interchanging their know-how. CCEM and PSI are supporting this networking by playing an active role at the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA), where networked energy research becomes internation-ally positioned.

List of abbreviations

CCEM Competence Center Energy and Mobility

4 CCEM – Annual Activity Report 2012Forewords

CCEM – CCEM – active in a fi eld of relevance for our societyactive in a fi eld of relevance for our society

In the «Action Plan of Coordinated Energy Research», to be de-cided by the parliament in spring 2013, the ideas of networked research have been taken up, with the intention to create seven new competence centers in the fi eld of energy research. The ex-perience of CCEM is being made available for the set up of the corresponding governance, and it is expected that the knowledge base and work of CCEM will fl ow and be continued within this new structure.

In this issue of the activity report you will fi nd a balanced port-folio of projects in the four fi elds of mobility, electricity, heat & buildings as well as fuels based on renewable energies. Almost 20 projects have been successfully completed so far, and have pro-vided input for development projects in companies. Others gen-erated enhanced knowledge leading to advanced research within new CCEM projects, partly with new partners or with the existing ones. The presented overview of the ongoing and completed proj-ects also demonstrates the benefi t of the installed and upgraded infrastructure which was realized, partly or predominantly, with CCEM funding.

Within the past year, Novatlantis has successfully positioned itself to initiate and support the realization of pilot and lighthouse proj-ects in Cantons and Cities. With a recent decision of the cantonal government, the pilot region of Basel is continuing with projects in mobility, energy storage and harvesting by using new knowl-edge out of CCEM projects. The gained experience is spread by exhibitions and platforms for architects and contractors (‹Bau-foren›) in Zurich, Basel and further locations to come.

Political initiatives in many cities and cantons prompt the admin-istrations to take action for reaching ambitious energy goals. No-vatlantis is supporting these activities by connecting local plan-ners, city actors and energy providers with knowledge created in CCEM projects. The publicly visible implementation of Lighthouse projects is most important to overcome prejudices, and provides a base and platform to identify those parameters that must be further advanced to make these products widely demanded. Many of the new technologies are also geared towards enabling new sustainable life styles, promoting quality of life rather than austerity.

We look forward to the initiated year 2013, which will bring the launch of new important projects and will again yield exciting research results. When reading this Report, we hope that you will share our excitement about future technologies and our confi -dence to eventually reach ambitious sustainability goals.

Urs Elber Prof. Dr. Alexander Wokaun Managing Director CCEM Head of the Steering Committee

5CCEM – Annual Activity Report 2012 Forewords

Bucher Industries and the CCEM: Bucher Industries and the CCEM: Skills as a Natural Resource – Swiss madeSkills as a Natural Resource – Swiss made

At times when our small country is challenged by global pres-sures in many dimensions its citizens, companies and authorities must focus on the country’s strengths and values. What made Switzerland strong and successful and what keeps it competitive today and in future? Except for water power we have no natural resources. But what we do have is a world class dual education system and an outstanding work and performance morale. From apprentices to professors and Nobel price laureates, we indeed developed our own natural resource: skills – Swiss made. Swiss made stands for high quality throughout the world, for innovative products and services, for reliability of products and behavior. It is no coincidence that our employment rate is second to none.

At Bucher Industries we’ve successfully leveraged exactly these strengths and values for more than 200 years. With the curiosity of young newcomers and the knowhow of experienced profes-sionals we continuously explored the needs and expectations of customers. The challenges are tremendous: how to feed 9 billion people on the planet while respecting natural resources sustain-ably? How to solve mobility expectations of a growing population or how to keep growing cities clean?

We do not pretend to have all solutions at hand and least of all as one company alone. The challenges ahead are too demanding and too complex to be solved alone. Therefore, Swiss universi-ties, institutes and companies intensifi ed cooperation to better exchange academic expertise and industrial knowhow. This was and still is the key to effi ciently leverage the skill based resources and to lower barriers between academic and commercial institu-tions. Through Knowledge and Technology Transfer (KTT) and the Commission for Technology and Innovation (CTI) we have impor-tant and effi cient tools to enhance our competitiveness.

With the vision of emission-free compact sweepers that operate in highly frequented public places, Bucher engaged with ETH and Empa and launched the «hy.muve» project. The resulting elec-trically operated vehicle is hydrogen fuelled with a fuel cell as driving unit. The vehicle already performed practical fi eld tests in Basel, St. Gallen and Berne – that will be continued in Geneva. Encouraged by the successful cooperation the project «hSweep-er» – to explore possibilities of a hybrid drive system for munici-pal vehicles – was launched under the umbrella of CTI.

This example demonstrates a successful, innovation driven and environment friendly way to success: a governmental innovation frame work, cooperation between universities and companies and customers, in our case forward-looking cities, that foster testing and implementation of new solutions for the future. Success by skills – Swiss made.

Philip Mosimann Chief Executive Offi cer Bucher Industries AG, Zurich

«Hy.muve» is one of the fi rst projects funded by CCEM. Find the annual report of «hy.muve» on page 10.

MobilityMobility

Phot

o: s

chub

alu

/ pi

xelio

.de

7CCEM – Annual Activity Report 2012 Mobility

Scope of project

The selective catalytic reduction of NOX with urea is one of the key technologies for nitrous oxide abatement in the fi eld of heavy-duty vehicles and naval engines. The project NADiP focuses on in-creasing the effi ciency of urea selective catalytic reduction (SCR) DeNOx systems by optimization of the urea decomposition upstream the SCR catalyst. Crucial parameters studied and optimized within this project are fl uid dynamic behaviour of the urea-water solution as well as urea thermolysis and hydrolysis under formation of ammonia. The underlying thermolysis and hydrolysis reaction mechanisms will be studied based on a model reac-tion system employing surface science analysis tools. Based on model simulations, the fl uid dynamic behaviour will be optimized using an exhaust gas test fl ow rig. The improved SCR system will be implemented into a heavy-duty diesel engine and a naval engine exhaust gas line to verify its increased effi ciency. The impact of widespread introduction of the im-proved technology on the atmosphere and resulting future air quality will be simulated.

Status of project

The project entered the 3rd

year. All parts are well un-derway. Despite some slight delays, all groups agreed to extend the project after its fi -nal year for an additional year without asking for further fi -nancial support. Thus NADiP will be ending on 31.12.2014.

The project is organised along two work packages (WP).• Work package 1 «SCR pro-

cess analysis and optimiza-

NADiPNADiPNONOXX Abatement in Diesels Abatement in Diesels

tion» is consisting of three parts: ◦ the fi rst studying the fl u-

id dynamic behaviour of the involved two phase fl ow – evaporation and droplet-fl ow interactions, infl uence of additives, numerical simulation.

◦ the second part focussing in advanced analytics for investigating chemical reactions – thermolysis and hydrolysis investi-


ALS Advanced Light Source (Berkeley, USA)

CAMx Comprehensive Air Quality Model with Extensions

HNCO Isocyanic Acid

HP-XPS High Pressure X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy

PDA Phase Doppler Anemometry

PIV Particle Image Velocimetry

SCR Selective Catalytic Reduction

SLS Swiss Light Source

UWS Urea Water Solu-tion

WP Work Package

WRF Weather Report and Forecasting

XPS X-Ray Photoelec-tron Spectroscopy

Main Investigator

Panayotis Dimopoulos Eggenschwiler, Empa

Project Partners

Empa

ETHZ

PSI

Timeframe of Project

2010–2014

Major partners in the ETH domain

• Internal Combustion En-gines Lab (ICEL), Empa

• Aerothermochemistry and Combustion Sys-tems Laboratory (LAV), ETHZ

• Exhaust Gas Aftertreat-ment Group (EGA), PSI

• Laboratory of Atmo-spheric Chemistry (LAC), PSI

• Laboratory for Radio-chemistry (LRC), PSI

Main scientifi c results of workgroups

WP 1: SCR process ana lysis and optimization

Part 1: Fluid dynamic be-haviour of the involved two phase fl ow

Task 1 «Selection of the mea-suring technique(s), adapta-tion and lay-out of the pilot fl ow rig» is completed. Task 3 will start after completion of task 2.

The main activities of task 2 «Infl uence of system param-eters on the UWS droplet size and fl ow characteristics» are conducted by the Empa high-

temperature fl ow laboratory. The laboratory has been fur-ther equipped and extensively used for experimental mea-surement campaigns.

In addition to the air fl ow and heating units, a self-designed Empa injection rig has been installed. Moreover, further optical techniques have been tested and employed in the laboratory. The previously de-ployed shadow imaging tech-nique has been used in modi-fi ed form, a Schlieren setup, a

gations, parameter sen-sitivities, surface reac-tions, hydrolysis catalyst, numerical simulation.

◦ the last part aiming in prototype preparation will be addressed in later stages of the project.

• Work package 2 deals with the atmospheric implica-tions in reducing NOX emis-sions concerning the air quality in Europe.

Mie Scattering and PIV setup have been tested and will be used in the coming months to supplement shadow imaging data. Furthermore, a new PDA system has successfully been setup.

• The images captured by Shadowgraphy show inter-esting characteristics of the spray, such as spray en-trainment or spray propa-gation. The measurement campaign has provided an estimated 30’000 im-

8 CCEM – Annual Activity Report 2012Mobility


ages which require post-processing that is currently underway (fi gures 1–3).

• Extensive comparison of water and Urea water solu-tion sprays have been car-ried out.

• First Phase-Doppler-Ane-mometer droplet size and velocity measurements have been completed.

The Empa fl ow rig has been used for extensive shadow imaging measurements on a

commercially avail-able 5-hole nozzle injector supplied by Lieb herr Machines Bulle SA. The cam-paign features the variation of the pa-rameters gas mass fl ow (and thus veloc-ity), gas temperature and injection pres-sure. Mass fl ow was set to 100, 200, 250, 300 and 400 kg/h; temperatures were set to 200 °C, 300 °C and 400 °C – both for pressures of 9 and 12 bar.

In task 4 the model-ling codes have been further developed by

ETHZ-LAV incorporating spray dynamics and chemical reac-tions. Because of delays in task 2, no comparison of mea-surements and simulations could be performed yet. This is expected to change soon based on the recent progress reported in task 2.

The chemical reactions in-volved were modeled by con-sidering 1) N2H4CO ➝ HNCO + NH3

2) HNCO + H2O ➝ NH3 + CO2

The reaction rates are repre-sented by Arrhenius expres-sions with activation energies of E1=23 and E2=62.2 [kJ/mol] and pre-exponential factors of A1=4,900 and A2=25,000 ac-cording to data from the litera-ture (fi gure 4).

Sensitivity studies have been carried out to assess the im-pact of the exhaust gas tem-perature and inlet velocity as well as the urea solution tem-perature. Reaction modelling has been studied in a generic set-up. The urea-water-solu-tion decay and ammonia gen-eration have been simulated. The next steps will involve the comparison of measurements with the simulations as well as tuning of the simulations’

initial conditions by the experi-mental data.

Part 2: Advanced analytics for chemical reactions

For the fi rst task «determina-tion of the urea thermolysis products and their spatial dis-tribution, advanced analytics» PSI-EGA focused on detailed chemical mechanisms and their characteristics during urea thermolysis. The devel-opment of suitable catalysts as well as the testing of byprod-uct formation inhibiting addi-tives are in the centre of cur-rent activities.

Urea thermolysis was identi-fi ed as the reaction determin-ing the overall conversion rate during ammonia formation. Ways to catalyse this reaction have been found and the asso-ciated apparent kinetic param-eters (activation energies and pre-exponential factors) have been determined (fi gure 5).

Activities focussed in the de-tailed investigation of the chemical processes involved in urea thermolysis. Subse-quently, possibilities for cata-lysing thermolysis have been investigated with focus on the

Figure 4: Simulated time evolution of spatial distributions of urea (upper), ammonia (middle) and HCNO (lower) in a section through the spray axis. After 4 ms, urea decomposition as well as ammonia and HCNO syn-thesis are evident.

Fig. 1

Fig. 2 Fig. 3

Figure 1: Pre- and Post-processing procedure for shadow im-ages.

Figure 2 (left): Determining spray angle.

Figure 3 (right): Numerical average image of 60 images.

0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.01 (s)

2 4 6 8 10 ms



involved chemistry steps. As signifi cant results, the appar-ent kinetic parameters of plain and catalysed urea thermolysis could be acquired. The latter have been transferred to the simulation group at ETHZ-LAV and could be included in the coding. Finally, deposit forma-tion mechanisms have been further investigated and the impact of specifi c additives assessed. The important next step lied in the application of the acquired knowledge in ex-periments at the Empa test fl ow rig planned for the com-ing year.

Task 3 «Setting up of an HP-XPS experiment at SLS and development of an in situ reac-tion chamber» is investigated by PSI-LRC.

In collaboration with the part-ners from VG Scienta Inc. (high vacuum components), at ETH and at PSI, the instrument has successfully been set up and fi rst photoelectron spec-tra could be gathered with the lab UV light source, with soft X-rays from the SIM beamline at SLS and with tender X-rays from the PHOENIX beamline at SLS. We have also arrived at a fi nal design for the in situ catalysis chamber, which is in the process of being commis-sioned. Furthermore, we have

Figure 5 (upper): Arrhenius analyses of urea decomposition on anatase (a) TiO2 and (b) ZrO2.

gridded, hourly meteorologi-cal data (wind fi elds, tem-perature, pressure, humidity, clouds/precipitation, vertical diffusivity), photolysis rates, albedo, haze, turbidity, initial and boundary concentrations of chemical species have been completed. Also, simulations with the meteorological model WRF for whole 2006 have been performed and three-dimen-sional meteorological input data for the air quality model CAMx have been generated. Based on the completed data inventories, whole year simu-lations of air quality with CAMx have been completed using the emission inventory including ship emissions.

completed a data set of the evolution of NOx species at the TiO2 surface at exhaust rele-vant temperatures in a beam-time at the ALS.

The main achievement was the installation and test of the high pressure XPS analyzer, which proved its operability between a few eV and 7000 eV kinetic energies, and from vacuum to 20 mbar in the sample com-partment.

Figure 6: Annual average of EC (el-emental carbon in PM2.5 fraction) concentrations (μg/m3).

WP 2: Atmospheric interactions

Two different emission inven-tories for Europe are ready for entire 2006: with and without ship emissions. These fi les include hourly-gridded emis-sions of both anthropogenic and biogenic species from vari-ous sources.

CAMx (Comprehensive Air Quality Model with Extensions) simulations have been com-pleted for a whole year with ship emissions and computed spatially resolved annual aver-age concentrations of pollut-ants (fi gure 6).

Necessary inputs for 2-dimen-sional, gridded hourly emis-sions (both anthropogenic and bio-genic), 3-dimensional,



DC Direct Current

LHV Lower Heating Value

hy.muvehy.muveHydrogen Driven Municipal VehicleHydrogen Driven Municipal Vehicle

Scope of project

Developing a hydrogen driven fuel cell powertrain for a municipal vehicle is the fi rst main goal of the project. This goal was obtained in 2009, when the vehicle was put into operation. A subsequent two years long fi eld testing in four Swiss cities is a second main project goal. During this fi eld testing, the powertrain concept and the performance, including an expected 50 % energetic fuel consumption reduction, have to be evaluated under real world conditions. In parallel, socio-economic research is performed to identify end-user demands and preferences as well as to develop a market introduction concept for hydrogen as motor vehicle fuel. After starting the fi eld testing in Basel in autumn 2009, it could be shown immediately that the performance of the vehicle fulfi lled the requirements and expectations, as well as the energetic fuel consumption target.

Main Investigator

Christian Bach, Empa

Project Partners

Empa

PSI

Bucher Schörling

Messer Schweiz AG

Brusa Elektronik AG

Field Testing Partners

City of Basel

City of St. Gallen

SwissAlps3000, City and Canton Berne


2006–2013

Project Website

www.empa.ch/hy.muve

The data of the 2012 operation period has been analyzed for different characteristics, such as total and faradaic effi ciency, distribution of load and power generation and for the tem-poral stability of the fuel cell system.

Figure 2 documents the monthly use of the fuel cell system in the vehicle. It was operated between 4 and 20 days per month with a minimal usage of 7 hours in March and July and 110 hours in August. The total operating time was 213 hours in the investigated period.

The consumption of hydrogen and production of net electric energy by the fuel cell system are in accordance with the time of usage. A total of 126 kg of Hydrogen has been used (en-ergetic equivalent to 400 l of

Diesel fuel) and 2.11 MWh of electric energy has been pro-duced.

The operation of the fuel cell system is analyzed for number of starts (and stops) and the correspondingly accumulated operating time. Figure 3 shows that about 50 % of starts was followed by short operation (less than 30 min) only. Most operation time (approx. 65 %) was accumulated in intervals of 2–4 hours. Generally, longer continuous operation intervals lead to higher overall system effi ciency because start and stop events waste hydrogen through purging.

The effi ciency of the fuel cell system is a function of its load. Measurements on the test bench have shown that the peak effi ciency of the HP16 system is 56 % LHV between 5

Status of project

In 2012 the hy.muve vehicle (fi gure 1) has been operated in Basel and St. Gallen and was then moved to Berne.

During this period hy.muve was used on 53 days between March and September. In Oc-tober, after the transport to Berne, a defect of the DC/DC converter has temporarily shut down the vehicle, so the analy-sis of data ends in September.

Figure 2: Monthly statistics of the fuel cell system of (left) operation time and (right) hydrogen consumption and electric energy produced.

Figure 1: Fuel cell driven cleaning vehicle.



and 9 kW. Therefore, the op-erational data from the hybrid power train is plotted as func-tion of the load.

Figure 4 shows that the fre-quency of operation has a peak between 2 and 4 kW (idling of the system), between 10 and 12 kW and at maximum power. At maximum power, also most of the electric energy is pro-duced (approx. 30 %). This power distribution is not opti-mized for effi ciency.

Effi ciency has been evalu-ated based on hydrogen con-sumption (tank pressure and temperature) and net power produced by the system. 168 operating sequences (totaling 201 h) were evaluated (many of the short sequences don’t produce reliable effi ciency data). The results are given in table 1.

Finally, the degradation was considered. Based on a total of about 200 h of operation

and 200 start/stop cycles, not much should be expected, except if unforeseen events would have happened.

To judge the fi tness of the system, always at shut-down, nine constant current levels are held for 30 s and all sys-tem parameters measured. This procedure should allow for more sensitive evaluation of changes in system perfor-mance than just the data dur-ing normal operation. This is due to the history and tem-perature dependence of the momentous fuel cell stack per-formance.

Figure 5 shows this «fi nger-print» performance at the be-ginning of the measurement period in May 2012, in the middle of the period in August (after 100 hours of operation), and at the end in September 2012. Temperatures were sim-ilar in all three sub-periods. The two fi nger-print features voltage and current are similar

hy.muvehy.muveHydrogen Driven Municipal VehicleHydrogen Driven Municipal Vehicle

Figure 3 (left): Statistics of number of starts and corresponding operation hours as function of the duration of opera-tion.

Figure 4 (right): Statistics of operation hours and effi ciency as function of the system power.

May 15th

Aug. 9th

Sept. 5th

Method Effi ciency (LHV)

Hydrogen consumption (tank based) 0.507

Current production (stack voltage based) 0.557

Test bench for 5-9 kW 0.56

Test bench for max. power 17 kW 0.49

Table 1: Average effi ciency over the entire period as compared to test bench measure-ments.

Figure 5 (left): Finger-print fuel cell sys-tem performance at begin-ning (red), middle (green) and end (blue) of test pe-riod. Acquisition frequency 0.5 s, same color coding for current and voltage.

Figure 6 (right): Current-voltage behavior according to fi gure 5. Grey lines only connect points

and do not show any signifi -cant trend. At the maximum current tested (between 160 and 200 s in fi gure 5), the sys-tem seems to be less stable.

Main achievements

Fuel cell system data from op-eration of the hy.muve vehicle between March and Septem-ber have been analyzed. About 200 hours of operation and 200 start/stop cycles have been performed in this period. The fuel cell system shows an ex-cellent effi ciency of 0.507 (hy-drogen consumption based) and no signs of degradation have been observed.

The fuel cell system seems to be fi t for operation in further cities.


UFCEV UFCEV Ultra-Fast Charging of Electric VehiclesUltra-Fast Charging of Electric Vehicles

Main Investigator

Alfred Rufer, EPFL

Project Partners

EPFL

ETHZ

Empa

BFH-TI


2009–2012

Project Website

http://ufcev.epfl .ch

Scope of project

The project is dedicated to the issues arising from the ultrafast charging of electric vehicles (EV) within a timeframe of 5 minutes. High charging power and short charging times impose peaks to an electricity distribution system, which necessitate over-dimensioning of the grid connection, un-less energy storage elements are deployed to partially decouple the load from the grid. The work packages inside the project address the different aspects of ultrafast EV charging, such as energy and power requirements, storage technologies, interfaces between the EV, storage buffer and grid, supervisory control and monitoring, grid interactions, as well as safety and reliability issues. These packages, studied individually by the partners, are fi nally integrated and incarnated in a fully func-tional and transportable demonstrator with a 1:10 ratio between the continuous input and short-time output power.

Status of project

For the beginning of the sec-ond project year, one technical work package of six was com-pleted fully and two partially.

The fi nalised work package comprised studies on energy and power requirements on an ultrafast EV charging sta-tion with the assessment of suitable intermediate energy storage possibilities for peak suppression at the point of common coupling.

The fi rst on-going work pack-age concerned different stor-age system technologies, whereas the second one was related to the state-of-the-art review of the applicable power interface topologies and se-lecting the qualifying ones.

At the end of the second proj-ect year, two technical work packages of six were complet-ed fully and four partially.

The fi nalised work package in-cludes system management is-sues, the research on station-ary energy storage systems, power electronics converters, grid aspects and demonstrator design are still going on.

Power electronic con-verters

As for power electronic con-verters, systems for small- and large-scale ultrafast charging stations for electric vehicles were investigated in detail. The required converter sys-tems for small-scale – a three-phase three-level T-type AC/DC converter, a three-port isolated DC/DC converter and a high-power buck-type DC/DC converter with a split in-put voltage – were analysed, modelled and optimised with respect to effi ciency, volume and reliability. Three different large-scale grid interface to-pologies – the isolated modu-lar multilevel converter (MMC), the isolated cascaded H-bridge converter (CHB) and a novel isolated multi-port converter

Stationary energy storage systems

Concerning the stationary en-ergy storage systems, the chosen LiFePO4 cell technol-ogy for ultrafast charging had to be identifi ed with regard to its electrical, thermal and mechanical properties. The results allow discharging the battery within normal ambient temperature. To estimate the infl uence of the novel charger approach with battery middle point architecture, a complete system of the battery with the power electronics was simulat-ed. The modules to be used in the demonstrator’s buffer inte-grate all the necessary safety functions. 15 modules in total will be used to build the bat-tery, which is housed in 4 large racks.


AC Alternating Current

DC Direct Current

EV Electric Vehicle

GPS Global Positioning System

GSM Global System for Mobile Communica-tions

RDS Radio Data System (standard for embedding small amounts of digital information in con-ventional FM radio broadcasts)

UFCS Ultra Fast Charging Station

UFCEV Ultra-Fast Charging of Electric Vehicles

Figure 1: Concept of a buffered ultrafast charging station.



UFCEV UFCEV Ultra-Fast Charging of Electric VehiclesUltra-Fast Charging of Electric Vehicles

with multi-phase AC ports and DC ports – were investigated and compared with respect to power density and effi ciency.

System management issues

The system management is-sues, studied during the proj-ect phase, concentrated on the control and monitoring interactions. The system man-agement with respect to data exchange was described from two viewpoints. For grid op-erator the necessary data are the available electrical power and quantity of vehicles in re-gion, quantity of charging sta-tions and difference between demand and projected pro-posal. For vehicle owner nec-essary data are the locations of charging stations. Online text message information to a vehicle main computer or ad-ditional modular display about regional power availability can be broadcasted by GSM or RDS (Radio Data System, commu-nications protocol standard for embedding small amounts of digital information in conven-tional FM radio). Additionally the GPS module can be used to position the vehicle and to determine the closest charging station, as well as inform the station and grid operators on the anticipated load.

Grid aspects

As related to the grid aspects, the stationary model of ultra-fast charging station (UFCS) for medium and low voltage connection had been imple-mented and the requirements an UFCS has to fulfi l to ac-cess the distribution network have been discussed for the 3 countries: Switzerland, Ger-

Figure 2 (above): Isolated cascaded H-Bridge converter with novel iso-lated submodule, split storage batteries and non-isolated DC-DC con-verters for ultra-fast charging of electric vehicles.

Figure 3 (below): Analysis results of cooling system with heat-sink: temperature distribution inside the cell after some discharge cycles.

many and France. The work has shown that UFCS in the planned design are generally able to fulfi l the grid require-ments, especially with an inte-grated storage system.

Demonstrator design issues

Demonstrator design issues during the second project year included safety and reliability analysis as well as the housing selection for the whole assem-bly. The major concern was related to the temperature rise of LiFePO4 cells due to high dis-charging current, however, a more precise research showed that the excess heat is not a problem with proper cooling measures.

Main achievements/outreach

The results obtained during the second year project activi-ties were disseminated in 14 conference proceedings, fi nd-ing an active feedback from the scientifi c community. Dur-ing the third year of the proj-ect, the on-going work pack-ages will be fi nalised.

Energy storage sys-tems

Based on the preliminary tests and simulations there is a high degree of confi dence, that the LiFePO4 system can be built and put into operation inside the demonstrator.

Power electronic con-verters

A prototype system of a small-scale charging station shall be built and delivered for the demonstrator assembly.

Grid interaction

A more detailed model of the real UFCS will be designed and implemented in a standard topology for low and medium voltage grid, representing the variety of already modelled real grids. The modelling and simulation will focus on the harmonics, regulation scheme and oscillations in the grid.

Demonstrator

A system manage-ment unit will be assembled and de-livered. The whole system shall be de-ployed in the fi eld.

Figure 4: 3D drawing of the isolated submodule prototype in the cascad-ed H-bridge converter shown on the left. The prototype is currently under construction.


THELMA THELMA Technology-Centered Electric Mobility Technology-Centered Electric Mobility AssessmentAssessment

database in collaboration with the ecoinvent centre.

LCA results show that battery electric vehicles (BEV) charged with the Swiss electricity mix signifi cantly reduce green-house gas (GHG) emissions compared to diesel and gaso-line cars. However, the relative difference in GHG emissions will decrease in the future since the energy saving po-tential for internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles is larger than for BEV. Environmental performance of fuel cell ve-hicles is highly dependent on the origin of hydrogen. Only

Scope of project

The THELMA project addresses the chances and challenges of electric mobility in Switzerland with detailed analysis of key technologies considering environmental, economic and selected social char-acteristics. Technological advancements beyond the current state-of-the-art are explicitly included. The project scope compares electric vehicles (EV) with both conventional and advanced options. The analytic framework uses a system perspective, including full energy chains associated with drive-trains and fuels, traffi c simulation, and grid impacts for scenarios including different EV penetration levels to evaluate the role of electric mobility in a more sustainable future.

Main Investigator

Stefan Hirschberg, PSI

Project Partners

PSI

ETHZ

Empa


2010–2013

Project Website

www.thelma-emobility.net


BEV Battery Electric Vehicle

CD Charge-depleting

CS Charge-sustaining

DALY Disability Adjusted Life Years

EV Electric Vehicle

FCV Fuel Cell Vehicle

GHG Greenhouse Gases

ICE Internal Combus-tion Engine

LCA Life Cycle Assess-ment

LCI Life Cycle Inventory

MATSim Multi-Agent Trans-port Simulation

MC Motorcycle

MCDA Multi-Criteria Deci-sion Analysis

NGV Natural Gas Ve-hicles

PHEV Plug-in Hybrid Elec-tric Vehicle

V2G Vehicle to Grid

Figure 1: Disability adjusted life years (DALY) due to noise and other life cycle impacts from vehicles (MC: motorcycle). For example MC: During the day the health impacts are dominated by noise (compared to LCA burdens, i.e. emissions of pollutants in particular).

Main scientifi c results of work packages

WP 1: Life cycle as-sessment (Empa, PSI)

Life cycle assessment (LCA) re-sults were established for cur-rent and near future vehicles from bicycles to small trucks with all relevant drivetrains (ICE, hybrid, battery-electric, fuel cell). Life cycle inventory (LCI) data and LCA results for 2035 and 2050 were estimated for passenger cars. Noise ef-fects of different road vehicles in LCA were also included.

New road transport LCI data was implemented in the next version (v3) of the ecoinvent

electrolysis using renewable Swiss electricity can signifi -cantly reduce GHG emissions compared to ICE vehicles. Hu-man health, ecosystem quality and resource quality show the same pattern, based on the Life Cycle Impact Assessment method. However, for some specifi c indicators, environ-mental impacts from BEV can be higher. Electric cars cause about half as much annoyance due to noise than diesel cars and still considerably less than petrol cars. Noise effects sig-nifi cantly differ between night and day (fi gure 1).


Figure 2: Average energy de-mand and range of BEV in Zurich in 2010. Higher winter consump-tion is mainly due to higher heating demand. In summer, the driving dis-tance (after fully charging the battery) is therefore up to 40 km bigger than in winter.

THELMA THELMA Technology-Centered Electric MobilitiyTechnology-Centered Electric MobilitiyAssessmentAssessment

The noise assessment meth-odology was published as a PhD thesis at ETHZ. Several journal papers are in review or in preparation. A user-friendly tool for parameterized LCA calculations is also in develop-ment.

WP 2: Vehicle simula-tion and power train assessment (ETHZ-LAV, PSI)

The main objective of WP 2 is to calculate energy demand of conventional and electric ve-hicles under a wide range of operating conditions. A three-fold modeling approach is used where a car-body plus a powertrain is investigated for several driving-cycles. Vehicle dynamics and powertrain sim-ulations are used to compute vehicle energy demand. Tech-nical trade-offs of powertrain electrifi cation are then pre-sented in an unbiased manner to allow stakeholder evaluation of new vehicle technologies with respect to performance, energy use and costs. WP 2’s methodology has been con-solidated and interfaces with other WPs formalized.

Electric vehicle modeling de-velopment includes a para-metric analytical method for integrated analysis of electric vehicle design and resulting criteria. Reliable auxiliary load models for heating and cool-ing, and models to assess Li-ion battery performance under various operating conditions have also been developed. A method to evaluate combined car-body and powertrain con-fi gurations was established, as well as a vehicle dynamics model for better assessment of the overall effi ciency dur-

ing brake energy recuperation. Figure 2 shows the auxiliary power adjusted energy de-mand and effective maximum range of a BEV operated in Zu-rich during 2010.

WP 3: Power system modeling (ETHZ-PSL)

WP 3 focuses on the power systems analysis, i.e. inves-tigating the impact of electric mobility on distribution and transmission grids as well as Vehicle to Grid (V2G) schemes to provide grid services.

WP 3 fi ndings on distribution grids are based on the EWZ Zurich network. If more net-work data can be provided, extra simulations could also be performed (requiring addi-tional time).

Research this year has focused on developing alternate control schemes for scheduling charg-

ing and providing secondary frequency control. Previous concepts were based on cen-tralized direct control. The al-ternative concept is decentral-ized control where individual vehicles respond to an incen-tive or signal from an aggre-gator (fi gure 3). A price-based approach has been developed where price profi les are broad-casted to vehicles that respond optimally to minimize their charging costs. To provide secondary frequency control, vehicles are grouped accord-ing to their ability to provide up or down regulation and the aggregator broadcasts a signal containing the probability with which vehicles should respond.

Further work included the use of EVs to help integrate fl uctu-ating renewable generation.

An important milestone also has been coupling transmis-sion and distribution system


• Life Cycle Assessment and Modelling (LCAM), Empa

• Aerothermochemistry and Combustion Sys-tems Laboratory (LAV), ETHZ

• Institute for Transport Planning and Systems (IVT), ETHZ

• Ecological Systems De-sign (ESD), ETHZ

• Power Systems Labora-tory (PSL), ETHZ

• Laboratory for Energy Systems Analysis (LEA), PSI

Figure 3: Scheme of decentralized smart-charging approach.

16 CCEM – Annual Activity Report 2012Mobility16

THELMA THELMA Technology-Centered Electric MobilitiyTechnology-Centered Electric MobilitiyAssessmentAssessment

simulations, so that network impacts at different voltage levels can be analyzed with a unifi ed tool.

WP 4: Case studies (ETHZ-ESD/ETHZ-IVT)

WP 4 forecasts future mobil-ity patterns and demands in Switzerland for 2030 us-ing the Multi-Agent Transport Simulation (MATSim). These forecasts are used in WP 4 for environmental assessment of future mobility in regional case studies, and in WP 3 and WP 5 to estimate additional fu-ture electricity demand due to EV penetration into the Swiss fl eet. The MATSim agent pop-ulation is based on the latest forecasts by the Swiss Federal Statistics Offi ce, in particu-lar the medium scenario for 2030 of 8.7 million inhabit-ants. Population distribution on the municipal level is based on predictions made by the Federal Offi ce for Spatial De-velopment. Population data is enhanced with information on driver’s licenses and household income trends that infl uence car choice and transportation spending. Transport infrastruc-

ture in 2030 is also implement-ed into MATSim based on com-mitted national and cantonal projects. Future population, car ownership, individual mo-bility spending and transport infrastructure are then used in MATSim to generate future Swiss mobility demands and patterns.

Parking search and choice search models are also imple-mented in MATSim and fully integrated into the transport simulation. Parking availability directly infl uences other agent decisions such as travel mode (car v. public transport) and location choice (e.g. where to shop). This is important for electric vehicles, so that the availability of parking spots with charging plugs is directly integrated into the agent’s de-cision. The parking search al-gorithm allows the EV driver to make parking decisions while driving, so WP 4 can deliver spatially and temporally ex-plicit information on charging patterns of electric vehicles to WP 3 as well as aggregated data to WP 5.

WP 5: Analysis inte-gration (PSI)

WP 5 has the primary goals of coordinating, and integrating the project’s technical work-fl ow. Chief technical method-ologies include 1) emissions-, transport- and

damage-simulation for mo-bile sources,

2) environmental impact and external cost assessment,

3) fl eet and transportation modeling for national sce-narios,

4) multi-criteria decision anal-ysis (MCDA).

Emissions-, transport- and cost-assessment work in 2012 has completed estimation of external costs/km (with LCI contributions), compared EVs against other vehicles for Swit-zerland, and also analysed the potential reduction of particu-lates and external costs due to regenerative braking on the European scale for the 2050 scenario. Ongoing work in-cludes improvement of spatial modeling in Switzerland based on the distribution of popula-tion and the km driven, com-pletion of fl eet emissions mod-eling and updating statistical data as available (fi gure 4), preparation for parameteriza-tion of future Swiss scenarios, connection to inputs from WP 1 and WP 5, and calculation of annual external costs.

Fleet, scenario and MCDA ac-complishments in 2012 have included: 1) further fl eet data acquisi-

tion and analysis, 2) creation, calibration and

preliminary exercise of class-based fl eet model,

3) related coordination of ve-hicle class defi nition with WP 2,

4) reduction and documenta-tion of the structured set of MCDA indicators,

5) structuring of scenario as-sumptions, survey of key inputs (e.g. load growth, generation mix and EV penetration), documen-tation and circulation for project feedback,

6) MATSim 2030 extension in cooperation with WP 4 un-derway, and on-going anal-ysis of MATSim output for the modeling data needs of WP 2 (e.g. Swiss driving cycles).

Figure 4: Preliminary results of cali-brated fl eet model with moderate EV penetration.


Cohyb Cohyb Customized Hybrid PowertrainsCustomized Hybrid Powertrains

Scope of project

Hybrid-electric vehicles (HEV) will play an important role in the mobility of the next twenty years. They combine the excellent effi ciency of electrical power-trains with the advantages of liquid or gas-eous fuel combustion engines, i.e. easy and fast refuelling, excellent travelling range. For historical reasons, the components which build a hybrid powertrain are chosen with a focus on availability and not with a previous optimization.This results in suboptimal confi gurations which cannot exploit all of the possible potential.

Main scientifi c results of workgroupsStatus of project

The following points have been identifi ed as research areas for the Cohyb project:• Optimal dimensioning of

the various components of a HEV;

• Control strategy devel-opment for specifi c HEV drivetrains;

• Development of best suit-ed combustion engine for HEV;

• Use of exhaust enthalpy in thermoelectric converters;

• Reliability, availability, maintainability and safety (RAMS) analysis for HEV.

The results of these investia-gations will help to fully exploit the potential of Hybrid Electric Vehicles.

Main Investigator

Lino Guzzella, ETHZ

Project Partners

ETHZ

Empa


2010–2013

the exhaust enthalpy of the engine;

• alternative fuels are used, such as compressed natu-ral gas (CNG) or biofuels.

The last two points confi rm the relevance of the research conducted within the Cohyb project.

One possibility to achieve a high effi ciency with CNG, is the Gas-Diesel engine, where the premixed CNG is ignited by a small quantity of directly injected diesel. This type of combustion has the potential of high effi ciencies but is sus-ceptible to disturbances such as a varying intake air temper-ature. This problem could be overcome by using feedback


CNG Compressed Natu-ral Gas

ECU Engine Control Unit

HEV Hybrid Electric Vehicle

ICE Internal Combus-tion Engine

TOM Thermoelectric Module

RAMS Reliability, Availabil-ity, Maintainability and Safety

T-Hex Thermo-Electric Heat Exchanger


• Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control (IDSC), ETH Zurich

• Aerothermochemistry and Combustion Sys-tems Laboratory (LAV), ETH Zurich

• Internal Combustion En-gines Laboratory (ICE), Empa Dübendorf

• Solid State Chemistry Laboratory (SSC), Empa Dübendorf

• Electronics/Metrology/ Reliability Laboratory, Empa Dübendorf

Task A: IDSC-ETH

The investigations on the op-timal confi guration of a hybrid electric vehicle have shown that moderate hybridization is suffi cient to exploit the poten-tial of hybridization. The CO2-reduction potential of hybrid-ization is fully exploited, if the the hybridization ratio is larger than 25 %. The hybridization ratio is the ratio of the power of the electric motor to the to-tal power.

A further reduction of the CO2-emissions is only possible if• the driving resistances are

reduced;• the maximum effi ciency of

the engine is increased, or if energy is recovered from

Figure 1: Test-bench of the Gas-Die-sel engine.


Figure 2: 3D CFD simulation to de-termine the optimal posi-tion of the injector and the optimal injection param-eters for ethanol direct in-jection.

Figure 3: Picture of the engine test-bench of task C.

control based on the measured cylinder pressure. To investi-gate the potential of feedback control, a test bench has been built up at the IDSC (fi gure 1).

Task B: LAV-ETH

An engine test bench for the Swissauto Wenko 250 has been built up and put into op-eration. The engine, as it can be bought from the manufac-turer (using port fuel injec-tion), has been tested using gasoline. The operating maps of the engine are recorded and the measurements are

used as a reference case to which all modifi cations can be compared. A direct injection system has been installed. A six-hole high pressure injector is mounted below the intake piping between the two intake valves. 3D CFD simulations are used during the design process (fi gure 2). Measurements have shown that very early injection close to the valve overlap pro-vides the best results. Com-pared to the reference case the direct injection operation using gasoline is very similar.

A 1D-simulation model corre-sponding to the engine setup has been built up. The refer-ence case measurements are used to calibrate the model parameters. The engine model is validated and can be used to evaluate modifi cations to the engine confi guration.

In a next step the engine will be operated and optimized us-ing ethanol as fuel. Preliminary

experiments with direct injec-tion of ethanol have been car-ried out. The goal is to exploit the properties specifi c to etha-nol i.e. the high octane num-ber and latent heat of vapor-ization.

Task C: ICE-Empa

The ICE laboratory of Empa works on optimal combus-tion systems for gaseous fuels (methane and hydrogen). The experimental setup includes a small-sized spark-ignited engine, manufactured by the Swiss company Swissauto Wenko AG (Burgdorf). It has a displacement volume of about 250 ccm. The main goals are high thermal effi ciency and low pollutant emissions. A fl exible engine control unit (ECU) is used to measure and control all processes.

The engine test bench is built up and running (fi gure 3). The electronic measuring equip-ment is connected and work-ing. The standard model of the ECU has been adapted to a single cylinder engine. The confi guration was adjusted to the used sensors. The engine has been adapted to gaseous fuels for port and direct in-jection. Modifi cations of the cylinder head and the direct injection valve were required. Construction design and as-sembly have been fi nished. The port injection of gaseous fuels works properly and dif-ferent mixtures have already been tested: methane, natu-ral gas and hydrogen-enriched methane.

The fi nal goal for the year 2012 is reducing the engine fuel consumption for the differ-ent fuels by optimizing the ig-




nition angles. Furthermore the new direct injection valves will be implemented and checked for durability and wear. The next step for the year 2013 is testing special combustion strategies. For this purpose a gas mixing system will be built up. Additionally, another project could be started using the same engine. Its goal is to develop a gas quality sensor which is able to provide useful information for the proper con-trol of the engine for different combustion strategies.

Task D: SSC-Empa

The TOM (thermoelectric mod-ule) produced at Empa is char-acterized with temperatures of the hot side up to 660 °C re-sulting in a ΔT = 600 °C. This temperature increase could be reached due to the new high temperature module test stand and resulted in a signifi cant improvement of the maximum power output with a maximum of Pmax = 1077 mW. This corre-sponds to a power density of 120 mW/cm2.

A thermoelectric heat ex-changer was designed and built to be positioned directly after the catalyst. This ensures access to the highest energies of the exhaust gas within the exhaust gas line. The thermo-electric heat exchanger (fi g-ure 4) was tested at the heat fl ow lab at Empa yielding a maximum power output of 70 W over the whole surface of the heat exchanger at gas temperatures of 450 °C.

Finally, half-Heusler com-pounds for the medium tem-perature range were inves-tigated with focus on the p-type. Here, it was possible

by an in-situ nanostructering approach to form half-Heusler InSb-nanocomposites leading to enhance ZT by ~450 %.

Task E: Reliability and Safety, Empa

Reliability and safety analysis were directed to the existing battery system used in the HERMES hybrid power train and in the CLEVER hybrid car developed by EMPA ICE Labo-ratory (fi gure 5). Safety analy-sis shows that the battery is thoroughly monitored by per-manently measuring voltages of all 900 to 1000 cells. Voltag-es, currents and temperatures are kept within well-defi ned boundaries in the CLEVER hy-brid battery. Improvements could be made in the battery management by implement-ing cell balancing. The imple-mentation of new generation cell monitoring chips, e.g. LTC6803, would even enable to develop a battery manage-ment system for compliance with ISO 26262 (Road vehicles – Functional safety).

Failure rate prediction model IEC TR 62380 yields a medio-cre mean time between fail-ure (MTBF) of 55.2 years for the electronics of the total 90 monitoring and 9 gateway prints.

A clear gap is identifi ed in the quantifi cation of failure rates for lithium-ion cells. No estab-lished failure rate prediction model and no statistical esti-mate based on fi eld failures for lithium-ion cells are available. In addition the failure modes and mechanisms have to be assessed in order to provide essential input for the design of reliable and safe batteries.

A series of reliability and safety tests with single cells, packets and the monitoring system is scheduled for the next months. The necessary test and analy-sis equipment is ready at EMPA Reliability Lab.

Figure 4: Picture of the thermo-elec-tric heat exchanger (T-Hex).

Figure 5: Picture of the battery tes-ter.


CatPor CatPor Catalysis in Porous Media for Automotive Catalysis in Porous Media for Automotive ApplicationsApplications

Scope of project

Ceramic foams, as developed by the Empa ICE laboratory, have excellent properties as catalyst substrates for automotive applications. Extensive studies, also under the support of CCEM (the completed NEADS and the ongoing NADiP project), have shown that ceramic foam based catalysts can achieve similar pollutant conversion effi ciencies but with roughly a third of the precious metal amount and half of the external dimensions, compared to the state-of-the-art conventional honey-comb catalysts.

Research and development is structured along three major axes: (a) fl ow, heat and mass transfer modeling, (b) modeling of complex geometries, and (c) advanced chemical reaction modeling. The work process will start with simplifying assumptions and will gradually increase in complexity in all the mentioned aspects, approaching realistic industrial conditions. The results may lead to catalysts with extremely effi cient deployment of the precious metals and will be implemented in several ap-plications of automotive catalysts, including the SCR catalysts under current development in the NADiP project.

Status of project

Offi cial project start was set on March 1st, 2012. Work at LTNT could start almost immediately given that a PhD candidate was already employed by ASCOMP GmbH, the code provider. More in detail, the TransAT code was further developed in order to take into account infi nitely fast surface chemical reactions. It has been coupled to the CAN-TERA data base which provides species and chemical reaction properties.

Soon, however, high running time requirements of the code have become evident. There-fore, some development ef-fort was spent to increase the code’s parallelization effi -ciency. Currently, the detailed chemical reaction mechanisms for the oxidation of a small hydrocarbon are under imple-mentation. Thus, the project progressed slightly better than anticipated.

The second work package (WP) started with only minor delay due to recruiting reasons. The progress is also impressive. Work concentrated in the eval-

Main Investigator

Panayotis Dimopoulos Eg-genschwiler, Empa

Project Partners

Empa

ETHZ


2012–2015


SCR Selective Catalytic Reduction

WP Work Package

uation of the code provided by WP 1 focussing on grid dimen-sioning and accuracy issues. Certain accuracy concerns emerged and their implications have to be assessed. In paral-lel, fi rst foam parameter varia-

tions have been performed and their impact on conversion rate (assuming infi nitely fast reac-tions) have been computed. In a further step, fi rst complex geometries (randomly stacked Kelvin cells) could be realised.


• Laboratory of Thermo-dynamics in Emerging Technologies (LTNT), ETH Zurich

• Internal Combustion En-gines Laboratory (ICE), Empa Dübendorf


WP 1: Simulation of fl ows through porous media

WP 1 addresses the imple-mentation of surface catalyzed chemical reactions schemes in the simulation of fl ows through porous media.

• The infi nitely fast reaction model has been verifi ed with literature results for simplifi ed geometries such as fl ow over a cylinder.

• The mass transfer rates and reaction rates are in good agreement with lit-erature results (fi gures 1 and 2).

• The implementation of the infi nitely fast reaction model has been imple-mented.

• Code has been coupled to the open source library Cantera for chemical reac-tion rates.

• Finite rate surface reactions have been implemented.

• Code has been extended to run effi ciently in parallel on many processors. Code is successfully installed on the ETH Cluster «Brutus».

Next step: Detailed chemical reaction/kinetics modelling.


WP 2: Deriving guidelines for the design of optimal foam structures

CatPor CatPor Catalysis in Porous Media for Automotive Catalysis in Porous Media for Automotive ApplicationsApplications

transfer and conversion on catalytic walls have been derived for the fl ow through a single Kelvin cell (fi gure 3).

• Structures by randomly stacking Kelvin Cells could be built.

The activities in WP 2 focussed on evaluating the code in terms of performance and ac-curacy as well as on using the code for initial simulations of pollutant conversion over ideal foam ge-ometries.

For code evaluation, grid re-fi nement tests have been performed to estimate the re-quirements of the simulations. The tests were used not only to evaluate the grid refi nement but also to estimate the com-putational resources needed and the accuracy that can be obtained from the TransAT code.

In parallel, a series of plau-sibility tests have been per-formed. Therefore, the code results concerning the concen-

tration of the reactive species on the solid walls have been in focus. Given the assumption of infi nitely fast reactions, there should be no reactive species on the catalytic walls.

First simulations have consid-ered the geometrical charac-terization of the foam (d/l, Re) and the operative condition of the catalyst (Re, T). Tests at different temperatures have been performed to evaluate these effects. Finally, the cre-ation of complex geometries has been extensively tested.

Figure 3: CO conversion over a sin-gle Kelvin cell (infi nitely fast chemical reactions with heat release).

WP 2 addresses the application of the codes developed in WP 1 for understanding the complex interactions of macro and mi-cro fl ow with heat and mass transfer phenomena as well as with the catalyzed chemical re-actions for deriving guidelines for the design of optimal foam structures.

• Optimal grid dimensions and corresponding running times have been assessed.

• Given the high computa-tional requirements be-coming apparent, a «small development project» ap pli cation for 200’000 computational hours was submitted at the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS).

• Deviations of CO concen-trations on the catalytic walls from the expected values are evident for code inaccuracies. The impact of those on the overall simu-lation results has to be as-sessed.

• Relationships between species advection, mass

Figure 1 (left): Compari son of species fl ow through a channel: own simulation with TransAT code vs. literature.

Figure 2 (right): Comparison of absorbed species: own simulation (TransAT) vs. literature.


DuraCAT DuraCAT Highly Durable Oxide-based Catalysts for Highly Durable Oxide-based Catalysts for Polymer Electrolyte Fuel CellsPolymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells

Scope of project

The project aims at developing stable cathodes for polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFC). In PEFCs the electrochemical reactions, namely the hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) and the oxygen re-duction reaction (ORR), take place on the surface of typically Pt-based catalysts at the so-called three-phase boundary. Today, improving the performance of the cathode of PEFCs, where the ORR takes place, is probably one of the most urgent requirements because both the catalyst kinetics and its corrosion stability are clearly insuffi cient to make PEFCs cost competitive devices for automotive and stationary applications. In short, this proposal is a multi-level approach towards the develop-ment and the understanding of high durable cathode catalysts for PEFCs on the basis of doped metal oxide supports.

Status of project

The main goal of the project is to develop support materi-als alternative to carbon for Pt-based catalysts. Carbon supports strongly deteriorate under typical PEFC cathode conditions, and alternative supports based on metal-oxide compounds can represent the most straightforward approach to overcome the Pt-based cat-alyst corrosion issue.

The DuraCAT project intends to develop primarily a funda-mental understanding of the main structural, morphologi-cal, chemical and electrochem-ical properties of stable oxide materials under typical PEFC operating conditions. This goal has been pursued within the fi rst 6 months of the project by investigating the physico-chemical and electrochemi-cal properties of a benchmark catalyst, developed by Umi-core. The benchmark Umi-core catalyst consists of Pt nanoparticles dispersed on a noble metal-based oxide sup-port, IrTiO2. The main draw-back of the IrTiO2 support lies in the high costs of Ir and its limited availability. However, IrTiO2 represents a valuable «model support material» and the understanding of its bulk and surface properties have

Main Investigator

Thomas J. Schmidt, PSI

Project Partners

PSI

ETHZ

CSEM

University of Southampton

Umicore AG & Co KG


2012–2014


BET Brunau-Emmett-Teller

CV Cyclic Voltametry

ECSA Electrochemical Surface Area

HOR Hydrogen Oxidation Reaction

ORR Oxigen Reduction Reaction

PEFC Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell

RDE Rotating Disk Elec-trode

RHE Reversible Hydro-gen Electrode

SAXS Small-Angle X-ray Scattering

TEM Transmission Elec-tron Microscopy

XRD X-Ray Diffraction Analysis

WAXS Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering


• Electrochemistry Labora-tory (ECL), PSI

• Surface and Interfacial Chemistry (SIC), ETH Zurich

• XRD Application Labora-tory, CSEM Neuchâtel

been investigated in order to obtain benchmark data for ma-terials that will be developed in the next steps of the present project.

Several aspects of IrTiO2

benchmark support have been investigated: texture of the material (surface area, type of porosity), and the surface and bulk properties (composition, structure and sites). The same characterizations have been carried out also for a complete catalyst made by Pt nanopar-ticles dispersed on the IrTiO2

support (Pt/IrTiO2). These re-sults have been combined with extensive electrochemical in-vestigation by cyclic voltam-metry and rotating disk elec-trode (RDE) measurements in order to provide a wide over-view of the physico-chemical and electrochemical proper-ties of this IrTiO2 and Pt/IrTiO2

benchmark catalyst.

The results presented in the following could be achieved by the collaboration of the differ-ent groups participating in the DuraCAT project.


A structural characterization of the Umicore benchmark catalyst was performed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, particularly using wide- and small-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS & SAXS) methods.

The phase analysis of IrTiO2

shows a good agreement of the theoretically calculated dif-fraction peaks of the tetrago-nal phases of the metal oxides IrO2 and TiO2. XRD results in-dicate a crystallite size of ap-proximately 3 nm. The diffrac-tion pattern of the Pt/IrTiO2

benchmark showed only the

diffraction peaks associated to IrO2 and TiO2 phase, while no clear Pt diffraction peaks were observed.

Therefore, SAXS studies have been applied for the determi-nation of the average diam-eter of Pt nanoparticles. From the scattering curve, the size distribution has been obtained taking into account that there are no inter-particle interac-tions. The volume-weighted particle size distribution Dv(R) curve of the sample Pt on IrOX

shows a well-defi ned single-mode distribution (fi gure 1).


The graph indicates that the sample contains particles hav-ing a radius predominantly in the range of 2–20 Ǻ, with a volume-average of 11.7 Ǻ and a relative standard deviation (size poly-dispersity) of 41 %.

A morphological character-ization of the Pt/IrTiO2 cata-lyst was performed by trans-mission electron microscopy (TEM), which indicated a nar-row Pt size distribution around 2–3 nm, as shown in fi gure 2. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis gives a surface area of approximately 43 m2/g for IrTiO2 and no signifi cant value change was measured for the Pt/IrTiO2 catalyst.

The electrochemical stabil-ity under the most relevant PEFC cathode conditions was determined by cyclic voltam-metry (CV) measurements using IrTiO2 porous thin-fi lm electrodes. Stability tests were performed over 1000 cycles between 0.5 and 1.5 V vs RHE using a scan rate of 50 mVs-1

mimicking the typical potential cycles a PEFC cathode under-goes. The benchmark support IrTiO2 showed very high sta-bility in this potential region with signifi cant change in the CV after 1000 cycles (see fi g-ure 3).

The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity was determined by RDE measurements. The pure IrTiO2 oxide showed con-siderable ORR activity in the voltage range below 0.5 V. The kinetics obey the Tafel equation with a Tafel slope of approxi-mately 420 mV/dec, pointing to a non-electrochemical rate-determining step (e.g., O2 ad-sorption) rather than any elec-tron transfer.

In comparison, however, the ORR activity of the Pt/IrTiO2

catalyst is signifi cantly more active with a typical Tafel slope for an electrochemical rate de-termining step, fi gure 4.

The electrochemical stabil-ity of the benchmark catalyst Pt/IrTiO2 has been tested us-ing the same conditions de-scribed above for the IrTiO2

support. High stability of the benchmark catalyst Pt/IrTiO2

could be confi rmed. A loss in the electrochemical surface area (ECSA) of approximately 30 % was observed after 1000 cycles, signifi cantly less as compared to a typical carbon catalyst (PtCo/C) with a loss of about 50 % ECSA.

The surface specifi c ORR activ-ity of Pt/IrTO2 was determined to be 0.16 mA/cm2 @ 0.9 V (as deduced from the data in fi gure 4). This value even ex-ceeds the corresponding value of 0.09 mA/cm2 for a state-of-the-art PtCo/C catalyst, thus, confi rming the outstanding performance of the Pt/IrTiO2

catalyst regarding stability and ORR activity.

In summary, within the fi rst six months of the project, an almost full characterization of

the benchmark support and catalyst could be performed. In depth understanding has been gained which will help developing alternative systems in the next work packages.

Figure 3 (lower left): Cyclic voltammetry of IrTiO2 support during 1000 potential cycles between 0.5 V and 1.5 V represent-ing a typical PEFC cathode potential window. 50 mV/s, 25 °C, 0.1 M HClO4.

Figure 4 (lower right): Oxygen reduction activity of IrTiO2 (blue line) and Pt/IrTiO2 deduced from RDE experiment. 5 mV/s, 0.1 M HClO4, 25 °C, cathodic sweeps.

Figure 1 (upper left): The (volume-weighted) size distribution scattering curve of Pt/IrTiO2, together with the undersize cumu-lative distribution curve (blue) and the approximat-ed Gaussian (green line).

Figure 2 (upper right): Transmission electro mi-crograph of the Pt/IrTiO2 benchmark catalyst sys-tem. The circle «eds 2» has no meaning here.

DuraCAT DuraCAT Highly Durable Oxide-based Catalysts for Highly Durable Oxide-based Catalysts for Polymer Electrolyte Fuel CellsPolymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells


NONOXX-Reduction -Reduction In-Cylinder Emission Reduction in In-Cylinder Emission Reduction in Large Diesel EnginesLarge Diesel Engines

Scope of project

This collaborative effort aims at a signifi cant technological progress towards an effi cient, clean burn-ing diesel engine that does not require exhaust gas after treatment to further reduce NOX or par-ticulate emissions. One goal is set in the thorough comprehension of the physiochemical processes involved governing the NOX and soot formation under the combined application of Miller inlet valve timing with 2-stage turbo charging and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), water-in-fuel emulsions and pilot injections. This understanding will yield a second key deliverable, namely a fast numerical algorithm based on phenomenological models incorporating the new technological approach and having good predictions for NOX and soot.

Main Investigator

Klaus Hoyer, PSI

Project Partners

PSI

ETHZ


2012–2014


CFD Computational Fluid Dynamics

CMC Conditional Moment Closure

EGR Exhaust Gas Recir-culation

HTDZ High-Pressure High-Temperature Cell (at PSI)

LERF Large Engine Re-search Facility (at PSI)

MT Miller Timing

S2TC Serial 2-Stage Turbo Charging

IMO International Mari-time Organization

SME Small and Medium-sized Enterprise

WFE Water-in-Fuel Emulsions


• Combustion Research Laboratory (CRL), PSI

• Institute of Energy Tech-nology (IET), ETH Zurich

Status of project

The large engine research fa-cility (LERF) at Paul Scher-rer Institute (PSI) has been successfully established as a research platform for testing the NOX reduction potential when using Miller valve tim-ing in combination with serial 2-stage turbo charging.

In past research, a signifi cant NOX reduction potential using this technology has been con-fi rmed. It also became clear, however, that the stringent legislative limits set to enact in 2016 by the International Mar-itime Organization cannot be reached using this technology alone and that additional mea-sures are needed. The current project aims at combining ad-ditional measures with the al-ready implemented approach to further reduce specifi c NOX

emissions towards the re-quired limit, while maintaining low CO2 emissions and close-to-zero soot emissions.

The team has conceived three different technological ad-vancements to be tested indi-vidually and combined in con-junction with Miller timing and 2-stage turbo charging. • The main approach will fo-

cus on the arrangement of exhaust gas recirculation together with MT/S2TC.

This combination has the largest potential for meet-ing the NOX emission lim-its, but it is also expected to generate signifi cantly increased particulate emis-sions.

• The second approach in-volves using water-in-fuel emulsions, which has posi-tive effects on both NOX

and particulate emissions. • The third approach uses

multiple fuel injections as means to shorten the igni-tion delay and thus reduce the amount of premixed combustion, a need which has been highlighted in prior research concerning extreme Miller valve timing to allow further reduction of NOX emissions.

The team is able to cover the complex system behavior and address system integration is-sues on the 6-cylinder engine (LERF) at PSI, study processes in a more controlled environ-ment on the 1-cylinder MTU en-gine at ETHZ, and obtain fun-damental understanding of the modifi ed combustion through optical access to the fl ame at the constant volume combus-tion cell at PSI. In parallel, 3D simulation work based mainly on results from the HTDZ will allow the in-depth investiga-tion of spray and combustion characteristics. In the project, two worldwide leading com-panies (ABB Turbo Systems, Wärtsilä FI) and an ambitious Swiss SME (DUAP) will partici-pate.


Generation of water-in-fuel emulsion (PSI)

Numerical simulations for the emulsion process have been done using high speed small diameter water jet in cross-fl ow of diesel fuel. Primary and secondary dispersion of the water into the fuel requires highly turbulent conditions (large Ohnesorge and Reyn-olds Numbers) and high spe-

cifi c momentum (large Weber Number) with a given surface tension at the water nozzle exit. The smallest droplet size distribution can be expected when the Weber Number ex-ceeds its 2nd critical limit e.g. stripping breakup and will yield droplet sizes below 10 μm without using surfactants.

Stabilizing agents will need to be applied, which will result in


Single cylinder test-bench (ETHZ)

The work included the setup of the testbench, as well as car-rying out the fi rst measure-ments to investigate the ef-fects of diesel combustion with low compression temperatures on NOX emissions.

1. An injector analyzer built in-house at ETHZ for the purpose of injection rate analysis of large common rail injectors was used to establish the injection rate profi le and total injected quantity of the 1-cylinder injection at different injec-tion durations and pres-sures.

2. Baseline engine measure-ments included measure-ments at constant engine speed (1000 rpm) and injection conditions (tim-ing -5 deg CA, 1000 bar), and variable injection du-ration, inlet temperature, inlet pressure and injection duration, with and with-out pre-injection. More than 100 different combinations have been tested. The main focus of these investigations has been to form a comprehen-sive database which was used for the tuning of the 1-D simulation models, as well as for primary investi-gations into the effects of ignition delay on NOX emis-sions.

3. Preliminary investigations of the effects of ignition de-lay on NOX emissions allow the establishment of trends for Heat Release Rate and NOX formation, which can be used to study effects of ignition delay and air-fuel mixing on emissions.

Numerical simulation (ETHZ)

The outlook for this project is to provide a reliable and ac-curate numerical prediction tool for diesel combustion with sprays, by way of CFD simu-lation. Presently, we restrict ourselves to constant volume combustion chamber(s) simi-lar to the HTDZ test rig at PSI which will serve as the fi nal validation for this phase. The advantage of having such a tool is not only the ability to carry out parametric studies relatively quickly, but also to understand the relevant phys-ics (fl ow fi eld, mixing) and re-action kinetics (ignition, tem-perature distribution) inside the combustion chamber. In the longer term this tool will be extended for application to the single-cylinder engine.

The current activity is focused on establishing the simula-tion model (based on various available sub-models) for tur-bulence, fuel spray descrip-tion and interaction, and fl ow physics in order to provide the best prediction for the type of operating conditions studied experimentally.

The major goal of the simu-lation model itself is accurate soot prediction.

NONOXX-Reduction -Reduction In-Cylinder Emission Reduction in In-Cylinder Emission Reduction in Large Diesel EnginesLarge Diesel Engines

Figure 1: Penetration of the evapo-rated fuel over time. Top: Spray visualization with Schlieren technique. Bottom: For simulations, vapour penetration is cal-culated as the distance from the point of injection to where the fuel mass fraction drops below 1 ppm.

a further reduction of droplet size distribution.

The new emulsifi er design will feed the water to the pipe seg-ment downstream of the pres-sure throttle and will thus avoid recirculation of any emulsion within the external fuel piping. Previously, this has lead to de-mixing of the phases and thus uncontrolled conditions.

Combustion simulation (ABB)

Based on initial measurements obtained from a single cylin-der test engine, a zero-dimen-sional engine model was in-troduced and calibrated using ABB Turbo System in-house simulation software.

The main topic regarding the single cylinder engine is to in-vestigate the combustion pro-cess in strong miller cycles. As such, the major goal of this model was to evaluate and predict the performance and impact of different camshaft designs. The simulation model was able to investigate the gas exchange in terms of tempera-ture and pressure at the start of injection good enough and is thus well suited for the cam-shaft design process.

Miller design and opti-mization (ABB)

A fl exible mathematical model was developed to easily create miller valve lift curves for dif-ferent timings.

Out of a set of nine camshaft designs evaluated, two were selected to be manufactured (one moderate and one strong miller); the delivery is expect-ed for January 2013.

ElectricityElectricity

27CCEM – Annual Activity Report 2012 Electricity

Final report

Carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and storage (CCS) are technologies targeting the capture of CO2 from its anthropogenic point sources, its transport to a storage location or treatment plant, and its isola-tion from the atmosphere. This is only one, though very important, option in a portfolio of actions to fi ght the increase of atmospheric CO2 concentration and to mitigate the greenhouse effect and climate change, while at the same time allowing for the continued use of fossil fuels. The CARMA project aims at exploring the potential for and the feasibility of the deployment of CCS in Switzer-land within the framework of future energy scenarios. Moreover, it aims at exploiting the available expertise to develop new CCS technologies and know-how, which might be applied in Switzerland and worldwide.

Status and scientifi c results of sub-projects

(GHG) emissions of cement production with and without CCS, as an example of recent LCA results. Depending on the heat and power sources for CO2 capture, GHG emissions per kg of cement can be re-duced by around 40–80 % with implementation of CCS.

The development of a multi-cri-teria decision analysis (MCDA) for a comparative evaluation of a variety of future CO2 re-duction options is in the fi nal phase. A fi rst application has been internally tested and a MCDA-Workshop is planned for January. The MCDA will be car-ried out for evaluation of spe-cifi c power generation technol-ogies and also on the scenario level, comparing future Swiss energy systems with and with-out CO2 reduction goals as well as with and without the option of CCS implementation.

A user-friendly web-tool has been developed for this pur-pose. Preliminary results of the MCDA highlight the fact that trade-offs between envi-ronmental, economic and so-cial criteria are inevitable in the comparative evaluation of power generation technologies and CO2 reduction options in Switzerland.

Energy-economic mod-eling

In 2012, an extensive number of scenario analyses were per-formed with the Swiss MARKAL energy system model. Partic-ularly, the scenarios and sen-sitivity analysis were focused on investigating attractiveness of CCS under different input assumptions. For example, fi gure 2 illustrates insights from the electricity sector for a set of energy price outlooks from the International Energy Agency’s Energy Technology Perspectives (IEA, 2012). It can be seen that with a climate target and the nuclear phase-out policy, gas combined cycle plant with CCS (gas-CCS) be-comes a cost effective option for Switzerland as other do-mestic renewable (wind and solar PV) are fully tapped to their potential. With lower

Environmental and economic assessment

The work in this sub-project focused on: a) the prospective environ-

mental assessment of CCS technologies in the power sector as well as in in-dustrial applications (i.e. cement production) by means of life cycle assess-ment (LCA);

b) the estimation of economic consequences of CCS im-plementation in terms of power generation costs and costs of reducing CO2 emis-sions.

Both aspects were analyzed with a focus on potential appli-cation of CCS in Switzerland. Additionally, CCS in Germany was analyzed as a represen-tative case study for a coun-try with a high share of fossil fuels in the electricity sector. The environmental and eco-nomic performance of mineral carbonation as CCS technology was analyzed in collaboration with the Separation Processes Laboratory at ETHZ.

The work on LCA in the power sector and industry has been fi nalized. Figure 1 shows cu-mulative Greenhouse Gas

CARMACARMACarbon Dioxide Management in Carbon Dioxide Management in Power GenerationPower Generation

Main Investigator

Marco Mazzotti, ETHZ

Project Partners

ETHZ

EPFL

PSI

University of Bern

FHNW

Geoform Ltd.


2009–2012

Project Website

www.carma.ethz.ch


CCS Carbon Dioxide Capture and Stor-age

GHG Greenhouse Gas


MCDA Multi-Criteria Deci-sion Analysis

MARKAL MARKet Allocation

NIMBY Not-In-My-Back-Yard

SOP Standard Operating Procedure

Figure 1: Life cycle GHG emissions of the cement production in 2025 using different heat and electricity sources for the CO2 capture (steam, power) and compression (power) differentiated by the life cycle phase.

28 CCEM – Annual Activity Report 2012Electricity


natural gas price assumptions (i.e. stringent global climate policy – 4DS/2DS scenarios in the fi gure) gas-CCS becomes attractive even in the earlier periods where it partly re-places solar PV. One reason for this outcome are the relatively conservative assumptions on renewable technology learning (i.e. cost reduction).

The energy service demands in the model have been updated based on recent socio-eco-nomic projections (i.e. popula-tion and GDP growth) from the BFE Energieperspektiven 2050 (BFE, 2012). An additional set of scenarios is being analyzed with the updated demand driv-ers.

Pre-combustion CO2capture

The activities of this subproject consist in the modeling, analy-sis and optimization of fuel de-carbonization processes.

One of the aspects investigated is the fl ame structure and the fl ame speed of > 80 % hydro-gen containing fuels. Experi-mental investigations on the turbulent, lean-premixed, non-swirled, confi ned jet fl ames of H2-rich fuel gases were per-formed. Representative fl ame fronts were identifi ed by ana-lyzing the fl ame structure re-trieved from laser diagnostics, and the corresponding turbu-lent fl ame speed (ST) was de-rived from the perspective of a global consumption rate. A reliable ST correlation is criti-cal to the design procedure of gas turbine combustors that involves detailed numerical simulations. Nonetheless, the ST correlation is usually imple-mented in a simplifi ed form in order to save the computation-al cost. Some turbulent fl ame speed closure approaches have been inspected to check their validity for the investigat-ed H2-rich mixtures.

Another aspect under investi-gation is the high propensity of fl ashback when burning H2-rich fuel gases instead of natu-ral gas in the lean-premixed gas turbine combustor. During fl ashback, the fl ame propa-gates upstream of the location where it is supposed to anchor and enters the premixing pas-sage. Since the components located upstream of the burner are usually not designed to withstand the high tempera-ture induced by the fl ame, the consequence of fl ashback is detrimental. In this task, the turbulent fl ame speed (ST) is proposed to be an indicator of fl ashback propensity for H2-rich fuel gases at gas turbine relevant conditions. For such gases, the critical condition for generating a fl ashback is well

correlated with the maximum turbulent fl ame speed before fl ashback (ST ~ 10 m/s). The maximum ST before fl ashback is found to be very close to the velocity evaluated at the boundary of the viscous sub-layer within the premixing pipe (usub). The observation indicates that at the critical condition, the fl ame propaga-tion within the boundary layer is facilitated by the match be-tween ST and usub. Accordingly, it is proposed that the ST can be implemented as a repre-sentative velocity scale in the concept of the critical velocity gradient. By implementing this methodology, it is possible to predict the fl ashback limits for the H2-rich (and syngas) mix-tures. The outcome from this approach for the syngas mix-tures (H2–CO 50–50) is plotted against pressure in fi gure 3. The fl ashback limits (ΦFB) de-termined experimentally are included for comparison, and a dashed curve derived from the power regression for the ΦFB at T0 = 673 K is plotted. It can be seen that the current approach provides reasonable predictions for the fl ashback limits for the syngas mixtures. The topic of design modeling of hetero-homogeneous reac-tors for hydrogen entered in 2012 in experimental phase. The burner has been installed at PSI’s optically accessible high-pressure test rig, where-by laser based measurements were applied (laser induced fl uorescence of the OH-radical and OH* chemiluminescence) in the catalytic and gas-phase combustion stages. Exhaust measurements of O2 and NOX were further carried out. These measurements attested a substantial reduction of NOX-

emissions with this concept of

Figure 3: Flashback limits (ΦFB) de-termined experimentally for syngas mixtures. The dashed line represents a power regression fi t for ΦFB at T0 = 673 K.

Figure 2: Insights from the electric-ity sector for a set of en-ergy price outlooks from the International Energy Agency’s Energy Technol-ogy Perspectives (IEA, 2012).


catalytic-rich / gaseous lean combustion.

Potential for geological sequestration in CH

After the publication of the map of the regional potential for storage of CO2 in Switzer-land in 2010, more detailed studies have been performed in order to better constrain the physical properties of the tar-get reservoir, relevant for CO2

storage. In particular porosity and permeability of different facies of the Muschelkalk for-mation have been explored in laboratory, simulating in situ pressure and temperature conditions. Porosity has been detailed through tomographic methodologies and by means of synchrotron facility at PSI, in order to defi ne at best this key parameter. The velocities of ultrasonic waves propaga-tion have been measured in order to establish a correla-tion between laboratory and in situ existing seismic data. The experimental determina-tion of deformation laws under compression conditions had been undertaken, and is still in progress. This is a key pa-rameter in the modeling of the geo-mechanical behavior of the reservoir.

The multi-phase reactive transport code PFLOTRAN (Hammond & Lichtner, 2010; 2011) has been used to sim-ulate CO2 injection into the Muschelkalk carbonate aqui-fer, and to gain insight into the complex coupled physical-chemical processes following injection, allowing predictions about the spatial-temporal be-havior of the CO2 plume, trap-ping mechanisms and possible risks associated with CO2 injec-

tion (fi gure 4). Fluid/rock reac-tions and the ensuing porosity/permeability changes follow-ing the injection of CO2 are strongly dependent on the pri-mary reservoir mineralogy. In carbonate aquifers, a complex pattern of carbonate dissolu-tion/re-precipitation evolves but the overall decrease in pH leads to a net transfer of CO2 from the rock to the fl uid. Thus, mineral trapping does not work. Carbonate dissolu-tion around the injection well enhances injectivity.

Mineral carbonation

The work performed in this subproject can be divided in two parts, fi rstly the study of activated serpentine dissolu-tion for direct fl ue gas CO2

mineralization, and secondly the study of carbonation of the same material and pur-pose. Flue-gas dissolution experiments were performed at 30 °C (year 2011), 60 °C, 90 °C and 120 °C (year 2012) at four different fl ue gas pres-sures. Similar experiments were also performed at 30 °C, 60 °C and 90 °C in the ab-sence of fl ue-gas atmosphere with mineral acid at identical pH conditions. The dissolution profi les from the fl ue-gas and HCl experiments were similar, indicating identical mecha-nisms of dissolution in the two systems. However, none of the available mineral dissolution mechanisms describe/exhibit the observed measured pro-fi les. This could be the result of the complex morphology and structural composition of the material under investiga-tion, which differ substantially from model materials studied by the geochemical community so far. However, the develop-

ment of a mathematical model to describe the physical pro-cess of dissolution is essential in evaluating the limitations and predicting the dissolution performance of the activated serpentine.

To study the carbonation po-tential of heat-treated ser-pentine in fl ue gas conditions (PCO2 ≤ 1 bar), the following process variations were ap-plied: 1) single step strategies in-

cluding the investigation of the effect of seeding, dy-namic solid feed addition, and concurrent grinding,

2) double step strategies em-ploying a combined PCO2- and T-swing.

Corresponding experiments were performed at varying temperatures and slurry


Figure 5: SEM images (top) of prod-uct for experiments at 30 °C (left), 60 °C (mid-dle), and 90 °C (right). Contour plots of Raman spectra (bottom), color map relative to gradient of spectra in x-direction. Red arrows denote serpen-tine addition. Raman shift values for nesquehonite is 1099 cm-1, and 1119 cm-1 for hydromagnesite. Ex-perimental conditions: pCO2 = 1 bar, S/L = 10 % wt.

Figure 4: Injection scenarios for a fractured aquifer (top) and a homogeneous aquifer (bottom). Aquifer (matrix) permeability is 3e-15 m2. Model Parameters: Per-meability 3e-15 m2; Seal/caprock: 1e-19 m2; injec-tion rate: 1e-4 kg/s for 10 years; Pressure 20 MPa; Temperature 40 °C.


den sities using crystallizers equipped with a gas dip-tube, refl ux condenser, pH- and Ra-man-probe, as well as with the option of pumping the slurry continuously into the drum of a ball mill and back into the re-actor. As expected from litera-ture, the hydrated Mg-carbon-ate nesquehonite precipitated during low-T experiments (30–50 °C), while hydromagnesite was formed at 90 °C. Transfor-mation of the former into the latter was observed at 60 °C (fi gure 5). In single step ex-periments, the feed conversion to carbonates, ξ, plateaued at around 20 %. The higher the temperature and slurry den-sity, the sooner this threshold was reached. Further reac-tion progress seemed to be hindered by either a diffusive barrier around the dissolving feed (silica-ash and/or second-ary nucleation and growth of carbonates) or by equilibrium effects. The threshold level was increased both in the ball mill (ξ= 35 %) and in seeded experiments (ξ= 28 %). How-ever, such moderate increase suggests equilibrium effects to be more dominant. The com-bined PCO2- and T-swing ap-proach resulted in a successful proof of concept that dissolu-tion and precipitation can be separated without the use of chemicals. Currently, double step experiments are being carried out where conditions will be tested that promote serpentine dissolution and Mg-carbonate precipitation sepa-rately.

General public perception of CCS

The central aim of this task is to assess the public perception and acceptance of Carbon Di-

oxide Capture and Storage in Switzerland. The task has been completed through experimen-tal work to examine which in-formation and what type of presentation format helps the general public to make an in-formed decision about CCS. It has been proved that a not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) effect exists for CCS facili-ties; however, when the CO2

originated from a biogas fi red power plant, the NIMBY effect seemed to disappear among respondents. Some aspect of this work has been extended and elaborated: cross-national comparison, for example with Canada has been undertaken, and an evaluation of actual communication materials is in progress.

Legal aspects

The effective Swiss law in the fi eld of CCS has been exam-ined, as well as foreign legis-lation (Europa, USA, Canada, Australia), which governs CCS in more detail. There are no specifi c norms in the Swiss law, neither regarding capture, nor regarding storage.

Applicable regulation in the foreign law is offered by the European Union directive 20090/31/EC, concerning site selection for the storage, ex-plorations authorizations, stor-age permit, inspections opera-tion and measures in case of leakages; closure and post-closure obligations, etc. The policy is not directly applica-ble, but it must be integrated into each national law. Without a specifi c legislation for CO2

disposal, the Swiss federal and cantonal laws in land planning matters are responsible at dif-ferent levels.

The Federal Government is fully responsible for the legis-lation in the fi eld of environ-mental protection, and it is its responsibility to concretize the regulations, but only in terms of general principles. It is re-sponsibility of cantons to adopt urban plans. The cantons are responsible for the adoption of laws, following the general policy indicated by the Federal Government.

All cantons have adopted more or less detailed and extensive planning and construction laws. Nevertheless municipali-ties have quite a wide auton-omy in matter of construction permits in every canton. CO2

disposal in terms of environ-mental protection is respon-sibility of the Federal Govern-ment but it is also a subject for land usage planning, under the coordination of cantonal laws, and fi nally under the responsi-bility of municipalities in terms of construction permits.

Project management and coordination

The activity of dissemina-tion has been mainly realized through the design and build-ing of a showcase that demon-strates visually but rigorously how carbon dioxide stored in deep saline aquifers migrates and how it can be permanently trapped.

The showcase, completed in June 2012 has been presented in public exhibitions (fi gure 6) such as Scientifi ca, CS Famil-ientag at ETH Zurich, several visiting international delega-tions at IPE (Schlumberger, Alstom, SINTEF, GFZ, etc.) and recently at the conference GHGT-11 in Kyoto.

Figure 6: Presentation of the show-case during its offi cial roll-out event at ETH Zurich in June 2012.


Media coverage

The showcase and in general the CARMA proj-ect received in the last year attention from the media: the SF1-broadcast «Einstein» (20.9.2012) dedicated an episode to the storage of CO2, the newspaper ETH Life dedicated 2 articles, the magazines Sonntagszei-tung, Geothermics, TEC21 and Umweltperspektiven quoted the showcase and/or the CARMA project in many articles.


Final report

The Empa Laboratory for Electronics/Metrology/Reliability is involved in two recently started CCEM projects in the fi eld of electro-mobility: Ultra-Fast Charge of Electrical Vehicles (UFCEV) and Custom-ized Hybrid Powertrains (Cohyb). Both projects are directly related to energy storage systems, in particular Li-ion batteries.In addition to the performance of batteries their reliability, safety and lifetime are of high relevance, and different for each battery technology and application. The Empa Laboratory for Electronics/Metrology/Reliability is well established to perform battery degradation and lifetime testing and modelling. The acquisition of an automated test stations will lead to unique capability for testing and analyzing cell packs and large batteries at Empa.

The 6-channel cell tester will be used to perform research on degradation and failure mechanisms of electrochemi-cal storage units, i.e. mainly Li-ion-cell packs. The cell tes-ter is equipped with a mul-tiplexed frequency response

analyzer (1 mHz to 30 kHz) for comprehensive impedance characterization (fi gure 2).

Sophisticated equipment such as SEM, TEM, Helium-FIB etc. and failure analysis know-how of the Empa reliability labora-tory is provided for physical and electrochemical materi-als analysis down to the nano scale.

A key feature of both testers is the possibility of direct transla-tion of measured vehicle bat-tery drive loads into stress test programs.

Outlook

Cell tester fully operational since August 2012. Large bat-tery tester installed and tested. Full operation February 2013.

Main Investigator

Urs Sennhauser, Empa

Project Partners

Empa


CAN Controller Area Network

FIB Focused Ion Beam

SEM Scanning Electron Microscope

TEM Transmission Elec-tron Microscope

UPS Uninterruptible Power Supply

Investment project (in connection with the UFCEV and Cohyb proj-ects)

Figure 1 (upper left): Battery safety container.

Figure 2 (upper right): Cell tester with two 210 Li-ter safety chambers.

Figure 3 (lower left): Schematic diagram of large battery tester.

Status of project

CCEM has approved a consid-erable contribution for the pur-chase of equipment for testing and analyzing small cells (up to 5 V, 100 A/300 A) as well as large batteries used in hybrid and electric vehicles.

The large 500 kW (500 V, 1000 A) battery tester with grid feedback will be a unique facility in Switzerland for the characterization and stress testing of high power batteries used in electro-mobility (fi g-ure 3).

The battery under test is placed in a temperature controlled safety container (–30 °/+30 °C) made inert with nitrogen (fi gure 1).

Battery Test BenchBattery Test BenchAcquisition of Automated Cell and Battery Acquisition of Automated Cell and Battery Test StationsTest Stations


Scope of project

The project objectives are focused towards the understanding of fundamental degradation phenom-ena in thin fi lm solar cells and enhancement of lifetime. Degradation is due to complex mechanisms related to inherent material stability, interdiffusion across junctions and due to external infl uences such as ambient atmosphere and solar light, and depends on the type of semiconductors being used in the devices and how the solar cells are encapsulated. The way degradation processes are identi-fi ed relies on the observation of the temporal evolution of device performance and its relationship to microscopic changes in device materials and morphology. The goal of this project is to use the competences of the partners in micromorph silicon, compound semiconductors, dye sensitized and organic thin fi lm solar cells, solar cell testing and modeling to scrutinize durability of thin fi lm pho-tovoltaic (PV) devices.

A second progress meeting at CSEM Muttenz in October pro-vided an overview of the activ-ites of all the partner labora-tories. The reported progress confi rmed that all milestones were reached. This year’s high-light certainly was the DUR-SOL workshop and conference which took place in April at Empa Akademie. A prestigious panel of international speakers from academy and industry attracted more than 70 par-ticipants. Furthermore, run-ning collaborations between the partners were consolidated and additional initiatives have been launched.

Status of project

Research and development is focused on four principal modules:• Module 1: Chemical altera-

tion of the PV device com-ponents by external infl u-ence

• Module 2: Improving mor-phological stability of the PV device layers

• Moduel 3: Mechanical ef-fects of stress on device lifetime

• Module 4: Barrier proper-ties of encapsulation mate-rials

Due to the fact that outdoor fi eld testing is premature for

DURSOLDURSOLExploring and Improving Durability of Exploring and Improving Durability of Thin Film Solar CellsThin Film Solar Cells

Main Investigator

Frank Nüesch, Empa

Project Partners

Empa

EPFL

CSEM

SUPSI

ZHAW


2010–2013

Project Website

www.dursol.ch


DSSC Dye Sensitized Solar Cells

OPV Organic Photovolta-ics

PV Photovoltaic

TCO Transparent Con-ductive Oxide

Co-fi nanced by CCEM and swisselectric research

many partners, the consortium has decided that the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI) engages in building up a mea-surement setup for calibrat-ing small solar cells and mini-modules.

A meeting in Canobbio in March focused on improv-ing morphological stability of the PV device layers. Im-provements in lifetime were achieved by developing new substrate treatments, buffer layers, deposition conditions of the active semiconductors and encapsulation.

Figure 1: a. Scheme of the lift-off process and lift-off X-ray diffractogramm of the MoOX back contact of a solar cell,

showing that only MoO2 is present in the fi nished device. b. Table of the properties of molybdenum oxides. c. Crosssection scanning electron microscope picture showing the back contact of a fi nished solar cell.


• Laboratory for Functional Polymers (FP), Empa Dübendorf

• Laboratory for Thin Films and Photovoltaics (TFPV), Empa Dübendorf

• Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces (LPI), EPF Lausanne

• Photovoltaics-Laboratory (PV-Lab), EPF Lausanne

• Polymer Optoelectronics, CSEM

• Swiss Photovoltaic Mod-ule Test Centre, SUPSI

• Institute of Computa-tional Physics (ICP), ZHAW


by transient photovoltage de-cay and electrochemical im-pedance spectroscopy. These analyses allowed determining the electron lifetime variations in the TiO2 fi lm and the move-ment of the TiO2 conduction band edge during the aging process to explain changes ob-served in the devices’ Voc.

Researchers at the ZHAW In-stitute of Computational Phys-ics have advanced their nu-merical models of the various solar cell techniques being in-vestigated within the DURSOL project: DSSCs, OPVs, chal-cogenide and thin fi lm silicon solar cells. The progress was achieved within collaborations with experimental groups and laid the foundations for a bet-ter understanding of fresh and aged solar cells.

Improving morphological stability of the PV device layers



Chemical alteration of the PV device components by external infl uence

Performance measurements of state of the art CdTe solar cells before, during and after light irradiation and thermal stress-ing were performed. A new way to introduce Cu into the solar cells was proposed. Gen-erally, the lower the copper content the less pronounced is the relative degradation of fi ll factor and power conversion effi ciency.

A post-deposition hydrogen plasma treatment for single-junction and multi-junction thin fi lm Si solar cells directly on (bare) Low Pressure Chemi-cal Vapor Deposition Zinc Ox-ide (LPCVD ZnO) was investi-gated. The treatment acts at porous zones typically appear-ing when Si material is grown on rough superstrate morphol-ogy.

The effect of hygroscopic con-ductive polymer buffer layers (PEDOT) on degradation of polymer solar cells exposed to water vapor was revealed. Re-placing this layer with inorgan-ic oxide layers such as MoOX

provides clear amelioration in device lifetime under exposure to ambient atmosphere. The performance and stability of cyanine dye-C60 heterojunction solar cells were investigated both in the regular and the in-verted deposition sequence of device layers.

The stability of dye sensitized solar cells measured under one sun conditions at 60 °C and at 80 °C in dark was monitored. The variation in the photovolta-ic parameters was investigated

MoOX layers were found to be the best back contact buffer layer for normal substrate ge-ometry CdTe solar cells. The evolution of this layer during solar cell processing was stud-ied in detail. It was found that the deposited MoO2.94 trans-formes entirely to MoO2 upon solar cell processing (fi gure 1).

The stability of amorphous Si bulk materials deposited un-der different pressure, tem-perature and hydrogen dilution regimes during plasma depo-sition have been investigat-ed. The relative light induced degradation is minimal for the

high pressure plasma deposi-tion process.

The stability of organic dye semiconductor solar cells was improved by inserting MoOX

buffer layers and by changing the multilayer sequence in the device architecture (inverse architecture).

Optimized devices showed un-changed performance for sev-eral months of storage in inert atmosphere. First tests under light exposure at room tem-perature showed unchanged behavior for several days.

Mechanical effects of stress on device lifetime

A compressive shear test method was designed to char-acterize adhesion of standard PV encapsulants. For all en-capsulants except ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), adhesion degraded after damp-heat treatment.

A data acquisition system for mechanical module stress test system was accomplished.

Barrier properties of encapsulation materials

A review and comparison of the available methods at PV-Lab for the spatial assessment of moisture diffusion along PV modules was established (fi g-ure 2).


Main achievements and outreach

mini modules and small so-lar cells (SUPSI).

◦ A compressive shear test experiment was designed to characterize the adhe-sion of standard PV encap-sulant materials such as PVB, EVA, Tectosil on glass substrates (EPFL- PVlab).

• Several collaborations be-tween project partners have been triggered in 2012:◦ LPI-EPFL collaborated with

ZHAW-ICP on the simula-tion and modeling of small amplitude transient and impedance spectra in DSS-Cs.

◦ LPI-EPFL has been work-ing with CSEM to increase device performance using expertise in light manage-ment.

◦ SUPSI offered calibration of reference cells used by the partners.

◦ CSEM performed Ca tests on encapsulation test de-vices.

◦ CSEM encapsulated Empa-FP solar cells used for light-soaking studies at elevated temperatures.

◦ ZHAW-ICP has performed transient current experi-ments on various solar cell devices.

• Results were communicated in form of publications and conference contributions.

• Workshop «Durability of Thin Film Solar Cells – Status and Assessment» took place at Empa Akademie on 4.4.2012.

• Michael Grätzel was honored with the «swisselectric re-search award 2012» (fi gure 3).


Figure 3: M. Grätzel (right) is hon-ored with the «swisselec-tric research award 2012» (September 2012, Tech-nopark Zurich).

the dark and inert atmo-sphere of several months. A record power conversion effi ciency of 3.75 % was reached for such devices. Light soaking left the effi -ciency unchanged for sev-eral days (Empa FP).

• Aging of dye sensitized so-lar cells using ionic liquids and sulfolane at full sunlight soak-ing and at a temperature of 80 °C induces degradation that increases the recombination process of electrons in the TiO2

semiconductor and the redox electrolyte (EPFL-LPI).

• Transient photocurrent ex-periments in conjunction with numerical device modeling re-vealed an effective hole mobil-ity of 0.35 cm2/Vs in CIGS thin fi lm solar cells (ZHAW-ICP and Empa-TFP).

• New equipment has been in-stalled and was already used:◦ The mechanical stressing

test for fl exible devices and modules now has a fully operative acquisition sys-tem and software (SUPSI).

◦ An MPPT 3000 standard so-lar cell tester was adapted for the measurement of

Figure 2: Water content as a function of exposure time to damp-heat conditions as obtained from analysis of local FTIR spectra measured in a 10x10 cm2 glass/PVB/glass sample. The different col-ors refer to different posi-tions from the sample edg-es and the curve relates to a fi tting to a Fickian 2D model with a diffusion co-effi cient of 1.3*10-6cm2s-1.

• Important work was carried out on interface layers used in thin fi lm PV technologies:◦ The Cu content in CdTe so-

lar cells was studied in de-tail and a new method to introduce small concentra-tions of copper ameliorated stability under light induced and thermal stressing. In-troduction of a new MoOX

back contact buffer layer in addition to the new cop-per doping method allowed to achieve a record power conversion effi ciency of 12.04 % (Empa, TFPV).

◦ Annealing and hydrogen plasma treatments of fresh amorphous silicon devices considerably enhances de-vice stability as revealed by 40 days of ambient storage in the dark (EPFL, PV-Lab).

◦ In organic dye semiconduc-tor cells and polymer solar cells, MoOX buffer layers provide much better de-vice stability than conduc-tive polymer buffer layers (CSEM and Empa FP). If additionally the deposi-tion sequence of the mul-tilayer structure of the device is inverted, devices based on cyanine dyes proved storage lifetimes in


Scope of project

Energy storage technologies are critical enabling technologies and particularly important for the de-velopment of advanced, fuel-effi cient, light- and heavy-duty vehicles. Battery technology is identi-fi ed to hold a key role. Only a few battery technologies are commercially viable on a large scale and all of them have limitations compared to the demands of the transportation application.

The overall objective of this project is therefore to develop a prototype cost-effective lithium-ion high energy and high power battery technology up to the level of a single cell, with electrode perfor-mances well beyond the current state-of-the-art, with automotive applications (hybrid vehicles and electric traction) as target area. This will be achieved by innovative synthesis and design of radically improved electrode materials and by optimizing kinetics and stability through nanostructuring of all electroactive materials and components.

WP 2: Electrode formu-lation

Graphene was proven a criti-cal additive to enhance the electronic conductivity of the positive electrode. A simple method to form a composite of graphene and active material was developed. The resulting electrodes contain less than 10 % graphene by weight. The obtained practical specifi c charge matches the theoretical specifi c charge of the active material.

WP 3: Silicon

A new Si-C composite material for the negative electrode was developed. The process com-prises few steps and is very cost effective. Bulk quantities of materials can be easily pro-

Status of project

The project FAMSADI aims for advances not only in the bat-tery materials, but also the control of production param-eters to allow for effi cient pro-duction as well as the reliability and safety of the end products while keeping an eye on the

FAMSADIFAMSADISwiss High Energy Density Batteries – Swiss High Energy Density Batteries – From Advanced Materials to a Safe DeviceFrom Advanced Materials to a Safe Device

Main Investigator

Reinhard Nesper, ETHZ

Project Partners

ETHZ

Empa

PSI


2012–2014


DFT Density Functional Theory


LCI Life Cycle Inventory

WP Work Package

XRD X-Ray Diffraction


WP 1: Vanadates

Work package 1 focuses on the chosen positive electrode ma-terial and targets a deeper un-derstanding in both the lithium intercalation-related energy storage mechanism and the degradation mechanisms in the battery. The crystal struc-ture of the chemically lithiated material is currently being solved using the collected X-ray diffraction (XRD) and neu-tron diffraction data. Several lithium sites have already been found. Solid state 7Li-MAS-NMR was also shown to be a useful method to characterize the materials with different lithium content. The main pa-rameters governing the cycling stability have been identifi ed and the corresponding solu-tions are in implementation.

sustainability of the whole. The work packages (WP) are in very different states of ad-vancement. The materials WPs are hard at work, the safety and sustainability WPs are gathering information in prep-aration of materials results.

duced by scaling up the infra-structure.

WP 4: Oxynitrides and N-doping

Nitrogen doping and nitrida-tion attempts on the positive electrode material using con-ventional methods failed so far. The reaction conditions were found to lead to signifi -cant material degradation. A new approach was designed but has yet to be tested.

WP 5: Analytics and characterization

A wide variety of methods was used to characterize both posi-tive and negative electrode materials. SEM, TEM, FT-IR, ICP-MS, DTA-TG, NMR, XRD and neutron diffraction among

Figure 1: Pouch cell design with stacked electrodes.


others are continuously giving insights into material proper-ties and compositions. A series of structural DFT models of the lithiated phases of the positive electrode material were com-puted and optimized.

WP 6: Scale up and optimisation

Water-soluble and environ-mentally friendly binders were tested successfully and need to be implemented in the com-posite electrode developed in WP 2 to reach optimal perfor-mances. An aqueous electrode manufacturing process is a key step in the overall cost optimi-zation process.

A simpler synthesis route for the positive electrode material starting from cheap chemicals (<40 CHF/kg) was developed and is currently used by all project partners.

WP 7: Prototyping

The pouch cell type with stacked electrodes (fi gure 1) was chosen as the most suit-able design to maximize both energy density and rate capa-bility, the critical requirements of an automotive battery. The following features lead to this decision:1. Simpler fabrication, less

problems of manufacturing tolerances.

2. Current distribution in the current collector is more homogeneous.

3. Mechanical stress on the inner windings of the elec-trodes can exacerbate de-lamination.

WP 8: Cell testing

The technical specifi cations of the prototype cells will be compared to commercial cells as described in table 1.

WP 9: Reliability and safety

Standardization bodies such as IEC, ISO, UN, UL, SAE, IEEE, etc. have been searched for standards concerning the as-sessment of performance, re-liability and safety for lithium rechargeable cells for the pro-pulsion of electric vehicles. The relevant standards have been procured or purchased.

A 6-channel cell tester (5 V, 100 to 300 A) is operational since February 2012. Two tem-perature chambers with safety

features for cell testing were delivered August 2012 and are currently operational.

WP10: Life Cycle As-sessment

For the life cycle assessment (LCA), the approach was to start with detailing the proj-ect plan according to recent developments in the LCA com-munity. Several papers on en-vironmental impacts of Li-ion battery production have been published in the last few years, applying either bottom-up (process driven, e.g. Notter et al., 2010) or top-down («black box» company data, e.g. Zack-risson et al., 2010) inventory modeling approaches for the energy consumption in the battery production phase. The case of Li-ion batteries there-fore appears to be well suited to assess how the decision of the modeling approach affects the results.

A bottom-up life cycle inven-tory (LCI) for the FAMSADI battery and for one or more reference technologies (bat-tery types potentially substi-tuted by the FAMSADI battery) will be provided (fi gure 2), and these inventories compared to top-down industry data avail-able from literature. The fol-lowing questions will be an-swered: What are differences in drawing system boundaries (possible to determine)? Can we «fi t» the system boundar-ies? Can we explain the re-maining differences in results? For the interpretation of the results a special focus will be laid on the issue of resource consumption, which will allow covering another relevant is-sue currently discussed in the LCA community.

Table 1: List of cell testing parametersNo ITEM VALUE REMARK

1 Rated Capacity Ah (Ampere∙hour)

[email protected] C [email protected] C

2 Nominal Voltage Volt

3 End of Discharge Volt

4 Max. Charge Voltage Volt

5 Max. Cont. Charge Current Ampere CC-CV charging is required, end condition: 0.05 C or 5 hr, 23 ±3 °C

6 Max. Cont. Discharge Current Ampere

7 Operation Temperature Range Charge and Discharge

@60 ±25 % R.H.

8 Storage Temperature Range 1 Year, 3 Month, 1 Week

@60 ±25 % R.H. SOC 50 ±5 %

9 Weight gram

10 Cell dimension mm ∙ mm ∙ mm Except for tab length

FAMSADIFAMSADISwiss High Energy Density Batteries – Swiss High Energy Density Batteries – From Advanced Materials to a Safe DeviceFrom Advanced Materials to a Safe Device

Figure 2 (below): Simplifi ed LCI structure from Notter et al. (2010). Main adaptations (see numbers in fi gure):① better defi nition of functionality; ② dry air instead of ni-trogen atmosphere, poly-ethylene envelope coated with Al (or multilayered), ethylene carbonate partly substituted by DEC, CMC, EMC, additional vacuum drying; ③ –; ④ either pure polypropyl-ene foil, or trilayer; ⑤ binder 50 % replaced by CMC, carbon black 50 % replaced by graphite; ⑥ active material LiMn2O4 replaced by LFP respec-tively NMC, NMP as solvent instead of water, binder replaced by PVDF, carbon black 50 % replaced by graphite; ⑦ new processes for NMC and LFP


Scope of project

The increasing energy and especially electricity demand as well as restricted resources and envi-ronmental impact in terms of CO2 emissions make it necessary to develop energy technologies & strategies for an effi cient energy production. Towards this, the multi-disciplinary HITTEC consortium is focusing on the development of a novel high temperature thermoelectric converter (TEC) module operated at about 900 °C. Such modules will be applied as integrated devices in a 1 kW solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system for a combined heat and power supply: the Hexis Galileo 1000 N. The fi nal prototype of this hybrid technology will realize a substantial increase in the power to heat ratio and therefore for the electrical effi ciency. Waste heat, usually used to prepare domestic hot water, is then directly converted into additional and highly valuable electricity.

Status of project

HITTEC is a 4 years project co-funded by CCEM and SFOE and started just recently in June 2012. This project is initiated within the strategic partner-ship between Empa and Hexis in the fi eld of SOFC.

The HITTEC consortium con-sists of the leading experts in the fi elds of TEC and SOFC and comprises 6 groups from fun-damental research to applied sciences as well as an indus-trial partner to succeed with this idea.

To realize such an ambitious application as the intended SOFC-TEC hybrid system, proj-

HITTECHITTECHigh Temperature Thermoelectric Converters High Temperature Thermoelectric Converters for Electricity Generation in a SOFC System for Electricity Generation in a SOFC System

Main Investigator

Andre Heel, Empa

Project Partners

Empa

EPFL

ETHZ

ZHAW

CNRS


2012–2015


SOFC Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

SPS Spark Plasma Sin-tering

TEC Thermo Electric Converter

WP Work Package

ect partners are organized in 4 well-defi ned work packages, each addressing key aspects of the fi nal project aim. With re-spect to this, the contributing institutions are organized in the following work packages:

• WP1: Development of a high temperature TEC (Empa, ETHZ, EPFL, CNRS)

• WP2: Modelling of TEC properties & design guide-lines (ZHAW)

• WP3: Contacting & module testing (Empa)

• WP4: Implementation & demonstration of the TEC module in a Galileo 1000 N (Empa, Hexis).

The long-term goal is the ap-plication of an oxide based thermoelectric module, which is operated in environmental air and up to 1200 K on the hot side. The «cold side» of the TEC module will be established by an available preheated air fl ow with a temperature of about 600 °C, which is used as oxygen source for the fuel cell. By applying a ΔT of less than 300 K, a specifi c power output for the TEC module of 75 mW/cm2 is aimed for, what corresponds to an overall pow-er output of about 100 W per SOFC system: an increase of 10 % in the electrical effi ciency of the system.

Co-fi nanced by CCEM and Swiss Federal Offi ce of Energy (SFOE)

Figure 1: Modelled temperature dis-tribution and gradients within a Galileo 1000 N system. These data are derived in the SOF-CH ESC project and are used as in-put for the TEC multi-phys-ics model.


Development of a high temperature TEC

In this WP Empa-SSCC fo-cuses on the development of perovskite-type oxides (ABO3) as well as EPFL LPMC on titania (TiO2) materials, whose prop-erties can easily be modifi ed in a controlled manner by varying elemental ratios or elemental substitution. For both, n- & p-type materials, structural de-sign, theoretical prediction of thermoelectric characteristics

thereof, as well as synthesis, processing and application of these materials as TEC mod-ules are the key aspects.

Compositions mentioned above are preferably prepared by soft chemistry methods, since more attractive thermoelec-tric properties were observed. Especially the smaller crystal-lite size causes a lower lattice thermal conductivity without negative infl uence on other thermoelectricity determining

Major partners

• Solid State Chemistry & Catalysis (SSCC), Empa Dübendorf

• Laboratory of Physics of Complex Matter (LPCM), EPF Lausanne

• Institute for Theoretical Physics (ITP), ETH Zu-rich

• Institute of Computa-tional Physics (ICP), ZHAW

• Laboratoire de Cristal-lographie et Science des Materiaux (CRISMAT), CNRS Caen, France

Figure 1

Fuel

cell s

tack


properties. In the fi rst project phase, n-type calcium manga-nese perovskites are evaluated by co-substitution of elements with higher atomic weights. This results in a higher velocity of sound and in turn in a lower thermal conductivity.

The complementary compu-tational approach for the pre-diction of Seebeck coeffi cient is carried out from ETHZ-ITP by solving Boltzmann equa-tion, containing information about heat and charge trans-port. It was shown, that de-tails of the band structure can play a crucial role for transport properties including Seebeck coeffi cient. The developed nu-merical method has proved its

worth. Seebeck coef-fi cient of complex and realistic materials like La2-XSrxCuO4 can be calculated; therefore, the thermopower can be predicted as func-tion of non-trivial band structures of the materials.

Later on, subsequent to the modelling of design recommenda-tions, CRNS-CRISMAT will apply innovative processing and manu-facturing approaches like spark plasma sin-tering (SPS) for an optimised and effec-tive design on a TEC module level.

Modelling of TEC prop-erties & design guide-lines

On a module level, strate-gies for an effective TEC per-formance are developed at ZHAW-ICP for the later inte-gration into the SOFC system. A special focus is set on de-sign, structure and geometric aspects for the thermoelectric converter (fi gure 1).

An initial multi-physics model is developed which solves the coupled system of heat con-duction and Poisson equations. The model returns the spa-tially resolved profi les for the temperature, electric poten-tial and current density within the thermocouples. Based on the current reference ma-terials, CaMn0.98Nb0.02O3 and La1.98Sr0.02CuO4 from WP 1 (fi g-ure 2), the performance and effi ciency of the module is cal-culated as function of operation conditions in the SOFC system. Performance data from the new test rig in WP 3 are cur-rently used to adapt the model for the calculation of Seebeck coeffi cient, thermal conductiv-ity and electric resistivity.

Contacting & module testing

Substantial reconstruction and an update of the test rig for the TEC modules were neces-sary to allow testing proce-dures at operation tempera-tures of 900 °C without losing accuracy and reliability. The whole set-up and in particu-lar the electronic connections, the insulation concept as well as the heating and measur-ing units, together with the heat fl ux needed to be modi-

fi ed or even replaced by new concepts (fi gure 3). Additional heat shields were integrated to reduce radiation losses, so that the setup is ready to measure modules with a contact area of up to 75 x 75 mm2.

Implementation & demonstration of the TEC module in a Gali-leo 1000 N

This activity becomes not rel-evant before year 3, when the novel thermoelectric materials have proven their performance according to the project aims. In co-operation with the indus-trial partner, their SOFC sys-tem (fi gure 4) is constructively modifi ed to allow the integra-tion of the novel TEC modules. In the fi nal year, these TECs are integrated and operated in the Hexis Galileo 1000 N SOFC system under realistic opera-tion conditions to prove the concept and to perform with the intended power output.

Figure 3 (below): Thermopower and elec-trical conductivity set-up operating in the 300 to 1200 K range.

Figure 4 (right): The Hexis SOFC-based Gal-ileo 1000 N system in the recently published 2013 design.

HITTECHITTECHigh Temperature Thermoelectric Converters High Temperature Thermoelectric Converters for Electricity Generation in a SOFC System for Electricity Generation in a SOFC System

Figure 2: Outgoing from convention-al 4-leg test modules for evaluation of new materi-als (left) a routine for the manufacturing of improved 20-leg TEC modules with an increased power output is set up (right).

Figure 4


PINEPINEPlatform for Innovative Nuclear FuelsPlatform for Innovative Nuclear Fuels

Scope of project

The CCEM program «Platform for Innovative Fuels (PINE)» aims for a simplifi ed nuclear fuel pro-duction method and fuel type for the implementation of a closed nuclear fuel cycle, with its better resource utilization and nuclear waste reduction. This requires the fuel inclusion of highly active isotopes (minor actinides) being created during the fuel usage in reactor, with the advantage of fi s-sioning and reducing them in the next reactor cycle. Consequently, the fuel production faces a much increased activity calling for the optimization and simplifi cation studied here. The project addresses the fuel production, the new fuel type infl uence onto reactor physics and its reprocessing aspects. The production aspects concentrate on the development of the method with surrogate materials and only in a follow-up project, real fuel will be produced.


ity dimensions are validated. The model has been used in re-verse to calculate the needed microwave power for drop ge-lation, being tested fi rst with water and later applied to the feed solution.

Droplets temperature measurement

In the case of water, the tem-perature has been recorded by means of a thermocouple and the model has been validated. This method is suitable to ob-tain relative information on the heating of the drops with minimal equipment but shows a high uncertainty because of the heat loss going to the ther-mocouple holder and the ther-mocouple itself.

To exclude this uncertainty a contactless measurement method is investigated: a 500 μs response pyrometer will be able to record temperatures above 30 °C in the laboratory. This non contact technique will provide a continuous and non destructive measurement of the drops. Finally, because of the convective loss to the air, the measured temperature

Main Investigator

M.A. Pouchon, PSI

Project Partners

PSI

Empa

EPFL

ETHZ

Universitat Politècnica de València


2008–2013


HMTA Hexamethylenetet-ramine

XRD X-Ray Diffraction

Status of project

The project is in its end phase. The neutronics aspect plus the fuel cycle integration have been fi nalized in the last re-ports. In this year’s report the microwave heating aspects plus the fuel kernel formation are covered. Next year the fi -nal report will additionally de-scribe the kernel sintering.

In the microwave internal gelation process, one of the main challenges is an instan-taneous heating of a feed so-lution. A temperature increase of 80 K has to be carried out during ca. 100 ms free fall of feed solution droplets through a microwave cavity. The heat-ing causes a solidifi cation of the drops resulting in the fi -nal nuclear fuel particles, later fi lled into the cladding. As the heating is critical in the pro-duction task, a lot of emphasis is put onto the modeling of the microwave fi elds, the energy coupling to the drops, and the cooling by the environment. A model and a validation has been developed, allowing the optimization of the process parameters, and fi nally sur-rogate fuel kernels have been produced. In the following sec-tions these achievements are shortly described.

Thermal Modeling

A previously developed ther-mal model has been improved allowing a more realistic cal-culation: the model now also calculates the microwave power absorbed by the drops. With this dissipated power the temperature increase is deter-mined; accordingly, the cav-

Figure 1: Measured temperature of a 2.2 mm diameter water drop after its fall through the heating cavity.


PINEPINEPlatform for Innovative Nuclear FuelsPlatform for Innovative Nuclear Fuels

depends on the time between which the drop leaves the cav-ity and the time its tempera-ture is measured (fi gure 1).

Cerium drops

In the case of gelling solution the aging aspect of the drop, after it has left the microwave cavity, is very important, be-cause the gelation reaction was experimentally identifi ed to require ca. 200 ms to com-pletely occur. If the cerium drops are collected too early (i.e. closer than 100 cm from the cavity,) the drops are not completely gelled and the so-lution dissolves in the washing bath. Analytical and experi-mental works give the gela-tion temperature (80 °C) with around 150 W input power. In case of the feed solution (HMTA Ce based solution) gel-ated spheres have been pro-duced. The spheres are consis-tent during production. Given the successful green sphere production results, the calcina-tion and sintering of the sam-ple is going to be investigated. Calcination is essential given the high amount of urea used

in the solution (urea/metal molar ratio = 3). In the hotlab, the weight change of the batch before and after calcination as well as X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns will provide valuable information on the purity of the fi nal spheres (fi gure 2).

Transfer to a glove-box

Although the current tests are carried out with an inactive surrogate, the equipment is chosen and installed in a way as close as possible to the fi -nal production unit where actinides will be handled. To prevent contamination of the environment, all the instru-ments directly in contact with the broth have to be placed in a sealed environment. There-fore, the transfer of the pro-duction unit into a glovebox is being studied. Since the part being transferred into the glovebox is going to be con-taminated and is subject to later active disposal, it shall be minimized. Also, maintenance is much longer and more dif-fi cult when the device is inside the glovebox.

The cooling unit will be placed in an inactive glovebox and samples of cooling fl uid will be regularly analysed to check any contamination of the cir-cuit.

Concerning the microwave equipment, only the cavity and one waveguide will be placed in the glove-box. All the other components remain well ac-cessible and inactive outside the box. A sapphire window is being tested. It will be placed on a wall and will let the micro-wave enter the glovebox. The effect of this transmission win-dow must be minimal as far as safety and heating effi ciency are concerned.

To enhance the safety of the operator, the operations must be remotely performed. To do so, all the mechanic, elec-tronic and electric components are chosen to be centrally controlled from a computer. A computer interface tool is foreseen to turn on/off the unit and tune each parameter sep-arately (fi gure 3).

Figure 3: General set-up of the pro-duction unit as foreseen when dealing with active samples.

Figure 2: Photograph of the spheres as collected after gelation.

41CCEM – Annual Activity Report 2012 Electricity 41

SwissKitePowerSwissKitePowerNovel Wind Extraction TechnologyNovel Wind Extraction Technology

Scope of project

The SwissKitePower project is a multidisciplinary research and development effort aimed at creat-ing a totally new device which can harness wind energy at high altitudes. The winds at altitude are stronger and more consistent than those at the ground and represent an enormous potential source of renewable energy. During the course of the project, an innovative new kite has been developed at Empa which can effi ciently convert the kinetic energy of the wind into mechanical power and eventually wholesale electricity. In order to test these new kites in the real world, the researchers at the FHNW have developed a mobile testing platform. Later on, this kite test bench will also allow the development and testing of new estimator and controller designs from the Automatic Control Laboratories at both ETH and EPFL, aimed at keeping the kite fl ying autonomously in the most chal-lenging wind conditions.

These developments will continue for the next years through the Autonomous Airborne Wind Energy (A2WE) Project, funded by an SNSF Sinergia Grant and led by Professor Colin Jones of EPFL and Professor Roy Smith of ETH. With a vision of what a commercial kite power system will look like, the team is now working to set up a follow-up pilot and demonstration project. Aimed at showing the usability of kite power, a machine in the order of 50 kW will be installed and connected to the grid in Switzerland.

Main Investigator

Corey Houle, FHNW

Rolf Luchsinger, Empa

Project Partners

FHNW

Empa

ETHZ

Alstom Switzerland AG


2011–2014

Project Website

www.swisskitepower.ch

Status and main scientifi c results of workgroups

taken form over the past year and is the result of extensive design, simulation and testing efforts (fi gures 3 and 4).

Built around a stiff yet light-weight Tensairity® beam, this new twing represents signifi -cant improvements in aero-dynamic effi ciency, structural rigidity and expected lifetime over conventional kite de-signs. The twing is controlled from the ground by changing the relative lengths of the two lines, resulting in a rolling in-put.

The advantage of this concept is that both steering lines are heavily loaded which minimiz-es the steering delays present in other ground based steering concepts. In addition, the two line redundancy helps to maxi-mize the safety of the system. An actuator on the tail controls the pitch of the twing, allow-ing for effi cient retraction and an overall maximization of ef-fi ciency.

In the area of automatic con-trol, the ETH group has com-pleted a very successful col-laboration with the University of California in Santa Barbara (UCSB) and has added another excellent researcher, Lorenzo Fagiano, to their team. During the course of a 1 year project funded by the California En-ergy Commission, multi-hour autonomous fl ight was dem-onstrated using a novel fl ight controller (fi gures 5 and 6).

Building on this success, the fl ight controller will be inte-grated into the FHNW kite test

During the second year of the project, the SwissKitePower group has made signifi cant advances towards developing a fully functioning kite power system. From a technology standpoint, there has been a conceptual shift away from a single-lined, pod-based sys-tem architecture which was demonstrated in 2011, to-wards a multi-lined system actuated from the ground. This new approach necessitated a signifi cant upgrade of FHNW’s kite test bench including the addition of two more winches and a powerful real-time con-troller. The test bench shown in fi gures 1 and 2 is now ex-tremely fl exible and can be used to fl y kites with 1, 2 or even 3 lines.

This conceptual change was made for a number of rea-sons, but primarily to allow for the testing of Empa’s new wing concept which is fl own on two lines. This new «tethered-wing» or «twing» for short has

Figures 1 and 2 (left): FHNW – Kite Test Bench.

Figures 3 and 4 (right): Empa – «Twing» kite.

Co-fi nanced by CCEM and Swiss Federal Offi ce of Energy (SFOE)


bench and adapted to fl y Em-pa’s twings.

The economic case for kite power has also advanced sig-nifi cantly over the past year with the analysis of model wind data from Meteo Swiss. Figure 7 shows the ratio of av-erage wind speed between 150 and 30 m above ground for the entire year of 2008. Focusing on the Jura region of Switzer-land, a particularly promising area for wind energy, sites

which wouldn’t be economical for turbines at 30m would be in fact excellent sites for kite systems operating at 150m (fi gure 8).

Based on the results of this re-source analysis as well as an in depth market study of the wind energy industry, a vision of a fi rst commercial kite pow-er system has emerged. Oper-ating at heights below 150m to avoid airspace restrictions, a small machine in the order

of 50kW could be economical in regions with suffi cient feed-in tariffs, such as Switzerland. To access a steady fl ow of en-ergy, the twing will pull cables out from a ground based gen-erator, feeding clean electricity into the grid. Due to the spe-cial aerodynamic properties and sophisticated control soft-ware the twing can be recov-ered with minimum energy to allow the cycle to repeat, earn-ing revenues for the customer (fi gure 9).

Figures 5 and 6: University of California, Santa Barbara – multi-hour autonomous fl ight using a novel fl ight controller.

Figures 7 and 8: Analysis of model wind data from Meteo Swiss.

Figure 9: Kite power system.

SwissKitePowerSwissKitePowerNovel Wind Extraction TechnologyNovel Wind Extraction Technology


HydroNet 2HydroNet 2Modern Methodologies for the Design, Manufactur-Modern Methodologies for the Design, Manufactur-

ing and Operation of Pumped Storage Power Plants ing and Operation of Pumped Storage Power Plants

Main Investigator

Mohamed Farhat, EPFL

Project Partners

EPFL

Empa

Eawag

HSLU

HES-SO


2012–2011

Project Website

http://hydronet.epfl .ch

Final report

The HydroNet project aims to improve the design, manufacturing and operation of pumped storage power plants. Thanks to its multidisciplinary consortium, the project involves hydrodynamic, elec-tricity, civil engineering and environmental issues with a focus on a joined strategy for non-intrusive monitoring of hydropower plants.

Monitoring and simula-tion of sand erosion

Task 2: The issue of sand ero-sion remains a challenging task for turbine designers, es-pecially for high head Pelton turbines.

A new approach has been de-veloped for the simulation of granular fl ows using fi nite par-ticle method (FPM), which is based on Taylor’s series expan-sion, coupled with smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH). A re-meshing technique is also developed to reinitialize par-ticles positions at regular in-tervals by interpolation onto a regular grid.

Our simulation approach is suitable for both internal and free-surface fl ows. A simpli-fi ed case study was selected for validation, which was per-formed successfully on EPFL Blue Gene/P. It consists of a 2D inviscid and steady jet im-pinging on a fl at plate at differ-ent angles. The results of the simulation are found in a good agreement with the analytical solution (fi gure 1). The simula-tion approach is being used to investigate more realistic case studies, involving Pelton tur-bines.


has been set up made of a 2D Naca0009 hydrofoil mounted in the test section of the EPFL cavitation tunnel with adjust-able gap. A measurement campaign involving stereo par-ticle image velocimetry (PIV) for the survey of the 3D ve-locity fi eld is being performed (fi gure 2).

Preliminary results reveal that the vortex trajectory is strongly affected by the clear-ance size. The smaller the gap, the more the vortex is pulled away from the profi le. Another observation is the change in the angle of the vortex once


CTD Conductivity, Tem-perature, Depth

LDV Laser Doppler Velo-cimetry

PIV Particle Image Velocimetry

Figure 2: Left: Stereo PIV setup in the cavitation tunnel. Right: Snapshots of the velocity and vorticity fi elds for different gap widths. Snapshots cover only 35 mm of the total tunnel height of 150 mm.

Figure 3: Side view of cavitating tip leakage vortex generated by a Naca0009 for differ-ent gap widths

Tip vortex cavitation in axial turbines

Experiments

Task 3A: The tip vortex, which may develop in the gap be-tween rotor and stator of axial turbines, is still a major issue in hydropower generation. Flow instabilities that can de-velop in such vertical struc-tures associated with a risk of cavitation occurrence may lead to severe erosion and prema-ture cracks of impeller blades.

To address this issue, a simpli-fi ed experimental case study


Figure 1: Pressure distribution and free-surface of a 2D invis-cid water jet impinging on a fl at plate at 45° incidence angle.


Figure 4: Left: Vortex breakdown in a Francis turbine model at part load conditions. Right: Spiral vortex break-down reproduced in EPFL cavitation tunnel with a sphere placed downstream of an elliptic hydrofoil.

it leaves the hydrofoil trailing edge. The amount of cavitation in the vortex core illustrates a change in vortex strength along the chord (fi gure 3).

When evolving downstream of axial turbine blades, tip vortices may undergo a spec-tacular breakdown due to ad-verse pressure gradient. It is not clear yet how vortex breakdown infl uences the hy-drodynamic performances. To address this issue, a specifi c confi guration has been devel-oped in the cavitation tunnel. A longitudinal vortex is gener-ated by an elliptical foil placed upstream to a spherical obsta-cle. As the vortex approaches the obstacle, it becomes un-stable (fi gure 4). Laser Dop-pler velocimetry (LDV) mea-surements reveal an absolute instability region at the break-down location. Analytical de-velopments are underway.

CFD modeling

Task 3B: Despite a progress achieved in highly parallel-ized solvers and modeling of turbulence and cavitation, the numerical simulation of tip leakage vortex in axial tur-bine is still inaccurate. We have conducted preliminary computations of non cavitat-ing tip vortex with OpenFOAM and CFX solvers using various RANS turbulence models. The case study is similar to the one described above: A 2D Naca 0009 hydrofoil. Both numerical

solvers performed well in cap-turing the main features of a non cavitating tip vortex. Com-parisons with experimental measurements are in progress for three confi gurations. We in-tend to pursue with highly re-solved simulations using Large Eddy simulations.

Numerical simula-tion of rotating stall in pump turbines

Task 4: Reversible pump-tur-bines are very adaptable in the electricity market since they can be switched between pump and turbine operation within a few minutes. The emphasis on the design of the more sensi-tive pump fl ow however often leads to stability problems in no load or turbine brake op-eration. Thus, unstable char-acteristics provoking hydraulic system oscillations may occur. The cause can be found in ei-ther stationary or rotating fl ow separation within rotor and stator. The design rules for sta-ble pump turbines were devel-oped and realized for the fi rst time by the industrial partner. Field tests showed stable be-havior of the runner.

The detailed planning of the new test rig for 4 quadrant measurements could be car-ried out. A new model of a pump turbine with low spe-cifi c speed will be tested. It is a challenging task to delay at this specifi c speed the forma-tion of blocking vortices.

Hydropower design under uncertainties

Task 5A: The design of hydro-power plants is determined by long-term forecasts, which are uncertain and risky. The grow-ing investment from private sector requires control and limitation of risks. Real Option Analysis, Robust Design and Adaptive Operation are prom-ising approaches to manage uncertainties of hydropower projects. It is intended to de-velop and incorporate these methods into the design pro-cess and apply them to real projects. An energy production model (EPM) is being devel-oped to simulate energy pro-duction and reservoir level of a stand-alone hydropower plant for a 50 years period. More-over, a virtual model is being developed to test the different approaches. The typical case represents a high-head run-off hydropower scheme in the Swiss Alps. The Minimax-Re-gret approach was also applied and analyzed. The method is found transparent and may easily fi t into a traditional en-gineering process.

Pressurized shafts and tunnels

Task 5B: With the growing demand of electricity supply, hydropower industry is facing technical challenges due to frequent starts and stops. As a consequence, pressurized wa-terway schemes are subjected




to severe hydraulic transients. We address this issue by re-viewing the design criteria and developing a non-intrusive and real time monitoring strategy. A radial symmetrical multi-layer approach is adopted with the hypothesis of isotropic be-havior of the liner. Static and linear analysis is conducted by numerical modeling. Cracks are modeled with a discrete approach in backfi ll concrete and in near-fi eld rock mass, in order to not transmit tensile stresses. We focus on internal pressure effect, thereby ma-terials do not have mass and there is no in situ stress fi eld. The model was successfully validated in isotropic rock. Be-sides, empirical correction fac-tors have been defi ned to take into account anisotropic rock mass behavior and to enable the estimation of stresses at specifi c locations in the steel liner in the quasi-static case with analytical approaches (fi gure 5).

Non-intrusive monitor-ing of pumped storage power plants

Task 6A: Wireless sensor net-work is a promising monitor-ing technology that reduces the costs and simplifi es the monitoring process for end users. Since wireless sensor networks are battery powered, an effi cient use of energy re-sources is essential to be com-petitive. A generic analog front end, made of a signal condi-tioning and 24 bits digitizer, was designed, implemented and tested. The front end sup-ports sensors with voltage output, resistive sensors and Wheatstone bridge sensors. It features confi gurable signal amplifi cation from 1 to 128.

The maximum sampling rate is 470 Hz. The front end allows confi guring the power con-sumption and thus the effec-tive resolution depth. A special circuitry for cold junction com-pensation has been included to allow for temperature mea-surement with thermocouples. It can be switched ON and OFF thus supporting a duty cycle or event based operation mode, which reduces the average power consumption. Success-ful tests were done.

Network layout optimization is another promising approach which is investigated for fur-ther energy saving. An energy consumption model based on a discrete-event simulation of the network is developed. That is, the specifi c usage of the sensing hardware, CPU and radio transceiver of each node is simulated based on the application source code. This

approach allows achieving an accurate and individual esti-mation of the power consump-tion of each network node.

Real time monitoring

Task 6B: The objective of this task is to develop and test an advanced monitoring system based on real-time monitoring simulation (RTMS) on an exist-ing hydroelectric power plant.

The concept consists in operat-ing in real-time a well validat-ed simulation model of a hy-droelectric power plant taking into account system boundary conditions directly measured on site to simulate the dynam-ic behavior of the power plant. The model of the power plant is implemented in SIMSEN soft-ware (fi gure 6). The electric part of the plant is constituted by a synchronous generator connected to the grid and to



Figure 5: Example of a deformed shape computed with AN-SYS of a system composed by a steel liner, cracked backfi ll concrete, cracked near-fi eld rock and intact far-fi eld rock.




a load through a transformer. Different circuit-breakers en-able simulating different cases depending on the type of dis-turbance to be simulated. The hydraulic part includes two reservoirs, a surge tank, a gal-lery, a penstock, and a Francis turbine. Two valves control the fl ow rate. The validation of the simulation model is underway using a test bench where the turbine is emulated by a DC motor. By controlling the cur-rent of the DC motor, and thus its torque, it is possible to im-pose a torque shape of the tur-bine. A comparison between measured electrical quantities and simulation will validate the electric part of the plant.

Review on hydropower and pumped-storage technology

Task 6C: The hydropower and pumped storage technologies are reviewed at national and

international levels. A detailed analysis of various key reports was performed. It provides a broad description of the ac-tual hydropower sector and its outlook in Switzerland, Europe and the rest of the world. It clearly shows the major play-ers and the trend of hydropow-er development and provides comparison with other electric energy sources, mainly ther-mal, wind and solar. It shows how pump-storage facilities offer a new interesting option to transform existing storage plants into pumped-storage ones, especially in the case of melting glaciers which may be replaced by new dammed reservoirs. It also shows that the development of potential hydropower in Switzerland is likely limited to an annual additional contribution below 5 TWh. However, it is of funda-mental importance to strongly foster this development in coming years, in order to meet

the ambitious objectives re-cently set by the Federal Coun-cil and Parliament.

Prediction methods for sedimentation in pumped storage plants

Task 7: The investigations of sedimentation issue in storage plants led to four fi eld cam-paigns in the three main KWO reservoirs Oberaarsee, Grim-selsee and Räterichsbodensee from July to November 2012. Measurements involved tur-bidity, temperature (CTD pro-fi ling) and the spectra of the surface refl ectance. Accord-ing to the initial plan, we have carried out refl ectance mea-surements with the help of a Portable Spectroradiometer ASD FieldSpec3. The spec-trum of the water-leaving light is directly related to particles concentration, which absorb and scatter incident light. The experimental values of refl ec-tance will be soon compared with simulated refl ectance values (using HYDROLIGHT software). In addition, satel-lite images of the Grimsel area will be checked for availabil-ity and quality. The discussed achievements are the basis for any particle retrieval algorithm based on in-situ refl ectance measurements.

Figure 6: Model of the hydroelectric power plant in SIMSEN.

Heat & BuildHeat & Buildingsings

49CCEM – Annual Activity Report 2012 Heat & Buildings

AQUASARAQUASARDirect Re-use of Waste Heat Direct Re-use of Waste Heat from Liquid-Cooled Supercomputersfrom Liquid-Cooled Supercomputers

Final report

The project aimed at addressing the energy effi ciency and carbon foot print of information technol-ogy industry (supercomputing and data centers) using a holistic, multi-faceted approach. The proj-ect achieved a major milestone in this ambitious endeavor by building and thoroughly investigating the world’s fi rst working prototype of a hot water cooled supercomputer AQUASAR with signifi cantly enhanced energy effi ciency through elimination of air cooling and related chillers as well as reuse of the waste heat. In comparison to current air cooled systems, the energy consumption of a liquid cooled system is reduced by two third. The approach introduces a major departure in the way com-puters and data centers will be built in the future. Additional signifi cant specifi c achievements from the project include developing effi cient electronic cooling strategies using phase changing liquids and developing novel metrics and algorithms for energy aware computing using data centers.

ETHZ (LTNT) – Data center facility

thoroughly tested to evaluate its energy (fi gure 1a) and ex-ergy (fi gure 1b) effi ciency. An experimental setup was built at IBM-Research to investigate the performance of individual heat sinks, which is also rel-evant for future improvements in such systems. The results of both test setups were used to create a new metric to improve the understanding of the value of heat generated by data cen-ters (fi gure 1c).

Main Investigator

Dimos Poulikakos, ETHZ

Project Partners

EPFL

ETHZ

IBM


2008–2012


APU Accelerated Pro-cessing Units


CPU Central Processing Unit

ERE Energy Reuse Ef-fectiveness

GPU Graphics Processing Unit

HPC High Performance Computer

ICT Information and Communication Technology

MPI Message Passing Interface

M2P Mesh-to-Particle

NUMA Non-Uniform Mem-ory Architecture

PUE Power Usage Ef-fectiveness


The cooling technology de-veloped within this project is already in use in a general purpose data center called SuperMUC in Munich (Ger-many). The goal is to establish hot water cooling as the norm for high and low performance computing.

The reduction of the thermal resistance as a key element of this technology will lead to embedded liquid cooling sin-gle chips and 3D chip stacks. Eliminating the need for air cooling through ex-pansion of the cool-ing technology to other components such as the power supplies, storage servers etc. will sig-nifi cantly increase the overall energy effi ciency. These zero-emission data centers will have a major impact on the carbon footprint of the ICT industry.

Figure 1: a) Power consumed and re-

covered in the hot water cooled data center. The negative power results from heat losses to the am-bient.

b) Exergy at different positions in the hot water cooled part of the AQUASAR system.

c) Value of heat for different applications.

Experiments

The data center facility at ETH Zurich was engineered to al-low direct coupling of the gen-erated waste heat to the ETH heating grid while guarantee-ing safe operation.

The captured heat of the AQUASAR system is continu-ously delivered at temperature levels above 60 °C. The hot water cooled prototype was


• Laboratory of Thermo-dynamics in Emerging Technologies (LTNT), ETH Zurich

• IBM Research Zurich• Laboratory of Heat and

Mass Transfer (LTCM), EPFL

• Computational Science & Engineering Laboratory (CSE Lab), ETH Zurich

50 CCEM – Annual Activity Report 2012Heat & Buildings

The milestone 10, which am-bitiously targeted 100% heat recovery from the data center was unachievable in the AQUA-SAR prototype due to inevita-ble heat losses. A revised new goal was set to maximize the heat recovery. For a cooling water temperature of 60 °C, over 80 % recovery effi ciency was achieved using an im-proved system insulation. All other experimental milestones concerning the AQUASAR sys-tem were reached.

Modeling

CFD modeling and experimen-tal analysis for a hot water cooled unit system was pur-sued through a hierarchical ap-proach (fi gure 2a). A detailed conjugate heat transfer mod-el for the current AQUASAR heat sink was formulated and used for local and global exer-getic analysis to identify main sources of exergy destruction. A methodology was developed to achieve optimal operating conditions for a liquid cooled

heat sink by achieving trade-off between high exergetic ef-fi ciency of heat recovery and high thermal reliability of chips being cooled (fi gure 2b).

Both, high temperatures and high temperature gradients, are a major concern in cur-

kilogram CO2 per kWh). In addition, about 80 % of the power dissipated in the blades is fed as thermal energy into the ETH Zurich’s building heat-ing system. The effective en-ergy effi ciency, when including the directly utilized thermal energy, is about 1.1 Gigafl ops per Watt (i.e. 7.9 Terafl op per gram CO2 – heat generation: 0.5 kilogram CO2 per kWh).

The energy effi ciency for data centers is assessed using stan-dard metrics such as the power usage effectiveness (PUE) and the energy reuse effectiveness (ERE) (fi gure 3b). The AQUA-SAR system shows signifi cant improvements over the litera-ture values of these metrics for a common air cooled data cen-ter. The system was operating for over 30 months at tem-peratures above 60 °C demon-strating a similar reliability to an air cooled data center with minor replacements such as one gear pump and one QS22 PowerXCell BladeCenter.

A scale up system called Su-perMUC based on hot water cooling technology invented for the AQUASAR system has been built in Munich, Germany. SuperMUC is IBM’s fi rst com-mercial hot water cooled iDat-aPlex cluster with a peak per-


Figure 2: a) Hierarchical approach for analysis of hot water cooled system performance. b) Determination of opti-mal operating conditions for liquid cooled heat sink (inlet temperature Tf,in and fl ow rate). The locus of the optimum condition at each fl ow rate is also indicated.c) Optmization of micro-channel structure to mini-mize maximum tempera-ture difference across the chip (∆Tmax).

IBM Research –Water cooled supercomputer AQUASAR

AQUASAR is a hot water cooled data center prototype with waste heat reuse. The system consists of 33 IBM BladeCen-ter QS22 PowerXCell and 9 IBM BladeCenter HS22 Intel Nehalem equally distributed in 3 IBM BladeCenter H Chassis with 14 BladeCenters in each chassis (fi gure 3a). To compare the performances of liquid and air cooled electronic compo-nents, two BladeCenter Chas-sis were retrofi tted to enable liquid cooling while the third one remained air cooled. IBM Research developed a Graphi-cal User Interface to monitor the electrical, hydraulic, and thermal data of AQUASAR. All milestones concerning the set-up and characterization of the system have been completed.

The chip-level cooling reduced the thermal resistance be-tween the processor and the water to the extent that even cooling water temperatures of up to 60 °C ensure that the operating temperatures of the processors remain well below the maximally allowed 85 °C.

The system achieves a perfor-mance of six Terafl ops and has an energy effi ciency of about 450 Megafl ops per Watt (i.e. 3.2 Terafl op per gram CO2 – electricity generation EU: 0.5

rent thermal reliability issues. A heat transfer architecture adapted to hot-spots in elec-tronic chips has been devel-oped to minimize chip level temperature gradients (fi gure 2c). Milestone 15 was altered to include these efforts to re-duce thermal stress.

a)

b) c)


formance of 3 PFlops making it the fastest general purpose supercomputer in Europe in June 2012. It is also the most energy effi cient high end HPC system with 40 % less energy consumption compared to air cooled systems and 90 % re-covery of the waste heat.

The thermal losses due to forced convection to the air have to be minimized in order to increase the heat recovery effi ciency beyond the above mentioned 90 %.

A new cooling solution based on full immersion in dielec-tric fl uid of the power supplies was developed to eliminate the need for additional air fl ow in the supercomputer racks. Moreover this cooling approach allows the power supply to be linked to the main cooling loop for the blades. Therefore, the heat from the power supplies is also recovered and available for reuse. Milestone 10 was updated to include these addi-

EPFL (LTCM) –Hybrid two-phase experimental facility

trolled focusing on the poten-tial for energy recovery, i.e. higher temperature meaning higher economic value for the waste heat recovered. In summary, the workgroup:a. developed a steady state

simulation code for on-chip cooling systems (sin-gle-phase and two-phase fl ows);

b. designed, assembled and experimentally evaluated three different concepts of cooling systems in a hybrid test bench;

c. developed several potential control strategies to guar-antee micro-evaporators (MEs) performance with pseudo-chips temperatures lower than the maximum limit (85 °C) and different condensing temperatures;

d. tested steady state, tran-sient, uniform and non-uniform heat loads on the two parallel pseudo-chip/ME assemblies and un-der controlled conditions (mimicking the clock speed of HPC);

e. developed performance maps of the three cycles considering especially cool-ing cycle and heat recovery effi ciencies;

f. conducted numerical and experimental overall ener-getic and exergetic analysis for the entire system and by component (character-ized the main bottlenecks of each system);


Figure 3: a) Hot water cooled pro-type data center AQUA-SAR. b) Data center metrics de-scribing energy effi ciency with (ERE) and without (PUE) energy reuse. Es-sentially, the lower these metrics the better the per-formance.

A two-phase on-chip cooling hybrid test bench able to eval-uate the thermal performance of 3 different concepts (con-fi gurations) of cooling systems to be applied on HPCs of data centers was designed, built and experimentally evaluated. Two «identical» and parallel pseudo-chip/micro-evaporator assemblies were tested mim-icking the operation of a real blade (QS22 IBM blade). Sim-plifi ed control strategies were developed to guarantee stable and low level of chips’ temper-ature (lower than the limit of 85 °C).

Additionally, the condensing temperature was also con-

tional efforts. With immersion cooled power supplies, the overall recovery of compute servers can reach the original 100 % recovery target, albeit

at a lower coolant temperature of 45 ºC. On a datacenter level including storage and com-munication equipment, 95 % recovery ratios are reachable.


g. developed transient simu-lation code for the liquid pumped two-phase cooling system with preliminary validation.

The two-phase on-chip cooling proved to be effi cient, effec-tive, controllable, reliable and highly energy effi cient under conditions of steady state, transient (dynamic thermal load changes), uniform and non-uniform heat loads on the

two parallel pseudo-chip/ME assemblies. When compared with single-phase cooling, a factor of 5 in pumping power reduction was experimentally and nu-merically observed.

Figures 4 show the ex-perimental test bench built at the LTCM/EPFL lab and a simplifi ed re-sult of dynamic control. For the latter, a peri-odic change (changes for each 1.4 s) of heat load on the two paral-lel pseudo-chips was

evaluated and proved to be ef-fi ciently managed (controlled) by the cooling system. A maxi-mum variation of only 1.5 °C

• At the core layer, which corresponds to the CPU cores and performs the computation, we perform manual vectorization of the computational kernels as well as data and computa-tion reordering.

• At the node layer, which corresponds to a compute node or a NUMA node, we implemented NUMA aware multithreading.

• At the cluster layer, which enables the software to run on a full computing cluster, MPI was used and the com-munication costs could be partially hidden by overlap-ping the exchange of data between processes with computation.

Figure 5 shows an impressive example for the performance of our solver for a fl uid dynam-ics simulation related to anoth-er project.

The energy consumption in computers is, in general, not proportional to their perfor-mance. We were motivated to address this issue, i.e. to develop a program capable of making the best use of re-sources to improve its perfor-mance, while at the same time being more energy effi cient.

The above presented software largely satisfi es the require-ments of milestone M9.

Figures 4: a) Experimental facility. b) Example of dynamic heat load changes evalu-ation (emulates a fast change in the microproces-sors clock speed).

Figure 5: An example simulation showing the density fi eld of a shock-bubble interaction at Mach 3 on a computational grid of 4096x1024x1024 elements. This result is not related to project AQUASAR.

ETHZ (CSE Lab) – Power consumption analysis

A series of performance stud-ies for the mesh-to-particle problem was conducted on different computing architec-tures, including CPUs, GPUs and APUs. The energy ef-fi ciency of the M2P problem was analyzed on the plat-forms considered based on their thermal design power. The APU was a clear winner (1.2 GFLOP/s/W), followed by GPUs (>0.5 GFLOP/s). The M2P operator was also used to implement the fi nite-time Ly-apunov exponent method.

We developed a state-of-the-art compressible fl ow simula-tion framework on a regular grid capable of achieving an unprecedented 30 % of the peak performance on a cluster (Cray XE6 Monte Rosa at Swiss National Supercomputing Cen-tre), where other compressible fl ow solvers barely reach 10 % of the peak performance.

The accomplishment was made possible by the use the roofl ine model to guide the de-velopment process of the solv-er. In the planning stage, the roofl ine helped us in the choice of the numerical scheme and memory layout, whereas in the optimization phase, the model was used to assess the validity and pertinence of the optimi-zation techniques used.

Optimizations were carried out at different layers of the solver:

was observed in the chips’ temperatures for a periodic heat load variation of about 15 W.



SuRHiBSuRHiBSustainable Renovation of Historical Sustainable Renovation of Historical BuildingsBuildings

Main Investigator

Jan Carmeliet, ETHZ

Project Partners

Empa

EPFL

ETHZ

BFH

SUPSI


2009–2012

Final report

The CCEM-SuRHiB project aimed at improving technologies for the sustainable renovation of tra-ditional buildings. The understanding of the hygro-thermal behaviour of historical buildings is im-proved and renovation measures that allow reducing energy consumption and protecting the cultural qualities of such buildings have been developed. The investigations included the analysis of tradi-tional constructions and materials. The expected impact of the climate change has been investigated by combined heat and moisture simulations. The technology development was focused on a novel type of highly insulating render and optimized internal insulation systems. Several demonstration buildings have already been insulated with the new type of render.


cur. Relatively good data was found relating to future tem-perature increase but fore-casts on fu-ture precipitation and wind directions are more diffi cult (fi gure 2).

Moisture damage risk assessment

The data on future climate and the material properties collected from historic build-ing materials were used for detailed heat and moisture simulations and risk analysis. The simulations have shown that the type of external ren-der plays an important role for the hygrothermal behavior of the building envelope. If water is prevented from entering the structure, moisture content re-mains low as well as damage risk. But if the render absorbs water, moisture is transported through the structure and can accumulate over time.

Especially if internal insula-tion is applied as retrofi t so-lution, the moisture content

Climate load aspects

Historical buildings often suffer from moisture damages due to uncontrolled humidity and rain exposure. Rain water is absorbed by exposed façades. But insulation measures may hinder the drying process of the wall and lead to new dam-age risks.

In addition, future climate con-ditions with an increased rain load could create further dam-age potential.

Data from various research groups using different climate

models (Euro-pean ENSEM-BLES project, ETHZ-IAC and Royal Nether-lands Meteo-rological In-stitute) have been used to predict the expected cli-mate change that might oc-

Historical buildings characterisation

Construction methods and building materials used for tra-ditional buildings have been characterised by the ETHZ «Institute of Historic Building Research and Conservation».

The analysis shows that the traditional building stock is very heterogeneous and does not allow standardised reno-vation concepts (fi gure 1). A series of buildings were ana-lysed. Construction details of walls, ceilings and windows were documented and de-scribed and material samples (e.g. brick, plaster) were col-lected and characterized.

The collected data was used for the hygro-thermal long-term heat and moisture simu-lations.

Figure 2: Precipitation – monthly mean of a 10 years pe-riod: Measured data (1991–2000) and gener-ated data (2051–2060). The «shifted» data rep-resent the most probable scenario, based on ENSEM-BLES yearly data and ETHZ monthly distribution.

Figure 1: The construction of historical buildings is often complex.


VIP Vacuum Insulation Panels


of internal layers may increase. It is essential to consider the moisture trans-port properties of the insulation in order to reduce damage risks. Simulations high-light increased saturation values in the innermost brick layer of the outside wall if a vapour tight in-

sulation layer such as Vacuum Insulation Panels (VIP) is ap-plied. In contrast, the intro-duction of a vapour open ma-terial like the newly developed aerogel render resulted in low saturation values (fi gure 3).

The intersection between a wood beam and the building envelope was also studied. The results show that the pres-ence of the air gap of about 10 mm between wood beam and masonry decreases risky conditions signifi cantly. 2-di-mensional simulations have

shown that water absorbing external renders and vapor tight internal insulation like VIP create increased moisture contents and accelerate the wood rotting process whereas the vapor open internal insula-tion with aerogel render and a water tight external render are decreasing the risk effectively.

Highly insulating light weight plaster

Based on these simulation re-sults a new type of a highly insulating render system was developed. The use of aerogel particles as main ingredient al-lowed the optimisation of the properties of the render espe-cially for the renovation of his-torical buildings.

The fi rst rendering samples that were produced at Empa achieved an excellent thermal insulation. However, large size spray tests done by the in-dustrial partner showed that the aerogel particles are frag-ile and partially destroyed by the high pressure and sheer

forces in the spray-ing pumps. The recipe and mixing processes had to be improved in or-der to allow spray-ing application of the rendering. At the same time the thermal conduc-tivity, the vapour permeation, the avoidance of crack-ing and the spray-ing process was optimized. An opti-mized mixture was found that can be applied by spraying machines and that guarantees a ther-

mal conductivity of 29 mW/(m·K). The solution found is now being patented.

During 2012 three pilot ap-plications in Winterthur, Sis-sach (fi gure 4), and Dübendorf were successfully realized. All three buildings are historical buildings that required a care-ful renovation of the façades. Data loggers for temperature and relative humidity were in-stalled and are now continu-ously monitored by Empa.

This new and effi cient way to renovate historic buildings was presented during a media con-ference end of 2012 and its market introduction was an-nounced. The aerogel render-ing is distributed from January 2013 under the name «Fixit F 222».

Moisture buffering system

In parallel to the aerogel ren-dering development, also new types of moisture buffering materials were investigated. They avoid moisture accumu-lation at critical areas in the construction. Free liquid water is rapidly absorbed, distrib-uted and evaporated. The ap-plication of these hygroscopic moisture buffering products will improve the indoor climate and reduce the variations in in-door relative humidity and the risk of local condensation and mould growth. It will be dis-tributed on the Swiss and Ger-man market.

Internal insulation systems

Historical façades may not al-ways be insulated from out-side. Internal insulation is of-


Figure 3: Degree of saturation in a brick wall without insula-tion, with aerogel render and with Vacuum Insula-tion Panels.

Figure 4: Historical building dating from the 14th century that was renovated in Sissach (BL) with aerogel render in close corporation with the monument preservation authorities.


ten the only way for thermal improvement. However, it is risky and can damage his-torical structures. The Berner Fachhochschule in Biel (BFH-AHB) investigated new con-cepts and adapted rules for internal insulation. Damage criteria were compiled for high moisture content in walls, for frost damage of the outer brick wall layer, and for condensation behind new insulation layers. Effi cient and reliable solutions were developed (fi gure 5) that improve the energy perfor-mance of the building envelope and the thermal comfort, mak-ing sure that the construction won’t be damaged by moisture or by mold growth.

Various new solutions for in-ternal insulation systems have been developed by industry partners and Empa. The sys-tems include new types of capillary active EPS and PUR foam, multilayer aerogel mats and vacuum insulation panels. Test walls were built, which al-low the testing of the internal insulation systems in weather-ing chambers. Each wall was fi rst measured without insu-lation (status before retrofi t) and with internal insulation (status after retrofi t). The test walls have been exposed to changing climatic conditions like rain, frost, and sunshine.

Internal climate con-trol

In addition to systems simula-tion and development, also the potential of advanced room control strategies has been studied by EPFL-LESO-PB and Empa. The investigation has clearly shown that the rain load on exposed façades is the dominant factor. A good

rain protection is the best measure to prevent high moisture contents and moisture dam-ages in these walls. An outside render with low capillary absorption is im-portant in order to reduce water ab-sorption and a va-pour open insulation – such as aerogel render – is advan-tageous for vapour transport and dry-ing of the wall.

On the other hand, the infl u-ence of space conditioning is rather limited. Optimised tem-perature and ventilation con-trol can considerably reduce energy consumption but not signifi cantly reduce moisture accumulation in the construc-tion.

Solar energy devices

Besides optimal building oper-ation also the potential for re-newable energy use was considered. If the energy savings potential of histori-cal buildings is lim-ited, the possibili-ties for covering the energy demand by solar energy should be considered.

The technical imple-mentation of solar devices is probably not the main issue. More critical is the architectural inte-gration of these ele-ments in a sensitive historical context. The investigation


done by SUPSI concentrated therefore on the development of architectural guidelines for the integration of solar tech-nologies in buildings and spe-cifi cally in historical construc-tions.

A procedure for solar energy integration in historical build-ings with different roof shapes was proposed and the oppor-tunities and diffi culties of solar applications are presented in case studies (fi gure 6).

Figure 5: Catalogue example of typi-cal thermal bridge with construction details for renovation measures.

Figure 6: Good solar integration in an historical context is of-ten a challenging task and creates extra costs: Sub-station of Electricité de France (EDF) built in 1929 and converted into an «In-dustrial Hotel» for start-up companies (123 kWP).


Figure 3: Annual space cooling de-mands of an offi ce building in street canyons of dif-ferent aspect ratios, and for different modelling ap-proaches: – radiation exchange only, – convective heat transfer

coeffi cients (CHTCs) ac-cording fl ow simulation,

– urban heat island (UHI) effect.

UMEMUMEMUrban Multiscale Energy ModellingUrban Multiscale Energy ModellingSustainable cities and urban energy systems of the futureSustainable cities and urban energy systems of the future

Figure 1 (left): Example of self-regulating energy adaptation of a city quarter comprising build-ings of different energy standards.

Scope of activities

Nowadays, a major part of the fi nal energy consumption is due to buildings and cities. For the future, we have to fi nd new concepts of planning sustainable energy conversion, storage, distribution and management on city quarter scale. Buildings become interconnected and are harvesting, exchang-ing and storing energy, with the objective city blocks or quarters to become energy self-regulating, minimizing the additional supply from regional or national energy systems and thus substantially de-centralizing the energy sector (fi gure 1). In this project, we develop building and city energy design and analysis models and link them in a multiscale approach with urban microclimate as well as traffi c and occupancy models (fi gure 2). We analyse possible designs of existing neighbourhoods towards energy self-regulating communities by a decentralized energy adaptation concept, considering also urban heat islands and climatic change scenarios.

First results

The procedures and a fi rst case are defi ned to model an urban building block with computa-tional fl uid dynamics (CFD) and then transfer heat fl ux and air temperature results to the city energy simulation (CES) model. First concepts were also discussed and pre-pared regarding building rep-resentation and data exchange between the CES model and the building energy simulation (BES) model.

Important results stem also from the projects related to this CCEM project.

In the project «Urban climate and energy demand on build-ings» (funded in the frame of the Swiss Federal Offi ce of En-

cepts for interfacing and linking these models, and on different concepts for the modeling of the urban microclimate.

The test cases are defi ned: Zernez as a small village, a city quarter in Geneva and a building cluster in Singapore in a hot humid climate.

The CCEM project started in late 2012. The project is or-ganized in four work packages (WP) which are closely linked together (fi gure 2).

First focus is on enabling the exchange of knowledge be-tween the different models considered in this project, on the development of fi rst con-

Figure 2 (right): Structure of the project topics with an overview of the different scales and do-mains, the different mod-els to be adapted and the respective interfaces to be developed, as well as the scopes of the work pack-ages 1 to 3.


BES Building Energy Simulation

BIM Building Informa-tion Modeling

CES City Energy Simula-tion


DPV Design Performance Viewer

UMC Urban Microclimate

WP Work Package


Main Investigator

Jan Carmeliet, ETHZ

Project Partners

ETHZ

EPFL

Empa

BG Consulting Engineers


2012–2015


ergy) the impact of urban mi-croclimate (UMC) on the build-ing space heating and cooling demand could be demonstrat-ed in detail for buildings in street canyon confi gurations.

The different aspects of the urban microclimate were con-sidered, namely the radiation exchange between buildings, the convective heat transfer adapted to the local fl ow and air temperature conditions (as determined by CFD), and the urban heat island effect (fi g-ure 3). The CFD simulations for buoyant fl ows in street can-yons were validated by wind tunnel measurements.

The analysis showed that ur-ban phenomena have an im-portant infl uence on energy demand and have to be taken into account; multiple radiative refl ections in street canyons

and the urban heat island lead to lower heating demands, but much higher cooling loads.

In the frame of the EU Cli-mate-KiC «Smart Urban Adapt (SUA)» project, concepts for urban microclimate models are established for the integration into interactive urban planning tools. Concepts and results of this project will form valuable input also to this CCEM proj-ect.

WP 1: Microclimate model-ling

The aim of WP 1 is the model-ling of the urban climate at dif-ferent scales: 1. in and above street can-

yons; 2. urban building block con-

fi gurations; 3. real city quarter; 4. urban scale.

Figure 4: The link from meteoro-logical mesoscale models to the urban microclimate model (UMC) for the situ-ation around building clus-ters.

Figure 5 (left): Screen shot of the Design Performance Viewer model.

Figure 6 (right): Screenshot of irradiation simulation results using CitySim.


Results from level 1 are avail-able (see fi gure 3). Present work of microclimate model-ling focuses on levels 2 and 3. Different approaches for the urban microclimate model and concepts for respective inter-faces between the UMC model and the CES model CitySim are developed and evaluated. First interfacing approaches to ur-ban heat island and mesoscale meteorological models (such as COSMO) are discussed (fi g-ure 4).

WP 2: Urban buildings and energy systems

The aims of this work pack-age are building information modeling (BIM) based building descriptions and the linking of the BES model Design Perfor-mance Viewer (DPV) (fi gure 5) with the CES model CitySim (fi gure 6) and, based on WP 1



work, with the urban micro-climate model. So far, fi rst concepts for the interfaces be-tween CitySim and DPV have been developed.

Further aims of this work pack-age are the advancement of the CitySim development, the integration of models for re-newable energy systems, and of models for heat and electric storage and for heat and elec-tric district networks. Model-ling efforts focus on compo-nents, buildings and building clusters (fi gure 7). Moreover, models of solar thermal, geo-thermal, thermal storage and wind turbine will be incorpo-rated into CitySim to enhance its capability to compute de-centralised energy supply.

WP 3: Urban energy and re-source fl ow modeling

The aim of this work pack-age is to develop an occupant activity model for residential buildings and further extend it to non-residential buildings, and later link it also to traffi c resource fl ow models.

The stochastic occupant’s ac-tivity models will be developed to investigate the impact on the building energy consump-tion regarding the use of 1. lights and shading, 2. general electrical appli-

ances and 3. windows.

The occupant model can be used to predict the energy us-

age in the building, which can help to dispatch the energy supply accordingly. Here, data from the industrial partners will be used to calibrate the model.

WP 4: Urban energy sce-nario evaluations

This fi nal work package aims at integrating the diverse de-velopments made within the previous work packages in order to develop and analyze concrete urban energy retrofi t concepts for an existing city (fi gure 8).

Three tentative case studies have been chosen: Singapore, Geneva and Zernez. The prog-ress on these cases will de-pend on the data available.

Concepts for energy scenario development are developed for both the urban application cases of EPFL with industry partner BG, as well as for the work performed for the CTI «Zernez Energia 2020» proj-ect. In relation to the Zernez project, data of all buildings are fi led and can be used for community energy simulations using CitySim.

Figure 8: Urban retrofi t situation (photo V. Dorer).

Figure 7: Modelling efforts span from energy components over individual buildings to ur-ban neighbourhoods and quarters, where buildings are interconnected by mi-cro-grids.


Main Investigator

Christophe Ballif, EPFL

Project Partners

EPFL

Empa

ETHZ


2010–2013



a-Si Amorphous Silicon

BIPV Building Integrated Photovoltaics

PCT Patent Cooperation Treaty

PP Polypropylene

PV Photovoltaic

PVB Polyvinyl Butyral

PVC Polyvinyl Chloride

PV/T Photovoltaic/Ther-mal-Collector

ARCHINSOLARARCHINSOLARUnique and Innovative Solution of Thin Unique and Innovative Solution of Thin Silicon-Film Modules Building-IntegrationSilicon-Film Modules Building-Integration

good energetic performances of the coating (losses lower than 15 %). New designs of high performance have been identifi ed by computer simula-tion, described in a Patent Co-operation Treaty (PCT) appli-cation. In parallel, alternative front structures, obtained by chemical etching of commer-cial textured glass have been developed. Photographs of a selection of the most interest-ing ones are shown in fi gure 2.

Modifying color by chang-ing encapsulation material

To produce terra-cotta like PV modules, another approach has been based on the en-capsulation process. This procedure has recently been published in a patent. The terra-cotta like color matches exactly the orange color of a selected Braas tile (one of the most installed tiles in Switzer-land). A fi rst series of these

Scope of project

The Archinsolar project aims to develop a new generation of photovoltaic (PV) elements based on silicon thin fi lms technology (amorphous and micromorphous), ultra-reliable and manufacturable at a very low cost, allowing a unique architectural integration, respectful of the built environment, landscape and traditions. The objectives of the work carried out by the different research partners have been focused on the development of 3 main products:


of the coating has been high-lighted (fi gure 1).

Interferential fi lters

Therefore new simulations have been performed in order to improve the color angular stability while preserving the

• full size (110 x 130 cm) thin fi lm based colored modules (orange – terra-cotta).

• solar tiles (110 x 43 cm) with an innovative multifunctional com-posite back structure.

• PV/T collectors, with a colored PV module.


• Photovoltaics and Thin Film Electronics Labora-tory (PV-LAB), EPF Lau-sanne

• Solar Energy and Build-ing Physics Laboratory (LESO), EPF Lausanne

• Laboratory of Polymer and Composite Technol-ogy (LTC), EPF Lausanne

• Laboratory for Building Science and Technology (LBST), Empa Dübendorf

• Institute for Technology in Architecture, Building System Group, ETH Zu-rich

Terra-cotta like PV modules

Figure 1 (above): Orange glass panes laminated on real-size PV mod-ules (1.10 x 1.30 m2) on which strong angular dependency of the color is observed.

Figure 2 (below): Alternative front structures. Commercial textured glass on the left and same glass treated by chemical etching and combined with an orange colored fi lter on the right.

Beginning of 2012, the fi rst generation of orange thin fi lms have been industrially pro-duced on large glass panes and laminated to real-size (1.10 x 1.30 m) PV a-Si mod-ules. The feasibility of the con-cept has been proven but the lack of angular color stability


modules (fi gure 3) will be pro-duced by a thin fi lm company in January 2013 and further installed as demonstrator on the roof of a public monument in the city center of Neuchâtel. More information on this dem-onstration site will be given in the fi nal report of the project.

Architectural integra-tion and design

A real-size mock-up roof has been constructed at PV-Lab (fi gure 4), combining real Tegalit tiles and the new pro-totypes produced. This instal-lation allowed to confi rm the validity of the global concept, but showed some limitations of the prototype. Some im-provements in the design were needed.

Archinsolar solar tile

Therefore, a new design has been proposed keeping the main characteristics of the fi rst prototype regarding general dimensions and compatibility, but including several improve-ments such as:• better colored glass area

covering;• actual thickness of the tile

at all four sides;• adapted surfaces for better

positioning and support on the wooden beams;

• rounded edges for easier manufacturing and hands protection;

• special slots for fi xation screws and washers.

In 2012 the cost and life cycle assessment of the alternative composite backing solutions of the Archinsolar tile initiated in 2011 was completed. A new thermoplastic composite ma-terial and a novel direct inte-grated molding process were introduced as cost-effective solutions to produce solar tiles fully compatible with building integrated PV. A small series of PV module tile demonstrators was produced.

The cost and environmen-tal analyses were focused on the production of the solar tile (size: 114 cm x 52 cm, ac-tive part: 110 cm x 43.3 cm, thickness: 6 mm) based on the BRAAS Schweiz AG Tegalitconcrete roof tile. Such tiles provide a peak power of 30 W.

A production of 100’000 tiles/year was considered. The pro-duction steps include:1) the raw materials produc-

tion, 2) the composite backing

manufacturing, 3) the a-Si PV glass panel pro-

duction, 4) the fi nal lamination.

Figure 5 shows the production costs of the composite back-ing for fi ve investigated sce-narios. Costs were found to be in the range of 16 to 19 CHF,

dominated by the cost of the material. The glass fi ber rein-forced polypropylene (PP) and polyvinylchloride (PVC) are the less expensive options.

To summarize, two optimal composite materials were identifi ed based on cost and environmental assessment with attention paid to compos-ite backing manufacture (Glass Mat Reinforced Thermoplastic process), PV panel production and lamination. A new com-posite material (glass fi ber reinforced PVC) with superior fi re resistance and UV stability and a novel cost effective in-tegrated process method were introduced. Five prototype tiles (power 30 W) were produced and installed on a demonstra-tion roof.

Reliability testing

Several interfaces are pres-ent in the Archinsolar module design concepts. All interfaces must be reliable in time. In or-der to test the quality of the different interfaces, adhesion tests were performed for the different encapsulants and substrates using a specifi -cally developed adhesion test based on the «Compressive-Shear Test» technique. All ad-hesion tests were performed before and after degrada-tion in damp-heat conditions (85 °C/85 %RH) for 70 h (fi g-ure 6).

PV/T collector

In Solergie buildings the local generation of low temperature heat and electricity is consid-ered as an additional primary function of the building skin. The generator is mostly situ-ated on the roof. This new in-

Figure 5 (left): Production cost (CHF) of the solar tile with the fi ve composite backing sce-narios.

Figure 6 (right): Adhesion curves obtained using compressive-shear test for interfaces in front of Archinsolar module stack. Black curves present adhesion of clear polyvinyl butyral (PVBc) on glass while red curves present adhesion of clear PVB to colored fi lter (CF). Both re-sults before (plain curves) and after (dashed curves) degradation in damp-heat conditions are given.


Figure 3 (above): Terra-cotta like modules using a special encapsula-tion strategy.

Figure 4 (below): Demonstration roof with the Archinsolar tiles com-bined with the traditional Tegalit tiles from Braas.



terpretation of roofs infl uences the architectural design on different scales: building ele-ment, building, community or city. Considering formal issues, the PV/T is the most sensible element in the system because it is visible from outside and it is placed on the most essential part of a house.

The roof integration of a com-bined photovoltaic and solar thermal collector, known as hybrid collector (PV/T), brings the advantages of • increased electrical perfor-

mance due to controlled cell cooling by a thermal absorber on the backside of a PV module;

• increased thermal perfor-mance due to backside in-sulation by building insula-tion material;

• higher aesthetical value.

A concept of a pre-fabricated large size roof element is be-ing elaborated (fi gure 7). The concept aims at simplifi cation of the construction by avoiding redundant layers and multi-functionality of the elements and leads to formal and con-structive coherence. The ele-ments allow a fl exible design, which is adaptable to differ-ent PV-modules (technology). Beside that the large size ele-ment also allows a fl exible ar-chitectural application due to different shapes and colors of the fi rst layer. One main goal is a more economical planning, construction and installation process.

Moisture ingress through PV modules

Airfl ow around building inte-grated photovoltaic (BIPV) has a signifi cant impact on their

hygrothermal behavior and degradation. The potential of reducing the temperature of BIPV using underneath cavity is experimentally and numeri-cally investigated in literature.

Most of the models are over-simplifi ed in terms of modeling the impact of 3D fl ow over/un-derneath of PV modules, which can result in a non-uniform surface temperature and con-sequently a nonhomogenous thermal degradation. More-over, the simultaneous pres-ence of radiation and convec-tion related to upstream wind, in addition to the combined impact of back-ventilation and surface convection, are barely addressed in literature. How-ever, these simplifi cations can result in unrealistic climate loading conditions.

Heat & mass transfer study

This study intends to under-stand the impact of simulta-neous fl ow above and under-neath of the PV modules. For this purpose, a unique experi-mental setup is developed (fi g-ure 8) including building proto-type, radiation source (solar simulator), and monitoring devices (i.e. infrared camera, thermocouples, and thermo-piles).

Employing a thermography technique and particulate im-age velocimetry (PIV), the aim of this setup is to moni-tor the surface temperature of PV modules and fl ow pattern in presence or absence of an underneath cavity exposed to various upstream wind veloci-ties and radiation intensities.

The setup includes a solar sim-ulator which is positioned in an

Figure 7 (upper): Components for building integrated, pre-fabricated large size solar roof ele-ments.

Figure 8 (middle): a) building prototype b) solar simulator c) thermocouple and ther-mopile.

Figure 9 (lower): Monitored temperature of the BIPV using infrared camera.

a) b)

c)

atmospheric wind tunnel in or-der to provide a range of vari-ous radiation intensities over the BIPV. The approaching up-stream wind is controlled in the wind tunnel. The temperatures within the underneath cav-ity and at the front side of the PV module are monitored with thermocouples and IR camera (fi gure 9), respectively.

FuelsFuels

63CCEM – Annual Activity Report 2012 Fuels

SunCHemSunCHemBio-Synthetic Natural Gas from MicroalgaeBio-Synthetic Natural Gas from Microalgae

Scope of activities

Goal of this project is to test the technical-economical feasibility and ecological viability of a new process – SunCHem – for the sustainable production of synthetic natural gas, via hydrothermal pro-cessing of microalgae. We refer to our previous reports (in CCEM Annual Activity Reports 2010 and 2011) concerning the major features and advantages of the process.

biofuels production systems based on microalgae. Pre-liminary results confi rm that an unprecedented high over-all energy-effi ciency for bio-fuel production from microal-

Selected microalgae were test-ed for their sensitivity to the effects of the metals aluminum (Al) and titanium (Ti) at trace concentrations. The microal-gae were cultivated in batch experiments under different conditions. The experiments showed that the toxic effect of metals was metal and algae specifi c. Al toxicity in the cir-cumneutral pH region is dimin-ished by the formation of in-soluble complexes in particular

Main Investigator

Christian Ludwig, PSI/EPFL

Project Partners

PSI

EPFL

Empa

HSR


2010–2014



LCI Life Cycle Inven-tory

SNG Synthetic Natural Gas

WP Work Package Status of project

After reorganizing different tasks in 2011, the project aims now to be completed at the end of 2014.

The activities are organized in 3 workpackages:WP 1 – Microalgae productionWP 2 – Hydrothermal gasifi -

cationWP 3 – Process optimization

and assessment

Activities in WP 1 involved testing the role of nutrients and impurities, reviewing effi -cient dewatering options, and evaluating options for the gen-eration of high-value products from microalgae. A highlight in 2012 was the demonstra-tion test with support of the Frauenhofer Institute in Stutt-gart and Subitec GmbH.

In WP 2 it has been shown ear-lier that the hydrothermal gas-ifi cation of microalgae is feasi-ble. However, we are currently facing severe catalyst toxifi ca-tion problems during continu-ous gasifi cation of microalgae. In parallel of setting up a mo-bile plant for hydrothermal gasifi cation in a container, the in-depth investigations of the catalysts’ performance be-came most important.

The goal of WP 3 is the devel-opment of a comprehensive process system analysis and design framework for the as-sessment of 3rd generation

gae can be achieved with the SunCHem technology. But it was also shown that regional aspects need to be considered to guarantee a high environ-mental performance.


Microalgae production

In WP 1 the selection of suit-able microalgae strains and their optimal cultivation meth-ods are major tasks. This in-cludes a series of subtasks focused on screening, testing and evaluation of several algae strains, and the determination of main controlling factors and optimal parameter space af-fording a maximum, stable, cost-effi cient algae production.

Figure 1: List with suitable micro-algae strains for the later implementation in the SunCHem process.


Empa LCAM – Life Cycle Assessment and Modelling

EPFL LBE – Laboratory for Environmental Biotechnology

LENI – Labora-tory for Industrial Energy Systems

BPE – Bioenergy and Energy Plan-ning Research Group

HSR UMTEC – Institute for Environmental and Process Engi-neering

PSI CPM – Chemi-cal Processes and Materials Research Group

CPE – Catalytic Process Engineer-ing Group

64 CCEM – Annual Activity Report 2012Fuels

with phosphate. Conversely, at alkaline conditions, the Al hy-droxides had a negative effect on algae growth.

In collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute IGB and its spin-off company Subitec GmbH, a preliminary test was performed on the feasibility of growing microalgae in close to real-life situations, similar to those encountered in the SunCHem process, using an effi cient biomass production system with the nutrient-rich effl uent from the hydrothermal step.

In a key preliminary experi-ment, the feasibility was dem-onstrated of growing micro-algae in a 5 l, fl at panel airlift (FPA) photobioreactor system using the nutrient-rich effl uent from the hydrothermal step.

Five microalgal species, 2 ma-rine and 3 freshwater, were pre-selected to be tested (fi g-ure 1). Experiments were per-formed to analyze the effect of different culture conditions on the biomass production and accumulation of metabolites. Regarding to the production and extraction of carotenoids, the effects of different condi-tions of pressurized liquid ex-traction using the biomass of Scenedesmus vacuolatus and Chlorella vulgaris were investi-gated. The energetic potential of the remained biomass after pigment extraction has been evaluated.

Additional research has been conducted in relation to the co-culture of microalgal species and fi lamentous fungi since the formation of large pellets should make biomass harvest-ing easier and cheaper.

Hydrothermal conver-sion of algae to meth-ane

WP 2 deals with the hydro-thermal conversion of the al-gal biomass to a methane-rich gas.

Signifi cant progress was made in catalyst synthesis and char-acterization. PSI-CPE screened eight different micro-/mesopo-rous carbon support materials and assessed their hydrother-mal stability at 420 °C, 35 MPa for up to 10 h. The most promising support was further treated chemically and ther-mally and impregnated with different loadings of ruthenium to produce an active catalyst. Its activity and stability was tested using glycerol and ace-tic acid as model compounds in a catalyst test bench.

The catalysts produced in-house were less active and less stable than the reference material, a Ru/C catalyst from BASF. However, also the ref-erence catalyst was found to deactivate at very high space velocities. The reasons for the deactivation are not fully un-derstood and need to be in-vestigated further. To increase catalyst lifetime, an adsorber will be placed as «sulfur trap» upstream of the reactor. Sev-eral sulfur-adsorbing materials are currently tested in a con-tinuous test rig under hydro-thermal conditions.

The design of the mobile con-tainer plant KONTI-C was started. A design document was produced including all the parties involved in the con-struction of the test rig (for conceptual process confi gura-tion see fi gure 2).

Engineering, optimiza-tion and assessment

The activities of WP 3 in the last year were based on the mathematical models of dif-ferent cultivation systems like raceways-type open ponds and fl at panel photobioreac-tors with inputs like solar ra-diation incidence, temperature of the broth, carbon and nutri-ent availability and power con-sumption for mixing and gas injection. Moreover, models of dewatering systems are also included in the scope of this work, taking into account the most promising technologies for microalgae conditioning. Settling, dissolved air fl otation and centrifugation have been studied.

The thermo-economic optimi-zation of the microalgae-to-SNG production considering open ponds, catalytic hydro-thermal gasifi cation and prod-uct separation is carried out in order to estimate the effi ciency and the total costs of the sys-tem. The analysis shows the potential for SNG production and the dependence of the process integration on optimal system design. The energy ef-fi ciency of this process is es-timated between 56 % and 61 %, including all the energy requirements of the cultivation and dewatering process and the thermal integration of the system (fi gure 3).

The EPFL-BPE group has un-dertaken a few tasks with the ultimate aim of producing comparative life cycle analyses (LCA) of different generations of biofuels. The current status of the activities include the de-velopment of a database of re-cent publications available for


Figure 2: Mesoporous carbon-sup-ported ruthenium catalyst prepared in-house. The black dots represent the ruthenium particles with a mean diameter of ca. 1.8 nm.


LCA based on microalgae spe-cies, type of fuels, types of LCA etc., in order to investigate different pathways that have been suggested so far, from microalgae cultivation to fuels production. Subsequent work will include a general well-to-wheel life cycle analysis for the chosen pathway as well as for fossil diesel by using available LCA tools.

Empa-LCAM further focused on the development of re-gionalized life-cycle inventory (LCI) modeling, i.e. on how to link spatial information from a geographical information sys-tem (GIS) with LCI data. The method was further applied and refi ned in a biofuels proj-ect in Colombia with positive results. In addition, insights were improved into the prob-lem domain of regionalization in LCA by means of an exten-sive literature analysis of the existing work in the fi eld.

Empa-LCAM also participated and organized workshops in the context of micro-algae with the goal of eliciting the state-of-the-art in algae LCA.

Outreach

After HSR-UMTEC has fi nalized their originally planned task on dewatering of algae, addition-al funding allows to continue the work in the frame of the SunCHem project for the two coming years. The results ob-tained in the last year will be implemented.

The tests performed on nu-trient recycling were most promising and indicated that nutrient recovery is feasible without risking that the algae get toxifi ed from by-products of hydrothermal microalgae processing.

The results from WP 2 showed that catalyst toxifi cation is a severe threat for the suc-cessful implementation of the SunCHem technology. Efforts to systematically tackle these problems are therefore in-creased.

Implementation of an addi-tional sulfur capturing step in the process is planned and fundamental questions need to be tackled. In parallel the work

necessary for the demonstra-tion experiments with the mo-bile plant will be pushed.

In the last year, the SunCHem project obtained a lot of vis-ibility. New research collabo-rations were established and joint project proposals were submitted with partners in Eu-rope and Columbia.

At the SwissECS (Swiss En-ergy and Climate Summit) the SunCHem project obtained high national visibility (fi g-ure 4).


Figure 3: Conceptual microalgae-to-SNG process confi guration.

CHP Combined Heat and Power

VL Vapour

Figure 4: Prof. Christian Ludwig pre-senting the SunCHem proj-ect at SwissECS, Septem-ber 14th 2012.


Syngas DiagnosisSyngas DiagnosisOnline Diagnostics for Performance Assess-Online Diagnostics for Performance Assess-ment of Biomass Gasifi cation Processesment of Biomass Gasifi cation Processes

Main Investigator

Serge Biollaz, PSI

Project Partners

PSI


2010–2013


CFB Circulating Fluidized Bed

GC/FID Gas Chroma tog-raphy – Flame Ionization De tector

GC-ICP/MS Gas Chroma tog-raphy – Induc ti vely Coupled Plasma / Mass Spectrometry

GC/MS Gas Chromatog-raphy / Mass Spec-trometry

GC/SCD Gas Chromatog-raphy / Sulfur Chemiluminescence Detection

GQ Gas Quench

LQ Liquid quench

LoD Limit of Detection

PQ Pressure Quench

TC Temperatur Control

UV-VIS Ultraviolet–Visible Spectroscopy


Scope of project

The technological objective of this project is the development of diagnostic systems which allow monitoring of different process units within biomass gasifi cation related plants, i.e. plants which produce and/or use producer gas from biomass gasifi cation for synthesis of fuels or for electricity production. A diagnostic system corresponds to a specifi c combination of sampling systems and analytical instruments.By measuring the composition of gas streams, liquid effl uents and solid streams further optimization of process units and development of technologies are possible. In addition, it allows the validation of physico-chemical models of individual unit operations as well as of whole process chains.The developed diagnostic systems can also be applied for other thermochemical conversion pro-cesses such as pyrolysis, torrefaction or combustion as well as biochemical conversion processes. The basic knowledge on selecting the appropriate analytical instruments and the corresponding sampling systems is the same.


be fed to the individual analyti-cal instruments.

A major part of the know-how and most of the sampling sys-tems and analytical instru-ments necessary are already available at PSI. Nevertheless, further method developments and purchase of complemen-tary analytical instruments and

equipment is needed to realize and optimize a diagnostics sys-tem according to the require-ments of biomass gasifi cation processes.

Sampling is one of the keys for a robust and sensitive analy-sis of the gas streams. Prog-ress has been made for all four sampling principals, i.e. con-

An example of an analytical tool box for gas analysis is shown in fi gure 1. It consists of several sampling points and analytical instruments for on-line and offl ine measurements. With individual sampling sys-tems, gases from the sampling points are treated in a way that the generated samples (gaseous or liquid phase) can

Figure 1: PSI’s diagnostics toolbox.


about content of tars in the sampled gas.

A fraction collector automati-cally generates samples of the liquid stream for offl ine analy-sis. Measurements of liquid samples can therefore provide time resolved quantitative in-formation about tars, sulphur containing tars and other con-taminants in the sampled gas. An optional post treatment of the liquid samples allows a fur-ther increase of the concentra-tion level in the liquid.

Progress with UV-VIS measurements

One of the highlights in the re-porting period is the progress being made for UV-VIS mea-surements. In the course of the last two years a database for UV-VIS spectra for several tars and sulphur containing tars was built up. UV-VIS ab-sorbance of selected tar spe-cies are shown in fi gure 3 for the concentration of 1 mol per litre liquid. As each species has a specifi c spectra tar identifi -cation and quantifi cation might be possible.

In the reporting period several campaigns were performed

tinuous alcohol liquid quench (LQ), gas quench (GQ), pres-sure quench (PQ) and tem-perature control (TC). As a back bone of PSI’s sampling systems remains the continu-ous liquid quench system. It is a simple, reliable and robust system that allows simultane-ous real-time measurements of condensable (water, tars, sulphur containing tars, etc.) and non-condensable (H2, CO, CO2, CH4, C2H4, etc.) com-pounds in sampled gases.

By adjusting the ratio between sampled gas and quenching liquid, condensable species at low concentrations are accu-mulated in the liquid phase, improving the limit of quanti-fi cation (LoQ) of the diagnos-tic tool. In fi gure 2 the actual LQ system of PSI is shown in operation at the Technical Uni-versity of Delft for sampling the gas of a circulating fl uid-ized bed (CFB) gasifi er and the gas of a hot gas fi lter unit.

PSI’s diagnostics toolbox en-ables not only the online pro-cess control but also the quan-tifi cation of various species.

For the characterization of condensable species in the liquid stream, a variety of analytical equipment such as Gas Chromatography / Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS), Gas Chromatography / Flame Ion-ization Detector (GC/FID) or Gas Chromatography / Sulphur Chemiluminescence Detector (GC/SCD) is available.

Online density measurements can be used to determine the water content in the sampled gas. Online ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) spectroscopy pro-vides real-time information


testing the limits of UV-VIS with simulated syngas mix-tures and real gas mixtures with unknown gas composi-tion.

First results are very promis-ing. In fi gure 4 examples of measured UV-VIS spectra for one sample are shown. The sample was taken downstream of the hot gas fi lter shown in fi gure 2. The absorbance is measured in the range from 225 up to 600 nm. With the applied UV-VIS measuring device absorbance between 0.1 up to 4 can be measured. Therefore the sample has to be diluted by a factor of 20 to be able to measure the whole range with one single measurement. By this dilution UV-VIS absorbance measure-ments for higher wavelength becomes impossible. So de-pending on the concentration level to be measured, mea-surements with diluted or un-diluted samples have to be performed. An alternative to dilution is the measurement with a short measuring cell. In fi gure 5 a calculated UV-VIS spectra is shown for measured tar species. Benzene, toluene and naphthalene can easily be distinguished.

Figure 3: Calculated UV-VIS absor-bance of selected tar spe-cies.

Figure 2: PSI’s LQ system in opera-tion at the TU Delft.


Progress with GC-ICP/MS

A series of commissioning tests was successfully performed with the recently purchased Gas Chromatograph coupled with an Inductively Coupled Plasma and a Mass Spectrom-etry instrument (GC-ICP/MS). Getting the auto sampler for organic liquids properly inte-grated into the ICP/MS system is more diffi cult than expected. Therefore the commissioning of the auto sample ICP/MS system is still ongoing.

Also no experiences with the ICP/MS are yet available al-though numerous samples with LQ system were taken in the course of several cam-paigns for later ICP/MS mea-surements, i.e. plastic vials instead of glass vials. The proj-ect team specifi cally working on this new tool is continuing the collaboration with exter-nal experts such as Dr. Andrea Ulrich (Empa, CH) and Kirk Gerdes (NETL, USA).

International ex-change of knowledge

PSI was strongly involved in the preparation of an interna-tional workshop on sampling,

detection and quantifi cation of impurities in gases from ther-mochemical biomass conver-sion processes. This workshop took place on June 21st at the 20th EU Biomass Conference and Exhibition in Milan, Italy.

About 65 participants from 15 countries joined the pre-sentations and discussions in this analytical workshop which followed the successful event held at the previous 19th EU BC&E in Berlin. It was in parts sponsored by the EU project BRISK (as part of BRISK’s dis-semination activities), where PSI is project partner, and the German biomass for energy program coordinated by the German biomass research cen-tre (DBFZ).

The scope of the content of the workshop was broadened from analytical questions regarding just «tar» to all questions re-garding the analysis of gases from thermochemical conver-sion including elemental trace contaminants such as sulphur, alkali metals and chlorine which are highly relevant in syngas applications. The work-shop showed the current sta-tus on selected widely applied analytical methods.

At fi rst, deviations were pre-sented from the original «tar-guideline» and EN-standard, which are made to meet indi-vidual analytical targets. A sec-ond topic was the status of the Solid Phase Adsorption (SPA)-method. This method was in-troduced for tar sampling in 1997 by KTH, Sweden. The ideas behind the originally pro-posed method were presented. Further information about ap-plying thermal desorption as method for sample preparation

or its application for sulphur-detection was given and in-tensively discussed. The third section dealed with sampling and analysis of trace elements, which e.g. play a major role in gas utilization of synthesis gases which are brought to re-action over catalysts.

The strategic goals of biomass utilization for energy were addressed resulting in a mul-titude of different feedstock qualities which bring in widely varying amounts of undesired trace elements. Approaches for sampling and analysis of the large number of inorganic and organic chemical species which evolve in the thermo-chemical conversion processes were introduced.

At the end of the workshop, possibilities for a stronger in-ternational collaboration were addressed. This should aim at establishing widely accepted and recognized references or even standardized analytical methods and well defi ned pro-cedures. A follow up workshop was announced for the 21st EU BC&E 2013 in Copenhagen in June 2013.

For preparing this workshop and to keep the community in close contact WEBinars on a regular basis take place on different topics. The need for round robin tests concern-ing sampling, detection and quantifi cation of impurities in gases were addressed. Possi-bilities offered by the EU proj-ect BRISK were presented and fi rst action will be carried out within this framework.


Figure 4 (left): Measured UV-VIS spectra for one sample for four dif-ferent levels of dilution.

Figure 5 (right): Calculated UV-VIS spectra for measured tar species.


OPTIWARESOPTIWARESOPTImization of the Use of Wood as a Re-OPTImization of the Use of Wood as a Re-newable Energy Sourcenewable Energy Source

Scope of project

OPTIWARES is a joint CCES-CCEM project focusing on wood combustion. Wood combustion and other biomass combustion represent renewable energy sources, and contribute to reduce global CO2

emissions if the biomass stems from sustainable agriculture and forestry. On the other hand, bio-mass combustion inherently produces high emissions of particulate matter. These aerosol particles exert a climate forcing and have adverse health effects, affecting population morbidity and mortality. Therefore, the four key objectives of OPTIWARES are • to assess the infl uence of wood burners on air quality, • to improve the application of energy conversion systems using wood, • to assess the regional climate effect of wood combustion, • to calculate the external costs of the various types of wood usages. The results will be made available to the involved industrial partners, enhancing their competitive-ness in the market in Switzerland and worldwide.

Status of project and fi rst scientifi c results of workgroups

reaction chamber was built where aging processes of sev-eral days can be investigated within a reaction time of typi-cally about 15 seconds. The validation of these results will be performed by comparison with the above smog chamber.

Figure 2: A «norm fi re» in a test facility.

Figure 1: The new cold chamber fa-cility at PSI to investigate the formation of secondary organic aerosol from wood combustion at realistic (low) temperatures (down to –20 ºC).

Main Investigator

Urs Baltensperger, PSI

Project Partners

PSI

ETHZ

Empa

FHNW


2012–2016

During the kick-off meeting of OPTIWARES in May 2012 the specifi c goals for the fi rst year were formulated in more de-tail. Special emphasis was put on the exchange on informa-tion about input requirements and output opportunities in or-der to reach the project goals.

In a previous project IMBAL-ANCE (IMpact of Biomass burning AerosoL on Air qual-ity aNd ClimatE) a large dis-crepancy in the ratio of black carbon to organic mass from wood combustion was found when comparing test bench data and data from the ambi-ent atmosphere. As a major possible reason the differences in ambient temperature had been identifi ed.

In order to test this hypoth-esis, a new chamber was built where emissions from wood combustion can be sampled at temperatures down to –20 ºC, and aging due to photochemi-cal processes induced by arti-fi cial light can be investigated (fi gure 1).

In order to speed up the pro-cesses in the atmosphere a


ARRMATARRMATAttrition Resistant Reactive Bed Materials in Attrition Resistant Reactive Bed Materials in Fluidised BedsFluidised Beds

Scope of activities

The project deals with the manufacturing of attrition resistant reactive bed materials (ARRMAT) with desired properties for the application in fl uidized beds, with the experimental testing of these mate-rials to identify optimal operation conditions as well as with in situ investigation of such materials to derive design rules for improved bed materials.

Aim of the project is to contribute to signifi cant improvements along the process chain in the pro-duction of synthetic natural gas (SNG) from dry biomass, the «SNG-from-wood» process which has been investigated within the CCEM project «2nd generation Biogas». Other applications of attrition resistant reactive bed materials in chemical-looping reforming and chemical-looping combustion processes have been investigated.

The process from wood to syn-thetic natural gas includes four major process steps: • Wood has to be gasifi ed. • The producer gas from the

gasifi er then needs to be cleaned to remove dust, impurities and potential poisons to the catalyst that is applied in the third step.

• The methane synthesis (methanation).

• The raw-SNG from the methanation needs to be upgraded, i.e. water, car-bon dioxide and unreacted hydrogen have to be re-moved to meet the gas quality required for feeding into the natural gas grid.

For the SNG-from-wood pro-cess, fl uidized bed reactors where the catalyst particles move like a fl uid, are applied for the gasifi cation step as well as for the methanation step. It has been shown that the mov-ing of the methanation cata-lyst particles inside the fl uid-ized bed reactor can enhance the internal «regeneration» of catalyst particles thus lowering the rate of deactivation consid-erably.

Promising results for the SNG-from-wood process have been

Main Investigator

Serge Biollaz, PSI

Project Partners

Empa

PSI


2009–2012

published as well as for chem-ical-looping reforming and chemical-looping combustion, where also attrition resistant reactive bed materials are re-quired.

If reactive bed materials are applied in fl uidized bed reac-tors, they have to fulfi l certain requirements to avoid failure of the process step.

• The materials have to be mechanically stable, i.e. attrition resistant, as the particles are moving.

• The active species of the material must not be sepa-rated from the carrier to avoid selective transport out of the reactor into the fi lter. As in the fl uid-ized bed, the gas phase is changing along the travel of the particles, the state of the catalyst might change as well and therefore the chemical stability.

• Depending on the reaction rates and the particle di-ameters, a macro-porous carrier material might be favorable to avoid limita-tions due to long diffusion length from the gas phase into the middle of the par-ticle.

Work packages (WP) of the ARRMAT project

WP 1

WP 1 deals with the develop-ment and manufacturing of attrition resistant reactive bed materials. This work package is lead by Empa. Impregnation of catalyst supports produced by Empa with active compo-nents is performed by PSI and Empa. Active components are Ru, Mn and Cu.

WP 2 and WP 3

These WPs deal with the appli-cation of these materials in fl u-idized beds and testing under realistic conditions on small scale (WP 2) and bench scale (WP 3). These activities are co-ordinated by PSI.

WP 4 and WP 5

These WPs deal with in situ investigations in order to elu-cidate mechanisms, i.e. verify and falsify hypotheses, and are led by PSI. In WP 4 DRIFTS techniques (see next page) are applied and in WP 5 XAS (X-ray absorption spectroscopy) tech-niques are applied.


CLC Chemical Looping Combustion

CLR Chemical Looping Reforming

DRIFTS Diffuse Refl ectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectra

MS Mass Spectrometry

SNG Synthetic Natural Gas

WP Work Package

XAS X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy

Status of project



Diffuse refl ectance infrared Fourier transform spectrosco-py (DRIFTS) offers the advan-tage of in situ investigations of the adsorbed and gaseous species inside a reaction cell at temperatures below 500 °C.

Following the dynamic chang-es of a catalyst under fl uidized bed conditions, where the cat-alyst material moves through a reactor and, as a consequence, sees different gas conditions, provides a real challenge for static DRIFTS experiments.

A solution for such dynamic experiments was proposed in the ARRMAT project and was already successfully applied for XAS measurements (see CCEM annual report 2011).

The dedicated DRIFTS set-up is sketched in fi gure 1. It allows repetitive step-up/step-down

or continuous changes of the reactant gas concentrations. To follow the response of the catalytic system on these pe-riodical perturbations, DRIFTS is measuring the catalyst sur-face and the gas phase above the catalyst. Down-stream of the reaction cell, a mass spec-trometer (MS) is measuring the gas composition.

A commercial Ni/γ-Al2O3 cata-lyst was investigated, which was reduced in pure hydrogen prior to the measurement. Di-luted reactant gases were fed to the catalyst at a total fl ow rate of 40 Nml/min and an ab-solute pressure of 1.1 bar.

Modulation Excitation Spectroscopy

The analysis of the DRIFT spectra on the CO methana-tion is complicated by possible parallel reactions:• Methanation:

3 H2 + CO ⬌ CH4 + H2O• Water gas shift:

CO + H2O ⬌ CO2 + H2

• Boudouard: 2 CO ⬌ C* + CO2

For a periodically perturbed system it has been reported in literature that the analysis of the system response yields information about the mecha-nism and kinetics of the sur-face reactions. Exempli gratia, if the catalytic system is per-turbed by varying the concen-tration of one of the reactants, the response from the involved active species can be recorded. Therefore, «modulation excita-


Figure 1: Setup for DRIFTS mea-surements.

MFC = Mass Flow ControllerFTIR = Fourier Transform

Infrared Spectros-copy



tion» facilitates discriminating between active and spectator species (i.e. not involved in the catalytic reaction = back-ground signals), as the specta-tor species remain unaffected by the perturbation. Moreover, repeated periodic stimulation enables averaging of the signal response resulting in sensitiv-ity enhancement and better signal-to-noise ratio.

By applying demodulation ac-cording the following equation, the time-domain response can be transformed to phase-do-main response.

A(t) Active species response in time-domain = IR data set

A(ΦKPSD) Active species response in

phase-domainT Length of one period ω Stimulation frequencyk Demodulation index ΦK

PSD Demodulation phase angle

By the conversion of time- to phase-resolved spectra, addi-tional sensitivity enhancement is achieved. For the transfor-mation, time-resolved spectra are entered into the equation and the phase angle is var-

ied in 10° steps. At a phase angle of 80°, the amplitude becomes zero, as this is the out-of-phase angle. Increasing the phase angle beyond that point, negative bands appear for mathematical reasons.

CO methanation over Ni/γ-Al2O3 and dynam-ics of adsorbed species

Although numerous investiga-tions already have been car-ried out, the methanation re-action is still not understood in detail and in literature, the discussion about this topic is controversial.

To obtain a deeper insight into the reaction mechanism of CO hydrogenation, experiments with CO + CO2 + H2 (CO2 mod-ulated) were performed. Be-sides gaseous CH4, CO2 and H2O, only chemisorbed CO* (the * denotes a surface spe-cies) in linear and bridged ad-sorption geometry can be iden-tifi ed. This fi nding indicates that at temperatures between 100 °C and 300 °C the reaction proceeds much faster than the time scale of the measurement (some seconds).

In direct comparison of time- and phase-resolved DRIFTS spectra, the distinction be-tween active and spectatorspecies is facilitated, as spec-tator species are not affected by perturbation through con-centration and disappear in the corresponding signal in phase-domain (fi gure 2 and fi gure 3). In the phase-domain spectra only gaseous CH4, CO2

and H2O were visible, at high phase-angles even only gas-eous CO2. This means linearly chemisorbed CO* and bridged CO* species are spectator spe-cies only.

In summary, the two comple-mentary techniques used here, i.e. DRIFTS and MS, allow pro-posing a reaction mechanism based on direct observation of the reactive species under realistic conditions (tempera-ture, gas atmosphere). This provides a solid ground for material and process develop-ment and optimization of me-dium-temperature processes such as the methanation pro-cess investigated.

Figure 2 (left): Time Resolved DRIFTS spectrum when feeding CO/H2/CO2 over Ni/γ-Al2O3.

Figure 3 (right): Phase Resolved DRIFTS spectrum after applying demodulation equation.


HyTechHyTechSustainable Hydrogen UtilizationSustainable Hydrogen Utilization

Scope of project

The worldwide growing demand for energy may be satisfi ed by the utilization of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind energy. A particular challenge associated with renewable energies concerns their storage. This problem is particularly challenging when aiming at replacing fossil fuels used in automotive vehicles. Hydrogen could be the ideal chemical energy storage molecule, if stored at high gravimetric and volumetric densities (fi gure 1). Solid-state hydrogen storage has been extensively investigated – but the ultimate solution still awaits discovery. Abundant renewable hydrogen will also facilitate other aspects of renewable energy, e.g. facilitating CO2 and biomass transformations.

Status of project and main scientifi c results of workgroups

ing a small-scale solar cavity reactor for effecting the re-duction of ZnO under vacuum pressure. A dynamic reac-tor model shall be formulated based on unsteady mass and energy conservation equations coupled to reaction kinetics. The small-scale solar thermo-chemical vacuum reactor is currently being fabricated, and will be tested at PSI’s high-fl ux solar simulator.

The methodology developed for determining effective heat/

opened up new avenues in this research.

Research on heat/mass trans-fer in porous media is devel-oped at PSI-STL. Effective heat/mass transfer properties of complex porous media are needed for engineering design, optimization, and scale-up of thermochemical reactors and processes for solar H2 produc-tion.

A PhD thesis is aimed at de-signing, fabricating, and test-

Figure 1: Various options for hydro-gen storage.

Main Investigator

Michael Grätzel, EPFL

Project Partners

EPFL

Empa

PSI

ZHAW


2012–2014

Thermochemical solar hydrogen production

The thermochemical solar hy-drogen production work pack-age (WP 1) has focused on the development of electrocata-lysts for hydrogen production from water.

The EPFL-LSCI has identifi ed amorphous molybdenum sul-fi de as a class of promising catalysts for hydrogen produc-tion. In 2012, this research was funded by a third party (European Research Council), and certain transition metal ions such as Fe(II), Co(II), and Ni(II) were found to promote the catalytic activity of molyb-denum sulfi de.

It was shown that Fe, Co, and Ni ions promote the growth of the MoS3 fi lms, resulting in a high surface area and a higher catalyst loading. These changes are the main contrib-utors to the enhanced activity at pH = 0. However, at pH = 7, Fe, Co, and Ni ions appear to also increase the intrinsic ac-tivity of the MoS3 fi lm.

Mo2C and MoB are also new and promising catalysts, made of non-precious elements and operating in both acidic and basic solutions. The discovery


WP Work Package


mass transport properties has been applied to reticulate po-rous ceramics, packed beds, and other porous structures. Tomography-based pore-level numerical simulations have been adopted for complex porous media. Finite volume techniques have been applied for conductive/convective heat transfer and fl ow characteriza-tion. Ray-tracing method has been employed for radiative heat transfer characterization.

Hydrogen storage technologies

Concerning the hydrogen stor-age technologies (WP 2), two promising routes are being researched: the fi rst focuses on liquid complex hydrides (Empa) while the EPFL-LCOM is working on synthetic fuels,

and in particular is investigat-ing formic acid as a hydrogen vector.

Liquid hydrides exhibit promis-ing properties required for hy-drogen storage, such as high gravimetric density. However, various challenges such as slow kinetics have to be over-come before technical applica-tion of complex hydrides will be possible.

The focus of this project in 2012 was laid on a general study of potential complex hy-drides aiming at defi ning the specifi c compounds to be fur-ther investigated. This includes a review of • stability (enthalpy) of for-

mation, • melting point and hydrogen

content of transition metal alanates and borohydrides,

• the empirical model de-scribing the hydrogen den-sity, stability, and melting temperature, and

• the anticipation of prom-ising liquid complex hy-drides.

We established an empirical correlation based on vibration-al spectroscopy to calculate the stability and melting point of borohydrides (fi gure 2). In the future, we will focus on the investigation of Al(BH4)3, Ti(BH4)3 and V(BH4)3 as prom-ising liquid borohydrides dur-ing the remaining time of the project.

Progress has been made in the synthesis of formic acid di-rectly from carbon dioxide and a new patent is in preparation. While it remains to be seen if the new catalytic process is economically viable the sys-tem is superior by more than

Figure 3: Catalysis can improve the effi ciency of sunlight-driv-en water splitting. It needs to be effi cient, abundant, economical, and scalable.

HyTechHyTechSustainable Hydrogen UtilizationSustainable Hydrogen Utilization

one order of magnitude to the best results described in the literature (including patent lit-erature).

In collaboration with EPFL-LPI formic acid has also been pre-pared in a direct photocatalytic reactor from CO2 and water. These nascent studies are highly interesting, although the effi ciency of the system is very low, as they indicate the potential of obtaining liquid fuels from such technology. Progress has also been made in the dehydrogenation of for-mic acid to release hydrogen. The catalyst has been further improved by increasing the steric bulk of the ligand em-ployed.

The part of the project dedi-cated to energy modeling and assessment (WP 3), has made progress with some tasks being achieved within the PECHouse2 project (co-project funded by the SFOE). This pro-gram is dedicated to the fun-damental modeling of systems for solar hydrogen production combining both numerical and experimental approaches (fi g-ure 3). The EPFL-LPI and the ZHAW-ICP’s laboratories are responsible for this particular part.

Main achievements

Some publications have al-ready been published in lead-ing international journals from the various laboratories involved, and the results ob-tained during the fi rst part of this project will soon be dis-seminated in conferences and proceedings. At least one pat-ent is in preparation (details will be disclosed in the next report).

Figure 2: Distortion of borohydrides estimated by Raman spec-troscopy. Hydrogen de-sorption from borohydrides is often accompanied by the release of diborane, whose amount scales in-versely with the borohy-dride stability (Δs being a measure of the stability of the complex hydride). This predicted relation is em-pirically confi rmed by com-paring Δs with the decom-position temperature Tdes as given by the blue line in the inserted graph at top of picture.


SOLAR-HTGSOLAR-HTGSolar Assisted Hydrothermal Gasifi cation Solar Assisted Hydrothermal Gasifi cation Process Process

Scope of project

The goal of the project is to develop a solar assisted hydrothermal gasifi cation (HTG) process that converts wet biomass into methane with the help of solar heat. Wet biomass represents a very important part of the biomass resources sustainably available in the world (e.g. sewage sludge, wastewater of biofuel production, manure etc.). Hydrothermal gasifi cation is a relatively new tech-nology that is able to convert wet biomass in supercritical water into gas, clean water and salts. This technology is suited for the energetic valorization of wet biomass and also for recovering the salts contained in the biomass which can then be used again as fertilizer. The main disadvantage of HTG is that it requires heat at temperatures above 500°C.

The primary scope is the mod-elling and optimization of a solar-hydrothermal gasifi ca-tion process system, includ-ing SNG separation technology and power and heat recovery integration.

The EPFL group addressed the development and the thermo-economic analysis of process design concepts and focused on fi nding limits and potentials of each subsystem of a pos-sible Solar-HTG process. The ETH-PSI groups addressed high temperature solar heat integration in the gasifi cation process and aimed at the development of a solar assisted high-temperature reactor for hydro-thermal gasifi ca-tion of biomass.

The research teams will be assisted by associated partners who are experts in hydrothermal gas-ifi cation technolo-gies (PSI & BTG), solar thermal heat storage (Airlight) or the evaluation of different locations for realizing a fu-

Main Investigator

François Maréchal, EPFL

Project Partners

EPFL

PSI

Unicamp

BTG


2012–2014


EOS Equation of State

HTG Hydrothermal Gas-ifi cation

MER Minimum Energy Requirements

WP Work Package

cooling requirements of the HTG process. Pinch analysis and process integration are used at this step to identify the thermodynamic requirements of the process. In particular, this methodology allows to determine the minimum en-ergy requirements (MER) of a given process, for a given set of thermal streams and for a fi xed set of values for mini-mum temperature difference between hot and cold streams. The parameters that affect the

Figure 1: Process superstructure modelled in the OSMOSE platform representing the different process options to expand and purify the produced synthetic natural gas.

Major partners

• Industrial Energy Sys-tem Laboratory (LENI), EPFL

• Solar Technology Labo-ratory (STL), PSI

• Catalytic Process Engi-neering (CPE), PSI

• Solid Waste Treatment (SWT), PSI

• Airlight Energy Group, Biasca, CH

• School of chemical En-gineering (FEQ), State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Brasil

• Biomass Technology Group BV (BTG), En-schede, NL

ture pilot plant (EPFL – United Arab Emirates; Unicamp – Bra-zil).

In the fi rst 6 months literature reviews were carried out in or-der to identify thermodynamic methods that fi t the computer-aided process-modelling.

Integration of solar technology (EPFL)

Thermodynamic analysis is used to evaluate heating and



MER of the hydro-thermal gasifi cation process have been identifi ed. The heat demand in particular is concentrated in the hydrolysis step and in the salt separation process. According to Pinch Analysis, the heat demand of the process is concen-trated at high tem-perature, and highly depends on operating conditions of the salt separator.

A superstructure has been defi ned, in order to fi nd the best inte-gration between solar thermal storage and HTG (fi gure 1) and to

estimate energy demand, pri-mary materials demand, costs, and environmental impact for different plant confi gurations. The thermal energy storage is of primary importance since it allows to operate 24/24. At present, the use of hot air as heat transfer fl uid between so-lar system/storage and HTG has been investigated. The optimal temperature range and heat loads of hot air utility streams have been identifi ed, that have to be guaranteed for the 24 h operation of the gas-ifi er.

Three hot air streams have been included in the super-structure in order to account for the solar thermal energy potential at different tempera-ture levels. The temperature levels of these utilities have been set as decision variables of an optimization problem, for which, the objective func-tion is the maximization of energy conversion effi ciency

under process integration con-straints.

In this confi guration the need of crude product to close the energy balance is completely substituted by the hot air util-ity, and as a consequence the energy and exergy effi ciencies of the processes are higher than the one of previous con-fi gurations. The heat cascade is presented in fi gure 2 for one of the tested plant confi gura-tions.

The amount of solar thermal energy that has to be supplied to the HTG process ranges between 100 and 250 kW per MW of dry biomass input. The marginal effi ciency, i.e. the supplement of equivalent nat-ural gas produced per unit of solar heat provided to the sys-tem by a thermal heat storage is of 95.3 %. Assuming a solar to thermal energy at output storage effi ciency of 50 %, this leads to a sun to SNG equiva-lent conversion effi ciency of 48 %.

High temperature hydrothermal gasifi ca-tion (ETH-PSI)

As fi rst step, a thermodynamic analysis was carried out to de-termine the equilibrium com-position of the products from the supercritical gasifi cation process. A non-stoichiometric approach based on the direct minimisation of the Gibbs free enthalpy was chosen for this analysis. With this approach, only the reactants and prod-ucts have to be specifi ed but no knowledge about a possible reaction network is required. Key for this approach is the correct description of the non-ideal mixture of components

at elevated temperatures and pressures. Thermodynamic properties of such non-ideal mixtures can be derived from an equation of state (EOS).

Within the catalytic process engineering (CPE) group at PSI similar calculations have been carried out based on the Peng-Robinson equation and the Bosten-Mathias mixing rule (PR-BM EOS). The same equation of state/mixing rule will be used for the equilibrium calculations in this project.

Glycerol was chosen as model component for biomass. Se-lection of a biomass model is necessary since processing of real biomass slurries is diffi cult on small scales and is accom-panied by several further prob-lems like inorganic compounds which are not dealt with for the scope of this project. Glyc-erol has been frequently used as model compound in litera-ture and CPE activities. Finally, Glycerol also has practical rel-evance since it is an abundant wasteproduct from the manu-facturing of biodiesel.

A fl owsheeting model was built using the PR-BM EOS to investigate the infl uence of temperature, pressure and glycerol concentration in the feed (these parameters were varied in the following rages: T = {300–1000} K; p = {200–400} bar; xG,F = {5–50} %w).

The following components were taken into account for the equilibrium calculations: glyc-erol, water, hydrogen, meth-ane, carbonmonoxide and carbondioxide. The results of the simulation were compared with experimental data from Byrd et al.

SOLAR-HTGSOLAR-HTGSolar Assisted Hydrothermal Gasifi cation Solar Assisted Hydrothermal Gasifi cation Process Process

Figure 2: Comparison of heat cas-cade (A) with combustion of produced gas and (B) with thermal solar energy storage and hot air integra-tion. The blue lines repre-sent the heat requirement of the HTG process, the red lines represent the heat supplied by depleted fuel and (A) by produced gas combustion or (B) by solar heat.


Main Investigator

Jan Van Herle, EPFL

Project Partners

EPFL

Empa

PSI

Hexis

HTceramix


2011–2014


BFBM Bubbling Fluidized Bed Methanation Unit

HGF Reactive Hot Gas Filter

MOO Multi-Objective Optimization

PU Process Unit

RBM Rate Based Model

S/C Steam/Biomass Ratio

SOFC Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

SUMO Surrogate Models

WoodGas-SOFC IIWoodGas-SOFC IIIntegrated Biomass – Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Integrated Biomass – Solid Oxide Fuel Cell CogenerationCogeneration

Scope of project

The project ultimately targets a pilote and demonstration unit on 1 MWth scale combining a wood gasifi er, hot cleaning of the gasifi ed biomass and feeding cleaned upgraded woodgas into a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). Hot gas cleaning is identifi ed as the most critical step. PSI develops the fuel processing, most notably a hot gas fi lter and a methanator. Empa focuses on catalytic foam charac-terisation and modeling, to assist the gas cleaning development. EPFL investigates the local effect of gas contaminants on the fuel catalyst in SOFCs in dedicated test benches, and studies the optimiza-tion and integration of the complete system by process fl owsheeting. PSI participates in the latter task by specialised modeling of the fuel processing units (rate based models, surrogate models), taking experimental results into account.

port and sequestration. A por-tion of the syngas is sent to an auxiliary combustor to close the thermal balance of the system.

Five confi gurations for the sys-tem were analyzed:A small size system at atmo-

spheric pressure; B S/C ratio optimized to

reach higher effi ciency than A;

C pressurized gasifi er system of 100 kWth size;

D pressurized gasifi er system of 8 MWth size;

E pressurized gasifi er system of 8 MWth size with 2 differ-ent temperature levels of the 2 reformers; to realize this confi guration the injec-

tion of steam is split in two according to different S/C ratios.

The pressurized systems are more effi cient than atmo-spheric gasifi cation, reaching an effi ciency close to 76 %. The specifi c cost of electric-ity is signifi cantly reduced upon scaling. The pressurized 8 MWth unit (confi guration D) shows the lowest specifi c cost and the highest effi ciency among the studied cases.

Subsequent work focuses on the validation of the hot clean-ing unit model with experi-mental data. The presence of sulfur in the feedstock will be examined and how this can af-


System analysis

The Energy Systems Group at EPFL-LENI further optimized the complete layout composed of an air dryer, the gasifi er, hot cleaning and a SOFC-GT (gas turbine) hybrid, optionally in-cluding CO2 separation (fi g-ure 1).

The gasifi er is a steam re-formed fl uidized bed. Decision variables are the steam/bio-mass ratio (S/C) and tempera-ture. The syngas produced is sent to the hot cleaning unit, where particulate removal (at 500 °C) is performed by a cy-clone and a candle fi lter (to-tal removal effi ciency 86 %), followed by tar removal in 2 stages: fi rst a dolomite tar pre-reformer, responsible for preventing poisoning of the second stage, a downstream reforming catalyst (Ni). The analysis considers the opera-tion of both reactors at the same and at different levels of temperature, treated as deci-sion variables. The high exergy outlet stream of the fuel cell is exploited in a gas turbine in order to increase the electri-cal production. With this con-fi guration it is also possible to separate CO2, stored for other uses or compressed for trans-

Figure 1: Conceptual fl owsheet of the system biomass gas-ifi cation – hot gas cleaning – SOFC/GT with CO2 sepa-ration.


fect the operation of the gas-ifi er.

At PSI, the activity of the Thermal Process Engineering Group introduces complemen-tary modeling into this sys-tem approach. Multi-objective optimization (MOO) of the super-structured process de-sign of fi gure 1 is expensive in CPU-time. Thus, single process units (PU) are usually repre-sented by equilibrium-based models.

In biomass gasifi cation and cleaning, kinetic effects and mass transport limitations in PUs play an important role. Therefore, representing such PUs by experimentally derived rate based models (RBM) in the process fl owsheet simula-tion is preferred. This allows enriching the simulation with newest experimental fi ndings.

As most RBMs are iteratively solved, a direct incorporation would cause even higher CPU-time. Instead, PSI incorpo-rates RBMs by using surrogate models (SUMO) based on krig-ing interpolations. The proce-dure was applied to a bubbling fl uidized bed methanation unit (BFBM) after the gasifi er, con-sidered as an option of fuel

processing and upgrading for SOFCs.

Experiments at PSI indeed demonstrated that the ob-served selectivities and con-version of impurities were not satisfactorily represented by an equilibrium model. A two-phase RBM of the BFBM-unit was developed based on ex-perimental fi ndings and vali-dated by comparing simulated and experimental data. The SUMO was successfully imple-mented to represent the BFBM in the various process designs and was compared to state-of-the-art equilibrium based cal-culation.

Furthermore, identifying in-teresting operating condi-tions of the PU is facilitated by surrogate modelling. In consequence, experimental work can be focused on more promising operating condi-tions with respect to overall system effi ciency, reducing the cost of process development. The methodology is applicable for all PUs where RBMs are needed. The approach allows a signifi cant improvement of information exchange between process design optimization workfl ow and experimental de-velopment of early stage PUs.


Reactive hot gas fi lter for biomass gasifi ca-tion cleaning

PSI also continued its inves-tigation on a reactive hot gas fi lter (HGF) and its combina-tion with catalytic conversion for process chain optimization.

Stable HGF operation could be shown for more than 1500 hours. Based on systematic dynamic pressure measure-ments during recleaning of the HGF, its operation condi-tions could be improved. This newly developed measuring approach of dynamic pressure measurements proved to be a powerful tool to assess fi lter performance. Also a physical fi lter model has been devel-oped in order to simulate vari-ous HGF conditions. Based on such a validated model, an im-proved HGF design is possible.

Catalytic conversion of sul-phur-containing hydrocarbons was achieved with a noble metal catalyst at moderate temperatures of 750 °C. Based on systematic experiments a chemical model with conserva-tive assumptions was devel-oped. This model supports the optimization of the catalytic conversion.

A number of relevant confi gu-rations of the HGF with cata-lytic conversion were verifi ed with the model. Based on its analysis, it could be concluded that a catalytic monolith locat-ed at the exit of the fi lter ves-sel is an appealing, simple so-lution. Cost and performance optimization regarding pres-sure, temperature and con-taminant levels is required to fi nalise the design of a reactive HGF for biomass gasifi cation.

Figure 2: Kelvin cell with CO isocon-tours.


Catalytic foam: fabri-cation and transport simulation

The exhaust gas treatment activity of the Internal Com-bustion Engines Laboratory at Empa performed specifi c studies on foams coated with catalysts, for gasifi ed biomass cleaning and conversion. Cor-dierite-based monoliths (0.5–0.7 m2/g) were dip-coated with different alumina slurries followed by calcination. The wash-coats were characterized on their loading, thickness, ad-herence, specifi c surface area and pore volume.

Experimental investigations and literature survey lead to correlations for the pressure drop and mass transfer across foams with different pore den-sity. Given some ambiguities and uncertainties of these cor-relations, more detailed under-standing in the fl ow and mass transfer phenomena through foams was gained by numeri-cal simulation. Using coding from the CCEM project CatPor, fl ow and mass transfer phe-nomena were studied through a single foam cell, approximat-ed by a regular polyhedron, a so-called Kelvin cell (fi gure 2). The CO oxidation reaction was taken as a test case.

Computed CO profi les at de-termined locations gave valu-able information on the overall CO conversion, and will allow to fi nd optimal confi gurations. The effect of different strut di-ameters (taken as 1/4th, 1/5th

or 1/6th of the strut length) was evaluated. By decreasing this diameter, the cell surface area decreases, thus the conver-sion rate decreases resulting in higher CO values in the cell

Figure 3: Sketch of extended single SOFcell test bench allow-ing the feed of tuned gas mixtures (with ppm-level of relevant biofuel contam-inants) to the fuel anode catalyst.

Figure 4: Plot of local polarisation resistance (Ω cm-2) on a 80 cm2 SOFC 1-cell stack measured during operation (750 °C, dilute H2 fuel vs. air) via impedance spec-troscopy on 20 individual cell segments, showing the homogeneity and good quality of performance (<0.3 Ω cm-2). (Courtesy of HTceramix, Z. Wuillemin).


wake, as seen in fi gure 2. The next step is to perform simi-lar simulations with a series of Kelvin cells and to model the oxidation of a tar hydrocarbon.

SOFC: testing and understanding of pro-cesses

The SOFC group at EPFL-LENI further expanded its dedicated bench for single cell testing under specifi c fuel composi-tions, including contaminants. A sketch of the new gas feed set-up is given in fi gure 3. Also, a new assembly for cell mounting was designed and taken into operation.

In the improved arrangement, in particular with respect to gas sealing, cells (12 cm2 ac-tive area) reach >90 % fuel conversion. The industrial SOFC project partner HTcera-mix designed and built a new unique segmented 1-cell stack test bench, which was validat-ed for local measurements of SOFC behavior.

The cell active area of 80 cm2 is segmented into 20 galvanically separated small squares which are individually monitored on voltage, current density and local impedance response, giv-ing in situ insight into an op-erating SOFcell. An example is demonstrated in fi gure 4. The equipment will be transferred to EPFL where it will be used in the CCEM project for industri-ally relevant cell testing in fuel gas mixtures representative of gasifi ed biomass as proposed by the system partners.

EducationEducation

81CCEM – Annual Activity Report 2012 Education

MOSUM MOSUM Mobility Support for Master’s Mobility Support for Master’s in Nuclear Engineeringin Nuclear Engineering

Scope of project

Since its start in 2008, the Master of Science in Nuclear Engineering (NE) has the unique trait of being the fi rst and by now only joint degree offered by EPFL and ETHZ together. The multi-campus character of this energy-related educational program is underlined by the fact that the fi rst semester takes place in Lausanne, followed by a semester in Zurich. Since its extension to four semesters in 2010, two following semesters are spent largely at PSI. With mobility imposed as a necessary condi-tion for the NE Master, funding to compensate for the supplementary expenditure incurred by the students has – from the very beginning – been provided by the CCEM project MObility SUpport for Master in nuclear engineering (MOSUM). This is the fi fth annual project report. Last year the CCEM steering committee has sanctioned a prolongation of MOSUM into its fi fth year.

Main Investigator

Rakesh Chawla, EPFL

Project Partners

EPFL

ETHZ

PSI


2008–2013


NE Nuclear Engineer-ing

Status of project

By end of 2012, a total of 38 students from the three batch-es 2008, 2009 and 2010 have graduated in the program. The students enrolled in 2012 have fi nished their course work and are currently starting their master projects, mainly in the laboratories at PSI. The fi fth batch is preparing the mov-ing from Lausanne to Zurich, where the students will start their second semester after the examination session in January/February.

The development of the num-bers (applications, accepted and enrolled students) shows a nearly stable situation with a slight decline in the year 2012, as shown in fi gure 1.

Viewed globally, an important result achieved by the NE Mas-ter program has been its pro-motion of the synergy between EPFL and ETHZ energy related education in a general sense. On the one hand, the NE Mas-ter students participate in non-nuclear energy related courses in both universities and, on the other hand, students in-terested in general energy is-sues can attend NE courses to learn more about nuclear pow-er plant operation and safety. The latter multiplies the effect

of competence preservation. Courses offered within nuclear engineering fi nd a consider-able interest among students of other master programs at both universities, which is il-lustrated at the example of the numbers at ETHZ (fi gure 2).

Outlook

The master program is an important element in main-taining nuclear competence, which has gained additional relevance under the condi-tions of the new energy policy

in Switzerland. In the same time, the support granted via the proj-ect MOSUM has signifi -cantly contributed to its successful implementa-tion. Education in the fi eld of nuclear tech-nology faces a growing challenge in attracting students. This aspect provides strong motiva-tion for seeking means for a sustained support of the supplementary mobility ex-penditure the NE students in-cur also in the future.

Figure 2: Students of other master programs attending nucle-ar courses at ETHZ.

Figure 1: Applications and enrol-ments in Nuclear Engineer-ing.

NovatlantiNovatlantis

83CCEM – Annual Activity Report 2012 Novatlantis

novatlantisnovatlantisSustainability at the ETH Domain – Sustainability at the ETH Domain – Promotion of Transdisciplinary SciencePromotion of Transdisciplinary Science

Managing Director

Roland J. Stulz, c/o PSI

Project Partners

ETHZ

EPFL

PSI

Empa

Eawag

WSL

Pilot Region Basel

Partner Region Zurich

Partner Region Geneva

Project Websites

www.novatlantis.ch

www.2000watt.ch

Scope of activities

Novatlantis applies the latest results from research conducted at ETH institutions to help secure the sustainable development of urban centres and to provide models of how to implement the long-term vision of the 2000-watt society (with the 1-ton CO2 aim). Interdisciplinary projects are set in motion with the help of researchers and scientists of the ETH domain and of Universities of Applied Science. Landmark projects and practical examples are realised with the aim to show how a sustainable future may look like. To accomplish this, Novatlantis has established partnerships with the cities of Zurich, Basel and Geneva that provide opportunities for the implementation of projects. Whether this means developing building projects, sharing knowledge, hosting events, or motivating a world-wide network of colleges and universities, Novatlantis is constantly connecting theoretical research with practical implementation.

A key theme in the pilot region Basel is sustainable mobility. The focus of «experimental space mobility» is to reduce both energy consumption and environmental impact in the transport sector.

«near Zero Emission Vehicle» (nZEV)

The «near Zero Emission Ve-hicle» (nZEV) project analy-ses how the emission of pol-lutant gas can be reduced to near zero. The main topic of this research is the catalytic converter which has been de-veloped by Empa (Swiss Fed-eral Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology). This motoring catalytic converter is made of ceramic foam with turbulent gas fl ow. It has been optimized for natural gas driv-en motors with the goal to re-duce the coating with precious metal to a minimum. The nZEV test vehicle with the new cata-lytic converter has been used in daily practice on the road for one and a half years. Several companies in the city of Basel were invited to drive and test the car during up to two weeks each. Their role was to provide the experiences and needs from the users perspective.

the Cleantech City Congress in Berne. Later in 2012 the vehi-cle has been moved to St. Gal-len for further tests.

«Emobilität Basel»(E-Mobility Basel)

This project provides various possibilities to try and test electric vehicles in the city of Basel. Business and public administration can integrate electric cars in their fl eet with support from the project by a so called ‹carefree package›. Individuals can use electric cars in a car-sharing system at three locations in the city. As part of an event package, business companies can also be fully informed about electric cars.

The project Emobilität Basel is evaluated by an accompanying research on vehicle technol-ogy, loading capacity and us-age patterns. The accompany-ing research seeks to capture the performance and usability of the vehicles under everyday conditions.

Black boxes were installed in the vehicles that are rented under the ‹carefree package› to 7 companies in Basel. They

The project report «Testeinsatz nZEV – Umfrageergebnisse des Testeinsatzes» has been fi nalized in February 2012.

«hy.muve»

hy.muve (hydrogen driven mu-nicipal vehicle) is the fi rst hy-drogen driven street cleaner worldwide. This vehicle has been developed in a joint ven-ture by Empa (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Sci-ence and Technology) together with the companies Bucher Schörling, Messer Schweiz und Brusa. Its research elements are a hybrid engine consisting of a fuel cell and a battery. The energy consumption has thus been reduced by fi fty percent compared to a diesel engine driven street cleaning vehicle.

hy.muve has fi rst been on a test run in Basel in 2009. The fi rst test results proved the practicability of the fuel cell in this kind of vehicle. The vehicle was easy to handle and safe and the self service hydrogen gas station worked well and without any problems. Several tests have been carried out in the city Basel until early 2012. In March 2012, hy.muve has been presented to the public at


CHP Combined Heat and Power

Clever Clean and Effi cient Vehicle Research

GULF Global University Leaders Forum

ISCN International Sus-tainable Campus Network

IWB Industrielle Werke Basel

nZEV near Zero Emission Vehicle

P&D Pilot and Demon-stration (Projects)

PV Photovoltaic

Sustainable Mobility – Experimental Space Mobility in the Pilot region Basel

84 CCEM – Annual Activity Report 2012Novatlantis

novatlantisnovatlantisSustainability at the ETH Domain –Sustainability at the ETH Domain –Promotion of Transdisciplinary Science Promotion of Transdisciplinary Science

will in future collect technical data of the vehicles (energy consumption, performance). In parallel, a survey of fl eet managers and users of these vehicles was carried out on the properties of usage of the cars. Empa carried out additional fi rst tests in normal driving situations. The measurements start in 2013.

IWB Car Fleet Strategy

Novatlantis has developed a strategy with the goal to re-duce the energy consumption of the utilities company’s (In-dustrielle Werke Basel IWB) car fl eet. With this strategy IWB should be able to fulfi ll the benchmark of the 2000-watt society in the year 2050. The recommendations include measures at the level of car technology, as well as mea-sures in the area of mobility management.

«Clever» at the Auto Basel

The «Clever» project (Clean and Effi cient Vehicle Research)

deals with the question of how to achieve maximum CO2 effi -ciency with a natural gaz driv-en mid-size vehicle in a cost-effective way.

A natural gas/biogas vehicle was developed with full hybrid drive, optimized for emissions of only 80–100 g/km.

«Clever» (fi gure 1) was fi rst publicly presented at the Auto Basel 2012. The vehicle was the highlight of the exhibition stand «experience area mo-bility – car technology for the 2000-watt society» and could therefore be presented as a link between natural gas/bio-gas technology and electric vehicles accessible to a wide audience.

Admixture of hydrogen in natural gas

Electrolytically generated hy-drogen can be produced from fl uctuating excess electricity. This hydrogen can be admixed to natural gas / biogas fuel in the fuel path.

The currently discussed trans-formation of such hydrogen into methane (SolarFuel proj-ect) has an effi ciency of about 60 %. The reconversion into hydrogen remains at an ef-fi ciency of about 35 %. Com-pared to these technologies the direct electrolytic produc-tion of hydrogen is much more effi cient and therefore more profi table for use in fuel cell vehicles.

This information complements considerations for extracting hydrogen from excess electric-ity.

Empa has conducted research on the infl uence of an admix-ture of hydrogen on effi ciency and effectiveness of natural gas engines/vehicles. This in-formation complements con-siderations for extracting hy-drogen from excess electricity.

The results from the test proj-ects were presented in a pub-lication, which states challeng-es, opportunities, value added, and the approach for a techni-cal demonstration project.

Figure 1: «Clever» at «Auto Basel 2012»



Basel pilot region – «laboratory of sustainability research and practice»

The City Government approves the next four year Plan for a Cooperation with Novatlantis

Among others, following projects have been selected for the im-plementation in Basel between 2014 and 2017:

New rendering for en-ergy renovation of historic buildings

In historic buildings the appli-cation of good thermal insula-tion is often diffi cult because only little space is available and the law sets clear limita-tion to the usage of non-tradi-tional material.

In the project SuRHiB (Sus-tainable Renovation of His-torical Buildings), Empa in collaboration with industrial and research partners has de-veloped a novel high insulation plaster with aerogel as insulat-ing component combined with a mineral binder. The insulat-ing effect of this aerogel ren-dering is three times higher than a conventional rendering and one third better than a compact wall insulation. This new insulation technology can

The project ‹2000-watt so-ciety pilot region Basel› as a «laboratory of sustainability research and practice» ended its fi rst phase in late 2012 after a 10-year period.

Many successful activities in the areas of construction, mobility, space and resources have been carried out, with the fi nancial support of Canton Basel-Stadt, Novatlantis, Uni-versity of Basel and University of Applied Sciences Northwest-ern Switzerland. Other part-ners include Basel Chamber of Commerce, Industrielle Werke Basel IWB, Gas Network Mit-telland, AUE Baselland, BFE Federal Offi ce of Energy.

Many landmark projects have been realized in public-private partnerships with business companies and industry.

For an overview of the various projects visit www.2000-watt.bs.ch (see also fi gure 2).

For the continuation of the ‹practice labs›, along with the research institutes, issues have been identifi ed that can be further developed in the pilot region. The focus of the projects identifi ed lies on lat-est research topics that have the potential to be implement-ed as pilot and demonstration projects, and make a valuable contribution to the 2000-watt society. The parliament of Basel has granted a credit of 2.6 million CHF for the legisla-tive period 2014–2017 for the fi nancing of the ‹pilot region 2000-watt society Basel›.

Figure 2: Project modules for new phase of «Pilotregion Ba-sel» as a living lab.

Prefabricated facade mod-ules for energy renovation of multi-family homes

In collaboration with renowned Swiss and European compa-nies in the construction in-dustry, the project «Retrofi t» of the Competence Center for Energy and Mobility (CCEM) has developed carefully coordi-nated renovation modules for façade and roof construction. Highly insulated windows and ventilation installation pipes are integrated in the prefab-ricated façade modules. The fi nal design of the façade is in-dividually possible.

This novel renovation technol-ogy is to be applied to various individual buildings or large housing developments.



mainly be used in buildings which have to keep their ap-pearance. The pilot projects with this insulation will allow to collect and analyze useful experiences for further multi-plication of this plaster that of-fers a great potential for mul-tiplication in the renovation market.

Solar facades and solar roofi ng: energy effi cient building renovation in the urban context

The use of solar energy in the urban environment has a great potential for reducing CO2 emissions. The installation of solar modules on roofs and facades of multistory build-ings still need research and development on formally and aesthetically pleasing and cost effi cient solutions.

The CCEM project «Archinso-lar» (lead: EPFL) has devel-oped photovoltaic (PV) mod-ules with color fi lters that allow to fulfi ll aesthetic concerns of architects and investors. With the new technology for large-scale solar facades, an optical effect can be achieved, which corresponds to the design rules of a modern glass façade, while at the same time produc-ing electricity. For application in rural areas or on historic buildings clay tile colored PV panels can be combined with traditional tiles on roofs of ex-isting buildings.

This new colored layer technol-ogy allows to strongly improve the acceptance of energy gen-eration on new and existing buildings. Such landmark proj-ects will foster the discussion among experts and the public in a highly visible manner.

Local storage of solar elec-tricity

The development of PV sys-tems will sooner rather than later lead to a point where the local storage of the on site pro-duced electricity, mainly in the summer period, will become necessary and useful. This will allow that the energy gener-ated on site or in the neigh-bourhood can be used without charging the local energy grids (electricity, natural gas, dis-trict heating), and thus avoid-ing the expansion of the grid for peak load electricity pro-duction. A pilot plant for the production and storage of hy-drogen (electrolysis) and, as a second step, the methanation (synthetic natural gas) will be installed in a suitable place to store locally generated elec-tricity chemically.

Local Energy Hub

In the future the power grid will not only have to absorb more power and energy com-ing from combined heat and power plants (CHP) or pho-tovoltaic. Moreover heat pro-duction and consumption are important sources of energy at the neighborhood level. In ad-dition, energy is also consumed for mobility. The objective of this project is to combine the fl ow of energy for both, hous-ing and mobility. Therefore all elements of the generation, the storage and the controlled and uncontrolled consump-tion in buildings and mobility of renewable electricity and gas will be described in a com-puter model. The modelling of the interdependencies in a case study based on an exist-ing neighbourhood will provide a better understanding of the

consequences on the energy grids, including transportation and storage of energy. Vari-ous scenarios will describe all the possibilities of production, transportation and storage of energy (electricity, gas, district heating) and show its potential for integration in a local energy hub.

Electric mobility: Quick Charging Station

Fast charging stations are im-portant elements of an infra-structure for electric mobility, with the goal to resolve the limitation of storage capacity of electric vehicles, thereby increasing its range and per-formance. Fields of application are fast charging stations, for example along highways (long distances) or in conjunction with vehicles with increased performance claim (minibuses for public transport).

A quick charging station (Ultra Fast Charging Station, UFCS) developed by EPFL, ETHZ, Empa and BFH-TI will be built. This station will be used to charge an electric powered minibus in an urban public transport service company. The batteries will be charged on its circuit several times a day within a few minutes.

A project for the use of an elec-trically powered district bus is being considered. The project intends to test fast charging stations in everyday use. In combination with an electrical-ly operated minibus it serves as a model and demonstrates a fl exible and effi cient techni-cal option for public transpor-tation. In a one- to two-year pilot phase data and experi-ences will be gained.



Natural-gas-hybrid for mid-size cars and trucks

The natural-gas-hybrid pow-ertrain provides an extremely clean and effi cient solution that can be used in mid-range vehicles and commercial ve-hicles like sweepers, especially when operating on biogas or renewable natural gas. In the city of Basel, two approaches are planned for implementa-tion:• Application and testing of

several gas-electric hybrid sweepers in cooperation with the company Bucher.

• Development and testing of a zero-emission gas-hybrid drive for a mid-size vehicle. In an accompany-ing study an operational plan and a business case for operators of sweepers and fl eet operators using natural gas hybrid vehicles will be elaborated.

changed for further directions of these concepts. The results of the forums were compiled in a fi nal report.

Mobility is an essential part of the quality of life in Zurich when it is sustainable. Lead-ing technology must be used in order to achieve this goal in an optimal manner for all con-cerned. The Dialogue ZUM ex-pands the view of the dimen-sions of mobility and the wide range of fi elds of action.

Öko-Kompass (Eco-Guide)

With the services of ‹Öko-Kompass›, Zurich intends to encourage small and medium sized companies to contribute to reach 2000-watt society goals. An increasing amount of companies are contacting ‹ÖkoKompass› in order to get expert advice on how to reduce energy, resources and costs as well as to raise awareness. Af-ter 4 years, a prolongation is intended to secure the success and acceptance. Novatlantis supports this project with new fi ndings and scientifi c knowl-edge from the ETH Domain.

Developing new pilot regions – pioneering technology transfer

Partner region Zurich – a key player for sustainable urban development

Zurich is a key player in the implementation of new tech-nologies for sustainable urban development. Since 2006 the city organizes its activities in the fi eld of sustainable devel-opment under the umbrella program ‹2000-watt society› which has been initiated by Novatlantis. Following projects were supported by Novatlantis and CCEM during 2012:• ZUM – Zukunft urbane Mo-

bilität (Future Urban Mobil-ity).

• Öko-Kompass (Eco Guide) in Basel.

ZUM – Zukunft urbane Mobilität (Future Urban Mobility)

In early 2011, approximately 50 companies, government organizations, universities, NGOs and associations joined the project «Future Urban Mo-bility» in the Zurich region. The purpose of this project was to develop a vision and recommendations for mobil-ity needs in the metropolitan area of Zurich. In eight discus-sion forums the results were presented and ideas were ex-

So far Novatlantis has been active in partnerships with two urban regions (Zurich, Basel) by contributing to the politi-cal energy strategies and the implementation of a 2000-watt society.

Now, Novatlantis is seeking further partners for the estab-lishment of pioneering regions, with the goal to foster cohe-

sion and cooperation of neigh-boring communities through the promotion of cutting edge sustainable technologies.

Therefore, among others, the City of Aarau has been ap-proached with a proposal for a joint venture that would cre-ate added value. This concept has the potential of becoming a model case and pioneer for

many typical Swiss regions. This approach offers many val-ues like:• Creation of a specifi c, local

identity under the label of Pilot Region, Region of the Future, 2000-watt region, etc.

• All activities in the region appear under one label which simplifi es consistent communication, massive

Websites

Further collaborative proj-ects between Novatlantis, research institutions, universities and the three pilot regions are published on the websiteswww.isc-network.org

www.geneve2000watts.ch

www.nachhaltige-quar-tiere.ch



dissemination and identifi -cation of civil society with the politically set goals.

• Thematic and geographical extension of impact by No-vatlantis is desirable, thus enabling the implementa-tion of best available tech-nologies for sustainable urban development and mobility within a network of neighboring communi-ties and the canton.

A pioneer region, or region of the future is a laboratory for sustainable development, based on targets set like:

• Transfer of knowledge from research on urban develop-ment, energy and mobility into practice.

• Developing specifi c solu-tions for the region.

The Building Forum in Basel was attended by over 90 pro-fessionals in December 2012. The theme of this conference was ‹Sustainable Neighbour-hoods – Elements of the Sus-tainable City of the Future›. Scientists and practitioners presented the cutting edge planning tools, certifi cates and realized examples of ‹green neighbourhoods›.

Many efforts have been put into organizing forums in other regions of Switzerland. It is planned to have one more in 2013.

Mobility Forum

A mobility forum entitled «On the Move with Natural Gas/Biogas, Electricity and Hydro-gen – Potentials and Use of

Building Forum and Mobility Forum

Building Forum

July 2012 saw more than 100 participants attend the Build-ing Forum Zurich ‹Innovation and Networking – Using Syner-gies for Buildings and Cities›.

The forum provided an over-view and shared experiences from science and practice. The energy revolution is calling for distributed generation and new technologies.

The Novatlantis Bauforum in Zurich proves that there is still potential for innovation in sus-tainable urban development. But technical developments alone are not enough, there-fore, the construction industry must increasingly help to close the gaps to the practical test.

Figure 3: Vicor Dorer, EMPA, at the Bauforum in Zurich.

• Long-term follow-up and implementation of regional sustainability goals by the ETH Domain.

• Using the experience gains from practice.

• Creation of fl agship proj-ects.

Pioneer regions create long-term partnerships with the advantage of networking of stakeholders (public sector, private sector, academia), co-ordination of activities, join-ing forces, and developing a coordinated strategy with the stakeholders to achieve sus-tainability targets.

The projects will be fi nanced through public-private part-nerships with Novatlantis as a credible and neutral partner and coordinator, free of any

political, ideological or fi nan-cial agendas.

The pioneer regions will be developed along the following lines:

• Analysis of the starting point, determination of the target.

• Stakeholder analysis and tuning «Round Table»

• Determining the regional potential.

• Introduction and testing of sustainable solutions in the fi elds of buildings, mobility, energy.

• Evidence of effect and an-choring in the economy and society through impact as-sessment, socio-economic monitoring, communica-tion and design of business models.

Alternative Power Trains» was held in Basel on November 21, 2012.

Around 50 individuals from the vehicle services sector, private companies (fl eet managers and technology division man-agers), the mobility services sector, the public sector and various NGOs took part.

Those attending the forum were offered a comprehensive range of expert presentations and lively discussions on the following subjects: • Strengths and weaknesses

of alternative power trains in everyday use and their role in the future.

• Interplay of mobility and the energy system.

• Management tools for fl eet managers.



ISCN-GULF Charter partners

The charter has been signed by the Presidents or Vice-Chancellors of

• Brown University• Carnegie Mellon Univer-

sity• Chatham University• Columbia University• EPF Lausanne• ETH Zurich• Georgetown University• Harvard University• Indian Institute of

Technology Madras• INSEAD• John Hopkins University• Keio University• KTH Stockholm• London School of Eco-

nomics • Massachusetts Institute

of Technology MIT• Monterrey Institute of

Technology and Higher Education

• National University of Singapore

• Peking University• Politecnico die Milano• Pontifi cal Catholic Uni-

versity of Peru• Princeton University• Stanford University• Tsinghua University• University of Cambridge• University of Gothenburg• University of Hong Kong• University of Luxembourg• University of Oxford • University of Pennsyl-

vania• University of Tokyo• Yale University

ISCN Working Group co-chairing partners:

• Cornell University (Ying Hua)

• Clark University (Nancy Budwig)

• Henning Larsen Archi-tects (Mikala Holme Samsøe)

• National University of Australia (Bart Meeham)

• Kogakuin University (Noamichi Kurata)

• University of Luxembourg (Ariane König)

• University of Zagreb (Bojan Baletic)

ISCN – International Sustainable Campus Network

this reason, the ISCN is an in-stitution for exchanging meth-ods and «best practice» exam-ples world wide of which many can be adapted to pilot region projects in direct context with Novatlantis. Therefore, Novat-lantis is a convinced member of ISCN.

Outlook

While CCEM focuses on tech-nology and natural sciences projects, the transfer orga-nization Novatlantis focuses on implementing these CCEM projects as «pilot and dem-onstration» (P&D) as well as «Lighthouse» projects in prac-tice, supported mainly by cit-ies, cantons and governmental agencies.

As these projects have a sys-temic approach, many are de-veloped to the point that the results can be put in place as P&D and Lighthouse projects. As the results are made vis-ible, this supports decision makers in creating new frame-work conditions to enable the going-to-market process.

Novatlantis has a broad net-work and track record of en-abling the implementation of Lighthouse projects. It creates

A signature project of Novat-lantis has been the founding and support of the Internation-al Sustainable Campus Net-work (ISCN) in the year 2005. Novatlantis provided a critical source of funding and strate-gic oversight for the launch and growth of this innovative global network.

30 universities signed the charter

The ISCN is an international organization designed to sup-port leading colleges, universi-ties, and corporate campuses. All around the globe the ISCN is exchanging information, ideas, and best practices for achieving sustainable campus operations, while integrating sustainability in research and teaching. Through a partner-ship with the Global University Leaders Forum (GULF), an IS-CN-GULF Sustainable Campus Charter was developed, which outlines three organizing prin-ciples for sustainable campus operations, planning, and out-reach.

Since 2009, the presidents of over 30 leading universities from across the world have signed the Charter, committing their universities to pursue the ISCN principles, set goals, and report regularly and publicly on their performance.

Looking at the drivers for sus-tainable developments in cities and regions, especially in the building and energy sectors, universities are the most im-portant. Many initiatives came out of universities and were fi rst carried out in campus. For

and supports concepts for cit-ies, cantons and national or-ganizations to transfer new knowledge from science to the public. Impact is achieved on both sides: While the public then understands the new pos-sibilities, industrial partners and researchers have an ad-ditional test environment and motivation. Altogether, Light-house projects are an indis-pensable part of the commer-cialization of new technologies.

The integrating factor of No-vatlantis is a success factor. With Novatlantis more oppor-tunities for placing P&D and Lighthouse projects in cities and cantons are created. This is a good story for the stake-holders on the research side as well as on the «customer» side. Novatlantis will keep on going this way and expanding this role in the future.

RegisterRegister

91CCEM – Annual Activity Report 2012 Register

Mobility 2006–2009 CEMTEC Computational Engineering of Multi-Scale Trans-port in Small-Scale Surface Based Energy Conversiona

2006–2009 HY_Change Transition to Hydrogen Based Transportation– Challenges and Opportunities

2006–2009 TransEngTesting Transient Heavy Duty Engine Facility for Engine up to 4000 Nm Peak Torque

2006–2010 CELaDE Clean and Effi cient Large Diesel Engines

2006–2010 LERF Large Engine Research Facility

2006–2010 NEADS Next Generation Exhaust Aftertreatment for Diesel Propulsion Systems

Electricity 2006–2010 ONEBAT Battery Replacement Using Miniaturized Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

2006–2010 PHiTEM Platform for High Temperature Materials

2007–2010 ThinPV Cost Effi cient Thin Film Photovoltaics for Future Electricity Generation

2008–2010 GTCO2 Technologies for Gas Turbine Power Generation with CO2 Mitigation

2007–2011 HydroNet Modern Methodologies for the Design, Manufac-turing and Operation of Pumped Storage Power Plants

2009–2012 CARMA Carbon Dioxide Management in Power Genera-tion

2011–2012 Battery Test Bench Acquisition of automated cell and battery test stations

Heat 2006–2010 ccem-house2000 Innovative Building Technologies for the and Building 2000 Watt Society

2006–2011 ccem-retrofi t Advanced Energy Effi cient Renovation of Build-ings

2008–2012 AQUASAR Direct Re-Use of Waste Heat from Liquid-Cooled Supercomputers

2009–2012 SuRHiB Sustainable Renovation of Historical Buildings

List of Finalized ProjectsList of Finalized Projects

92 CCEM – Annual Activity Report 2012Register

List of Finalized ProjectsList of Finalized Projects

Fuels 2007–2010 2ndGeneration New Pathways to Effi cient Use of Biomass for Biogas Power and Transportation

2007–2010 WoodGas-SOFC Integrated Biomass – Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Cogeneration

93CCEM – Annual Activity Report 2012 Register

Mobility GasOMeP Reduction of Gasoline Vehicle Emissions for Organic, Metallic and Particulate Non-legislative Pollutants

Electricity TeKaF Temperature Dependent Ampacity Limit Model-ling of Overhead Power Lines

Geotherm 2 Geothermal Reservoir Processes: Towards the implementation of research into the creation and sustainable use of Enhanced Geothermal Systems

MeAWaT Methods of Advanced Waste Treatment

Advanced Battery Swiss High Energy Density Batteries – From Advanced Materials to a Safe Device

Heat IDEAS4cities Integration of Decentralized Energy Adaptive and Building Systems for Cities

Fuels Solar Fuels Solar Thermochemical Production of Fuels from CO2 and H2O Using Ceria Redox Reactions

ARRMAT plus Development of Attrition Resistant Fluidised-Bed Methanation Catalysts

List of Approved Upcoming Projects List of Approved Upcoming Projects

94 CCEM – Annual Activity Report 2012Register

Research institutes of the ETH Domain• ETH Zurich (ETHZ) • EPF Lausanne (EPFL)• Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI)• Materials Science and Technology (Empa)• Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Re-

search (WSL)• Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology

(Eawag)

Universities and other research institutions• University of Bern• University of Neuchâtel• Federal Offi ce of Meteorology and Climatology (MeteoSwiss)• Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain• Centre Suisse d’Electronique et de Microélectronique (CSEM)• Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden• Centre National de la Recherche Scientifi que (CNRS), Caen,

France• Biomass Technology Group BV (BTG), Enschede, Netherlands• Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp), Campinas,

Brasil• University of Southampton, Great Britain

Universities of applied sciences (UAS)• Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz (FHNW)• Hochschule Luzern – Technik und Architektur (HSLU)• Hochschule für Technik Rapperswil (HSR)• Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften (ZHAW)• Berner Fachhochschule Technik und Informatik (BFH-TI)• Scuola universitaria professionale della Svizzera italiana (SUP-

SI)• Haute Ecole Spécialisée de Suisse Occidentale (HES-SO)

Financing institutions• Swiss Confederation’s Innovation Promotion Agency (CTI) /

Förderagentur für Innovation des Bundes (KTI)• Swiss Federal Offi ce of Energy (SFOE) / Bundesamt für Ener-

gie (BFE)• swisselectric research (a section of swisselectric, an organiza-

tion of Swiss electricity grid companies)• Competence Center Environment and Sustainability (CCES)

Scientifi c Project Partners Scientifi c Project Partners and Financing Institutionsand Financing Institutions

AppendixAppendix

97CCEM – Annual Activity Report 2012 Appendix 9797CCEM – Annual Activity Report 2012 Appendix

For full list of presenta-tions, publications and patents since 2006 see website www.ccem.ch

PresentationsPresentations

CCEM – Competence Center for Energy and Mobility

• Elber U., «Erneuerbare Energien und Energieeffi zienz». Swissmem Tagung, Zürich, February 3, 2012.

• Elber U., «Pressekonferenz Hy.muve». Cleantec City Bern, March 15, 2012.

• Elber U., «CCEM – Competence Center Energy and Mobility». Umweltkommission SP Zurich, March 19, 2012.

• Elber U., GV Schweizerischer Verband für Umwelt Technik, PSI Villigen, May 22, 2012.

• Elber U., «From Research to 2000 watt society». ISCN Conference, Eugene, OR, USA, June 19, 2012.

• Elber U., «Willkommen im Bauforum». Einführungsreferat Bauforum Zürich, Zürich, July 2, 2012.

• Elber U., «Willkommen im Bauforum». Einführungsreferat Bauforum Basel, Basel, November 8, 2012.

• Elber U., «Forschung im Netzwerk». Swisspower, Fachgruppe Mobilität, Zürich, August 29, 2012.

• Elber U., «Forschung im Netzwerk». Impuls Aargau Süd, Reinach, October 15, 2012.

• Elber U., «Réseau de Recherche Cleantec». Swiss Business Hub France, Swiss Embassy, Paris, France, Sep-

tember 19, 2012.

• Elber U., «Energie – die Forschung im Fokus». EnAW Fachtagung, Spreitenbach, November 8, 2012.

• Elber U., «Cleantec City Exhibition». Bern, March 13–15, 2012.

• Elber U., «Mobilitätssalon». Zürich, April 14, 2012.

• Elber U., «CCEM Yearly Event». ENERGIE Kongresse, St. Gallen, May 24, 2012.

NADiP – NOX Abatement in Diesels: Process Analysis, Optimisation and Impact

• Lampimäki M., Zelenay V., Krepelová A., Schreiber S., Liu Z., Chang R., Bluhm H., Ammann M., «Electron

spectroscopic studies on metal oxide surfaces: Effect of ozone, nitrogen oxides and UV-light». LIFE + Pho-

toPAQ, Photocatalysis: Science and Application for Urban Air Quality. May 14–17 2012, Porticcio, France.

• Lampimäki M., Zelenay V., Krepelová A., Liu Z., Chang R., Bluhm H., Ammann M., «Ozone decomposition and

nitrate formation on Fe- and Ti-oxide surfaces studied by ambient pressure XPS and NEXAFS». European

Conference on Surface Science (ECOSS-29), September 3–7 2012, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

• CCEM-NADiP annual meeting, 21.9.2012, Empa.

hy.muve – Hydrogen Driven Municipal Vehicle

• Bach Ch., «Kompakt-Kehrmaschine mit Brennstoffzellenantrieb». Presentation at the eCarTech from

24.10.2012 in Munich.

UFCEV – Ultra-Fast Charging of Electric Vehicles

• EPE-PEMC 2012: 15th International Power Electronics and Motion Control Conference, Novi Sad, Serbia, 4–6

September 2012.

• International Advanced Mobility Forum (IAMF 2012), Geneva CH.

• 2012 International Symposium on Power Electronics, Electrical Drives, Automation and Motion (SPEEDAM),

Sorrente I Italy, June 20–22, 2012.

• CIGRE 44th Session 2012, August 26–31, Paris, France.

• 6th IET International Conference on Power Electronics, Machines and Drives (PEMD 2012), Bristol UK, 2012.

• Cigré/CIRED Informationsnachmittag, 22.11.2012, Zurich CH.

• 5th EPE Joint Wind Energy and T&D Chapters Seminar, Aalborg, Denmark, June 28–29, 2012.

• International Advanced Mobility Forum (IAMF 2012), Geneva CH, 2012.

• IEEE International Electric Vehicle Conference (IEVC), Greenville, SC, USA, Mar. 4–8, 2012.

• Vezzini A., «Ultraschnelles Laden von Elektrofahrzeugen». Presentation given at Elektrifi zierung des An-

triebsstranges – neue Herausforderungen in Forschung und Lehre – Zusammenarbeit zwischen Industrie und

Hochschulen, Gemeinschaftstagung des Institutes für Energie und Mobilität IEM der BFH-TI, der SAE Switzer-

land, der SSM, HKV, FGAM und ACN, Biel, 13. September 2012.

• XI Brazilian Power Electronic Conference (COBEP), Natal, Brazil, September 11–15, 2011.

98 CCEM – Annual Activity Report 2012Appendix9898 CCEM – Annual Activity Report 2012Appendix


THELMA – Technology-Centered Electric Mobility Assessment

• Althaus H.J., «Transport noise in LCA. IEA-HEV Workshop». LCA methodology and Case Studies on EVs,

Braunschweig, 07.12.2012.

• Althaus H.J., «LCA-Methodology for electric Mobility». 1st eLCAr Workshop, Zurich, 12.06.2012.

• Bauer C., «Road accidents and inclusion in LCA». Presentation at 6th SETAC World Congress / SETAC Europe

22nd Annual Meeting, Berlin, 20–24 May 2012.

• Bütler T., Del Duce A., «Use Phase and consumption calculation». Presentation at the 2nd eLCAr Workshop,

Aachen, 9.10.2012.

• Del Duce A., «eLCAr: Development of guidelines for the LCA of BEVs within the ILCD framework». IEA-HEV

Workshop «LCA methodology and Case Studies on EVs». Braunschweig, 07.12.2012.

• Del Duce A., «Final structure and new chapters in the guidelines on the LCA of electric vehicles». Presenta-

tion at the 3rd eLCAr Workshop, Wolfsburg, 6.12.2012.

• Del Duce A., «Challenges and main concepts in the developments of LCA guidelines for electric vehicles».

Presentation at the 2nd eLCAr Workshop, Aachen, 9.10.2012.

• Del Duce A., «Goal defi nition». Presentation at the 2nd eLCAr Workshop, Aachen, 9.10.2012.

• Del Duce A., «Life Cycle Inventory Analysis: Production». Presentation at the 2nd eLCAr Workshop, Aachen,

9.10.2012.

• Georges G., «Driving Cycles and their Infl uence on Conventional Powertrains and Hybrid Electric Power-

trains». International Advanced Mobility Forum, 7–8 March 2012, Geneva, Switzerland.

• Georges G., «Technology assessment of Plugin Hybrid Electric Vehicles with respect to energy demand and

CO2 emissions». Transport Research Arena, 23–26 April 2012, Athens, Greece.

• González Vayá M., Andersson G., «Smart charging of plug-in vehicles under driving behavior uncertainty».

Submitted to the 12th International Conference on Probabilistic Methods Applied to Power Systems, Istanbul,

2012.

• González Vayá M., Andersson G., «Centralized and decentralized approaches to smart charging of plug-in

vehicles». Submitted to the IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting, San Diego, 2012.

• González Vayá M., Galus M.D., Waraich R.A., Andersson G., «On the Interdependence of Intelligent Charging

Approaches for Plug-in Electric Vehicles in Transmission and Distribution Networks». IEEE Innovative Smart

Grids Technologies Conference, Berlin, 2012.

• Hofer J., Wilhelm E., Schenler W., «Fuel Economy Improvements of Swiss and European New Passenger

Vehicle Sales». International Advanced Mobility Forum, Geneva, Switzerland, 7–8 March 2012.

• Hofer J., Wilhelm E., Schenler W., «Optimal LightweightingTechno-Economic Optimization of Advanced Auto-

motive Technology Use in Battery ElectricPassenger Vehicles». Electric Vehicle Symposium, 6–9 May 2012,

Los Angeles, USA.

• Jäggi B., Castro M., Schmitt L., Axhausen K.W., Bhat C.R., «Multiple Discrete-Continuous Choice Model of

Household Energy Reduction across Multiple Sectors Using Priority Evaluator Data». Presented at the 91st

Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., January 2012.

• Saner D., Hellweg S., «Multi-Demand Modeling in LCA – The Assessment of Household Consumption in Swiss

Communities». SETAC Annual Meeting, Berlin, May 2012.

• Saner D., Hellweg S., «Multi-Demand Modeling in LCA». 49th Discussion Forum on LCA, Zurich, Sept. 2012.

• Simons A., Bauer C., «Road accidents and inclusion in LCA». Poster at 6th SETAC World Congress / SETAC

Europe 22nd Annual Meeting, Berlin, 20–24 May 2012.

• Waraich R.A., Axhausen K.W., «An Agent-based Parking Choice Model». Presented at the 91st Annual Meeting

of the Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., January 2012.

• Waraich R.A., Dobler C., Axhausen K.W., «Modelling Parking Search Behaviour with an Agent-Based Ap-

proach». 13th International Conference on Travel Research Behaviour (IATBR), Toronto, July 2012.

Cohyb – Customized Hybrid Powertrains

• Held M., «Battery Test Facilities». NAREP Seminar Electric batteries – devices to be improved, Dübendorf,

7th May 2012.

• Onder C., Ott T., «Hybridantriebe: Potenziale und Realisierungsmöglichkeiten». SSM Vortragstagung CO2-

Reduktion im Strassenverkehr, September 2012, Sursee, Schweiz (invited talk).




• Onder C., Ott T., «Potential of Hybridization». Beijing Institute of Technology, November 2012, Beijing, China

(invited talk).

• Populoh S., Brunko O., Eilertsen J., Karvonen L., Sagarna L., Shkabko A., Saucke G., Vogel-Schäuble N.,

Trottmann M., Weidenkaff A., «Correlated transition metal oxides for thermoelectric power generation».

XXVIII TROBADES CIENTÍFIQUES DE LA MEDITERRÀNIA, Maó (Menorca) Spain, October 2012, invited pre-

sentation.

• Populoh S., Brunko O., Eilertsen J., Karvonen L., Sagarna L., Shkabko A., Saucke G., Vogel-Schäuble N.,

Trottmann M., Weidenkaff A., «Thermoelectric materials development for heat recovery applications». 2nd

International Conference Thermal Management for EV/HEV 2012, Darmstadt Germany, June 2012, invited

presentation.

• Populoh S., Sagarna L., Karvonen L., Weidenkaff A., «Correlated transition metal oxides for thermoelectrics».

Annual meeting of the swiss physical society, Zurich, Switzerland, June 2012.

• Populoh S., «Thermoelectric materials development for heat recovery applications». Workshop conducted at

2nd International Conference Thermal Management for EV/HEV 2012, Darmstadt Germany, June 2012.

• Xie W., Tang X., Zhang Q., «Improved Thermoelectric Performance for In-situ Forming half-Heusler Nano-

composites». E-MRS Spring Meeting, May 14–18, 2012, Strasbourg, France (invited talk).

• Xie W., Zhu S., Populoh S., Gałązka K., Tang X., Zhang Q., Tritt T., Weidenkaff A., «Simultaneously optimiz-

ing the independent thermoelectric properties in Ti(Co,Fe)Sb Alloy by in-situ forming InSb nanoinclusions».

The 31st International & 10th European Conference on Thermoelectrics, July 9th–12th, 2012, Aalborg, Denmark

(talk).

• Xie W., Zhu S., Populoh S., Gałązka K., Tang X., Tritt T., Weidenkaff A., «Signifi cant ZT Enhancement in p-

type Ti(Co,Fe)Sb-InSb Nanocomposites via in-situ Nanostructuring Approach». 2012 Swiss Thermoelectric

Society General Assembly, November 16, 2012, Dübendorf, Switzerland (talk).

CatPor – Catalysis in Porous Media for Automotive Applications

• Presentations in the CatPor inaugural meeting 9.2.2012 as well as in the CatPor 1st annual meeting,

19.9.2012.

DuraCAT – Highly Durable Oxide-based Catalysts for Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells

• Fabbri E., «Oxide-based catalysts for application as cathode materials in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel

cells (PEFCs)». Solid State Electrochemistry Workshop, Heidelberg, Germany, July 15–17, 2012, invited talk.

• Fabbri E., Rabis A., Foelske A., Kötz R., Schmidt T.J., «Oxide semiconductor-based catalysts for application

as cathode materials in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs)». MRS Fall Meeting, Boston, MA, November

25–30, 2012.

• Rabis A., Horisberger M., Fabbri E., Kötz R., Schmidt T.J., «Tin oxide as support material for Pt-based elec-

trocatalysts in PEFCs with improved durability». 63th Annual Meeting of ISE, Prague, Czech Republic, August

19–24, 2012.

• Schmidt T.J., Fabbri E., Rabis A., Foelske A., Kramer D., Kötz R., «Durable oxide-based catalysts for applica-

tion as cathode materials in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEFCs)». 222nd Meeting of the Electro-

chemical Society (ECS), Honolulu, Hawaii | October 7–12, 2012.

CARMA – Carbon Dioxide Management in Power Generation

• Bolaños F., Winkler D., Piringer F., Griffi n T., Bombach R., Mantzaras J., «Study of a rich/lean staged combus-

tion concept for hydrogen under gas turbine relevant conditions». GT2013-94420, ASME TURBO EXPO, June

3–17, 2013, San Antonio, Texas, USA, 2013.

• Bolaños F., Winkler D., Piringer F., Griffi n T., Bombach R., Mantzaras J., «Study of a rich/lean staged combus-

tion concept for hydrogen at gas turbine relevant conditions». Submitted to ASME Turbo Expo 2013.

• Evans K. F., Zappone A. S., Kraft T., Deichmann N., Moia F., «A survey of the induced seismic responses to

fl uid injection in geothermal and CO2 reservoirs in Europe». Geophysical Research Abstracts Vol. 14, EGU

General Assembly, Wien, EGU2012-2758, 2012.




• Hariharan S., Werner M., Zingaretti D., Baciocchi R., Mazzotti M., «Dissolution of activated serpentine for

direct fl ue gas mineralization». GHGT-11, Kyoto, Japan, 18–21 November 2012, Energy Procedia 00 (2013).

• Lin Y.-C., Daniele S., Jansohn P., Boulouchos K., «Turbulent Flame Speed as an Indicator for Flashback Pro-

pensity of Hydrogen-Rich Fuel Gases». GT2013-95518, Proceedings of ASME Turbo Expo 2013, San Antonio,

Texas, USA, 2013.

• Lin Y.-C., Daniele S., Jansohn P., Boulouchos K., «Combustion Characteristics and NOx Emission of Hydrogen-

Rich Fuel Gases at Gas Turbine Relevant Conditions». GT2012-69080, Proceedings of ASME Turbo Expo

2012, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2012.

• Shih Pei-Ju, Almqvist B. S.G., Zappone A., Tisato N., Maurer H., «Simulating the in situ physical properties

of the upper Muschelkalk aquifer, northern Switzerland». Proceedings 10th Swiss Geoscience Meeting, Bern,

Switzerland, 16–17 November, 2012.

• Sutter D., Werner M., Zappone A., Mazzotti M., «Developing CCS into a realistic option in a country’s energy

strategy». GHGT-11, Kyoto, Japan, 18–21 November 2012, Energy Procedia 00 (2013).

• Sutter, D., Mazzotti M., «Roadmap for CO2 capture and storage». Invited talk at FGU Tagung, Greifensee,

Switzerland, August 31, 2012.

• Tock L., Maréchal F., «CO2 mitigation in thermo-chemical hydrogen processes: Thermo-environomic compari-

son and optimization». WHEC 2012 Conference Proceedings – 19th World Hydrogen Energy Conference, June

3–7, 2012, Toronto, 2012.

• Tock L., Maréchal, F., «Platform development for studying integrated energy conversion processes: Applica-

tion to a power plant process with CO2 capture». Proceedings of the 11th International Symposium on Process

Systems Engineering, Singapore, 2012.

• Tock L., Maréchal, F., «Process engineering method for systematically comparing CO2 capture options». Sub-

mitted to 23rd European Symposium on Computer Aided Process Engineering – ESCAPE 2013, Lappeenranta,

2013.

• Weidmann N., Turton H., «Energy-economic Analysis of CCS in Climate Change Mitigation Scenarios under a

Nuclear Phase-out in Switzerland». ENERDAY: 7th Conference on Energy Economics and Technology: Infra-

structure for the Energy Transformation, Dresden, 2012.

• Weidmann N., Turton H., Kannan R., «Potential impact of post Fukushima nuclear policy on the future role of

CCS in climate mitigation scenarios in Switzerland». International Energy Workshop 2012, Capetown, 2012.

• Werner M., Hariharan S., Bortolan A., Zingaretti D., Baciocchi R., Mazzotti M., «Carbonation of activated ser-

pentine for direct fl ue gas mineralization». GHGT-11, Kyoto, Japan, 18–21 November 2012, Energy Procedia

00 (2013).

• Werner M., Sutter D., Krättli A., Lafci Ö., Mutschler R., Oehler P., Winkler J., Mazzotti M., «A showcase for

geological CO2 storage – replacing misconceptions by visual explanations». GHGT-11, Kyoto, Japan, 18–21

November 2012, Energy Procedia 00 (2013).

• Werner M., Sutter D., «Wie funktioniert die CO2-Speicherung im tiefen Untergrund?» Invited contribution to

ETH Klimablog, May 23, 2012.

• Zappone A., «CARMA – CARbon MAnagement in Power Generation: CO2 geological storage in Switzerland».

Proceedings 34 ICG Brisbane, Australia, 2012.

• Zappone A., «Induced seismic responses to fl uid injection in geothermal and CO2 reservoirs in Europe». Pro-

ceedings 34 ICG Brisbane, Australia, 2012.

• «Role of Carbonate Precipitation in CCS». Partnership Council Energy assembly at ETH Zurich, Zürich, Jan.

25, 2013.

• Techfest 2013, presenting the Carbon Storage Showcase at the Indian Institute of Technology IIT Bombay,

Jan. 3–5, 2013, Mumbai, India.

• «Carbonation of activated serpentine for direct fl ue gas mineralization». Frontiers in Energy Research semi-

nar at ETH Zurich, Zürich, Nov. 14, 2012.

• «CCS – CO2 Capture and Storage». Invited talk at Basler & Hoffmann AG Consulting Engineers, Esslingen,

Switzerland, March 20, 2012.

DURSOL – Exploring and Improving Durability of Thin Film Solar Cells

• Gretener C., Dietrich M., Perrenoud J., Kranz L., Pianezzi F., Buecheler S., Tiwari A.N., «Development and

Stability of CdTe Solar Cells in Substrate Confi guration». Presented at EUPVSEC 2012 in Frankfurt, Germany.




• Gretener C., Kranz L., Perrenoud J., Baechler C., Romanyuk Y.E., Buecheler S., Tiwari A.N., «CdTe Solar Cells

in Substrate Confi guration with MoOX Back Contact Buffer». EMRS Spring Meeting 2012 in Strassbourg,

France.

• Hänni S., «On the Interplay Between Material Quality and Interfaces in High-Effi ciency Microcrystalline Sili-

con Solar Cells». 38th IEEE PV Conference 2012.

• Kranz L., Schmitt R., Perrenoud J., Gretener C., Pianezzi F., Buecheler S., Tiwari A.N., «CdTe solar cells in

substrate confi guration». Presented at SolarTR-2 Solar Electricity Conference and Exhibition in Antalya,

Turkey.

• Kranz L., Perrenoud J., Gretener C., Buecheler S., Tiwari A.N., «Formation of CdS-CdTe heterojunction in

CdTe solar cells in substrate confi guration». EMRS Spring Meeting 2012, Strassbourg, France.

• Meillaud F., «Light management schemes and device architecture for high effi ciency thin fi lm silicon solar

cells«. 27th EU PV Conference in Frankfurt, Germany 2012.

• Nisato G., «OPV opportunities and challenges: a roadmapping perspective». ISOS-5 conference (Interna-

tional Summit on Organic Photovoltaic Stability), Eindhoven, 6.12.2012.

• Offermans T. et al., «Exploring and Improving Durability of Bulk-Heterojunction Polymer Solar Cells». ISOS-5

conference, Eindhoven, 6.12.2012.

• Wicht G., «Improving performance and stability of cyanine-based organic solar cells». World Materials Re-

search Institute Forum in Bangkok, Thailand, 28.8-31.8.2012.

• Zhang H., «Semitransparent organic photovoltaics using a near-infrared absorbing cyanine dye». Global

Organic Photovoltaic conference in Suzhou, China, 9.9.–12.9.2012.

HITTEC – High Temperature Thermoelectric Converters for Electricity Generation in a SOFEC System

• Heel A., et al., «HITTEC – Development of a high temperature SOFC-TEC hybrid system». ENE Seminar,

20.08.2012, PSI, Villigen, Switzerland.

• Populoh S., et al., «Correlated transition metal oxides for thermoelectric power generation». XXVIII TRO-

BADES CIENTÍFIQUES DE LA MEDITERRÀNIA, Maó (Menorca) Spain, 2012.

• Populoh S., Karvonen L., Weidenkaff A., «Correlated transition metal oxides for thermoelectrics». Annual

meeting of the Swiss physical society 2012, Zurich, Switzerland.

• Populoh S., et al., «Correlated transition metal oxides for thermoelectric power generation». XXVIII TRO-

BADES CIENTÍFIQUES DE LA MEDITERRÀNIA, Maó (Menorca) Spain, 2012.

• Populoh S., Karvonen L., Weidenkaff A., «Correlated transition metal oxides for thermoelectrics». Annual

meeting of the Swiss physical society 2012, Zurich, Switzerland.

• Thiel P. et al., «PhD Student’s Symposium 2012». 13.11.2012, Empa, Dübendorf, Switzerland.

• Thiel P., et al.: PhD poster contribution from Empa.

SwissKitePower – Novel Wind Energy Extraction Technology

• Houle C., Presentation of the progress of the project. ERC HIGHWIND Scientifi c Advisory Board Meeting and

Workshop, Leuven, Belgium, May 2012.

HydroNet 2 – Modern Methodologies for the Design, Manufacturing and Operation of Pumped Storage Power Plants

• Vessaz C., Jahanbakhsh E., Avellan F., «FPM Simulations of a 3D Impinging Jet on a Flat Plate Comparison

with CFD and Experimental Results». 7th international SPHERIC workshop, Monash University, Prato, Italy,

2012.

• Vessaz C., Jahanbakhsh E., Avellan F., «FPM Simulations of a High Speed Water Jet Validation With CFD and

Experimental Results». SimHydro 2012: Hydraulic modelling and uncertainty, Sofi a Antipolis, Nice, France,

2012.

• General Assembly in Vienna (April 2012), 34th International Geological Congress in Brisbane (August 2012),

GHGT-11 in Kyoto (November 2012).




AQUASAR – Direct Re-use of Waste Heat from Liquid-Cooled Supercomputers

• Costa-Patry E., Thome J.R., «On-Chip Cooling of Hot-Spots with a Copper Micro-Evaporator». 29th Annual

Thermal Measurement, Modeling & Management Symposium SEMI-THERM 29. 2012. San Jose, CA, USA.

• Lamaison N., Marcinichen J.B., Thome J.R., «Dynamic Modeling of a Two-Phase On-Chip Cooling System

applied on Parallel High Performance Microprocessors». 30th Annual Thermal Measurement, Modeling & Man-

agement Symposium SEMI-THERM 30. 2013. San Jose, CA, USA.

• Lamaison N., Marcinichen J.B., Thome J.R., «Transient Simulation of Two-phase On-chip Liquid Pump Cycle

for Cooling of High Performance Processors with Heat Recovery». ECI 8th – International Conference on Boil-

ing and Condensation Heat Transfer. 2012. Lausanne, Switzerland.

• Marcinichen J.B., Thome J.R., «Two-Phase Flow Control of On-Chip Two-Phase Cooling Systems of Servers».

29th Annual Thermal Measurement, Modeling & Management Symposium SEMI-THERM 29. 2012. San Jose,

CA, USA.

• Sharma C.S., Tiwari M.K., Michel B., Poulikakos D., «Optimized liquid cooling of electronic chips». ASME 2012

International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition, Houston, US, November 9–15, 2012.

• Tiwari M.K., Zimmermann S., Sharma C.S., Alfi eri F., Renfer A., Brunschwiler T., Meijer I., Michel B., Poulika-

kos D., «Waste Heat Recovery in Supercomputers and 3D Integrated Liquid Cooled Electronics». Proc. of

the 13th IEEE Intersociety Conference on Thermal and Thermomechanical Phenomena in Electronic Systems

(ITherm), San Diego, 2012.

• Wu D., Marcinichen J.B., Thome J.R. «Experimental Evaluation of Hybrid Two-phase Multimicrochannel Cool-

ing and Heat Recovery System Driven by Liquid Pump and Vapor Compressor». ECI 8th International Confer-

ence on Boiling and Condensation Heat Transfer. 2012. Lausanne, Switzerland.

• Zimmermann S., Meijer I., Tiwari M.K., Michel B., Poulikakos D., «Hot Water Cooled Electronics for High Ex-

ergetic Utility». Proceedings of the ASME 2012 Summer Heat Transfer Conference, HT2012, July 8–12, 2012,

Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.

SuRHiB – Sustainable Renovation of Historical Buildings

• Carmeliet J., Lehmann B., et al., «Optimization of the retrofi t of historical buildings: the Swiss approach». 5th

International Building Physics Conference, Kyoto May 2012.

• Stahl T., «Alles andere als ein Luftikus». Tagung B+B Bauen im Bestand, Juli 2012.

• Stahl T., «Die Entwicklung eines Aerogel Dämmputzes und erste Testobjekte». 17. Status Seminar Forschen

für den Bau im Kontext von Energie und Umwelt, ETHZ, September 2012.

• Stahl T., Zimmermann M., Brunner S., Koebel M., Empa 2012 Innovation Price, December 2012.

• Presseevent Empa / Fixit, «Effi ziente Gebäudedämmung mit Weltraumtechnologie». Umweltarena Spreiten -

bach, Dezember 2012.

• Stahl T., «Gebäude energetisch optimieren». 15. Eckernförder Fachtagung, März 2012.

• Stahl T., «Die Entwicklung eines Aerogel Dämmputzes und erste Testobjekte». 17. Status Seminar Forschen

für den Bau im Kontext von Energie und Umwelt, ETHZ, September 2012.

• Zimmermann M., «Superinsulation – a new trend for new constructions and for building renovation». Inter-

national Symposium on Superinsulating materials, Brussels, April 2012.

• Zimmermann M., «Façade renovation with Aerogel rendering». International Symposium on Superinsulating

materials, Brussels, April 2012.

• Zimmermann, M., Ghazi Wakili, K., Wouters, P., «Organization of International Symposium on Superin-sulat-

ing materials». Brussels, April 2012.

• Zimmermann M., «Proposal for new IEA Annex on Superinsulating Materials». IEA ECBCS Executive Commit-

tee, Bilbao, June 2012.

UMEM- Urban Multiscale Energy Modelling

• Dorer V., «Urbanes Klima – urbane Energiesysteme». STV/SATW/Empa Tage der Technik 2012: Die Stadt der

Zukunft – Zukunft der Stadt. Empa Dübendorf, 25.10.2012.




ARCHINSOLAR – Unique and Innovative Solution of Thin Silicon Films Modules Building Integration

• Heinstein P., «Novel colored esthetical and lightweight photovoltaic tiles for full building integration». Poster

presented at the PVSEC 2012 in Munich.

• Perret L.-E., presentation at the General Assembly of the pôle Suisse de Technologie Solaire in June 2012 in

Neuchâtel.

SunChem – Bio-Synthetic Natural Gas from Microalgae

• Bagnoud-Velasquez M., Schmid-Staiger U., Peng G., Vogel F., Ludwig, C., «Recovering nutrients from an

algal biofuel production process». 9th European Workshop on Biotechnology of Microalgae, 2–3 June 2012,

Nuthetal, Germany.

• Bagnoud-Velasquez M., Brandenberger M., Pereira Gomes E., Vogel F., Ludwig C., «Continuous catalytic

hydrothermal gasifi cation of algal biomass to methane and process optimization for nutrient recycling». 3rd

workshop COST Action CM0903 «Utilization of biomass for fuel and Chemicals (UBIOCHEM)», Thessaloniki,

Greece, 2012.

• Gomes E.P., Emery O., Bagnoud-Velasquez M., Schwitzguébel J.-P., Holliger C., Ludwig C., «Intensity of Light

Incident and Photoperiod of LED illumination based system on Scenedesmus vacuolatus growth». 9th Euro-

pean Workshop on Biotechnology of Microalgae, 2–3 June 2012, Nuthetal,Germany.

• Gomes E.P., Emery O., Bagnoud-Velásquez M., Schwitzguébel J.-P., Holliger C., Ludwig C., «Microalgal carot-

enoid recovery in a biorefi nery approach». 3rd workshop COST Action CM0903 «Utilization of biomass for fuel

and Chemicals (UBIOCHEM)», Thessaloniki, Greece, 2012.

• Ludwig Ch., Vogel F., Holliger Ch., Schwitzguébel J.-P., Maréchal F., Gnansounou E., Zah R., Burkhardt M.,

«SunCHem – Ein Verfahren zur Herstellung von Biomethan aus Algen». Swisselectric Research Award, poster

presentation, Zurich, 18.9.2012.

• Mian A., Viana Ensinas A., Marechal F., «Multi-objective optimization of SNG production through hydrother-

mal gasifi cation from microalgae». Submitted to: 23rd European Symposium on Computer Aided Process

Engineering – ESCAPE 23 June 9–12, 2013, Lappeenranta, Finland.

• Peng G., «SunCHem – Hydrothermal Gasifi cation of Microalgae». Talk at Romande Energie, Morges,

12.6.2012.

• Schwitzguébel JP., «Sustainable production of microalgae for the production of biofuels and added-value

chemicals». Oral presentation at the COST CM0903 Meeting on Green Metrics, 2–3 February 2012, Lyon,

France.

• Schwitzguébel J.P., Butsch B., Hack G., Pfi stner C., Holliger C., «Towards the sustainable cultivation of micro-

algae for the production of biofuels and added-value chemicals». Keynote lecture at the 27th Congress of the

Phycological Society of Southern Africa, 17–22 June 2012, Qolora, South Africa.

• Schwitzguébel J.P., Butsch B., Hack G., Pfi stner C., Holliger C., «Development of a microalgal process for

bioenergy production, CO2 mitigation and wastewater treatment». Keynote lecture at the 5th International

Symposium on Biosorption and Bioremediation, 24–28 June 2012, Prague, Czech Republic.

• Schwitzguébel J.-P., Pereira Gomes E., Bagnoud-Velasquez M., Ludwig C., Holliger C., «Towards the sustain-

able cultivation of microalgae to produce renewable biofuels and added-value chemicals». 9th International

Conference on Phytotechnologies, 11–14 September 2012, Hasselt, Belgium.

• Vogel F., Brandenberger M., Ludwig Ch., «SunCHem – Hydrothermale Vergasung von Algenbiomasse».

5. Bundesalgenstammtisch, DECHEMA, München-Pullach, Germany, March 26–27, 2012 (invited talk).

• Travels in Colombia (January 22nd–27th, 2012) organized by COOPERATION-@EPFL. The SunCHem was

presented at 4 key Universities and possibilities for collaboration in the frame of the SunCHem project has

been discussed with different representatives at these universities. With some of the contacts collaboration is

ongoing.

• SwissECS exhibition: SunCHem project was selected to exhibit research and products at the Swiss Climate

and Energy Summit (SwissECS) as one of 10 presenters. September 12–14th, 2012 in Bern, Federal Square.

In addition the project was presented in form of an «Elevator Pitch» on September 14th 2012.

• 9th European Workshop on Biotechnology of Microalgae, Nuthetal, Germany, 2012.

• 3rd workshop COST Action CM0903 «Utilisation of biomass for fuel and Chemicals (UBIOCHEM)». Thessa-

loniki, Greece, 2012.




• 2nd symposium of the ACIS Association, Swiss-Colombian bilateral relations about scientifi c exchange,

Lausanne, Switzerland, 2012.

• Technical visit to the Algaeparc at Wageningen University Netherlands, aiming the development network with

the Wijffels team, may 2012.

OPTIWARES – OPTImization of the Use of Wood as a Renewable Energy Source

• Baltensperger U., Bey I., Biollaz S., Burtscher H., Heck T., Hueglin C., Kröcher O., Lohmann U., Müller B.,

Peter T., Rüegg P., «Optimierung der Nutzung von Holz als erneuerbarem Energieträger». Poster, ENERGIE

Congress, 24 May 2012, St. Gallen, Switzerland.

• Burtscher H., Teilnahme am Workshop «Praxisemissionen kleiner Biomassefeuerungen». Umweltbundesamt,

8 November 2012, Berlin, Germany.

• Glassmeier F., Lohmann U., Bey I., «Assessment of the regional climate effect of secondary aerosol from

different sources». 11th International NCCR Climate Summer School, 9–14 September 2012, Centro Stefano

Franscini, Monte Verità, Switzerland.

• Herich H., Hueglin C., Fischer A., Buchmann B., «Long term monitoring of black carbon at eight measure-

ment sites in Switzerland». European Aerosol Conference EAC2012, 2–7 September 2012, Granada, Spain.

• Herich H., Gianini M.F.D., Piot C., Cozic J., Jaffrezo J.L., Besombes J.L., Prevot A.S.H., Hueglin C., «Overview

of the impact of wood burning emissions on carbonaceous aerosols and PM in the Alpine region». European

Aerosol Conference EAC2012, 2–7 September 2012, Granada, Spain.

• Keller A., Burtscher H., «Continuous fl ow reactor for a defi ned measurement of the SOA formation potential

of wood burning emissions». European Aerosol Conference EAC2012, 2–7 September 2012, Granada, Spain.

• Keller A., «On-line measurement of the secondary organic aerosol production potential from wood burn-

ing». DBFZ-Conference «Dust measuring procedures for small biomass furnaces», 7 November 2012, Berlin,

Germany.

• Keller A., «Holzverbrennungsemissionen». Seminar: Transfer Transparent seminar, 11 December 2012,

FHNW Windisch, Switzerland.

novatlantis – Sustainability at the ETH Domain – Promotion of Transdisciplinary Science

• Berger T., «Sustainable Fleet Management in Companies». August 29th 2012, Swisspower, Zurich.

• Berger T., «Sustainable Fleet Management in Companies». September 5th 2012, EWB, Bern.

• Berger T., «Sustainable Fleet Strategies – Vision, Strategy and Measures». September 14th 2012, Auto Basel,

Basel.

• Berger T., «Sustainable Fleet Management – Effect of Alternative Power Trains on the Sustainability of Ve-

hicle Fleets». November 22nd 2012, Mobility Forum, Basel.

• Elber U., «Energie – die Forschung im Fokus, Jahreskongress Energieagentur ENAW». Nov 8th 2012, Spreit-

enbach.

• Elber U., «Novatlantis – vom politischen Auftrag zur Smart City». D-A-CH Versammlung, Nov 15th 2012,

Winterthur.

• Elber U., «Reseau de Recherche Cleantech». Swiss Business Hub France, Sept. 19th 2012, Paris.

• Elber U., «Vom Fenster zur Smart City». Bauforum Basel, Nov 12th 2012, Basel.

• Elber U., «Forschung im Netzwerk». Impuls Aargau Süd, Okt 10th 2012, Reinach.

• Elber U., «Forschung im Netzwerk – CCEM als Modell». Energiekongress. May 24th 2012, St. Gallen.

• Elber U., «From Research to 2000-Watt-Society». ISCN Congress, June 19th 2012, Eugene, USA.

• Stulz R., «Novatlantis and the 2000-Watt Society». Energieforum Zug, January 1st 2012, Zug.

• Stulz R., «Städtetag, Nachhaltige Quartiere». February 1st 2012, Geneva.

• Stulz R., «Die Schöne Stadt, Urban Development». February 15th 2012, Bochum.

• Stulz R., «Swissnex, Sustainable Neighbourhood Development». February 24th 2012, Cambridge Mass.

• Stulz R., «Suffi ciency and Technology». Sun 21, April 18th 2012, Basel.

• Stulz R., «Sustainable Neighbourhoods». Klimabündnis, May 24th 2012, St. Gallen.

• Stulz R., «Sustainable Neighbourhoods and Pilot projects». Attisholz Development, June 11th 2012, Solo-

thurn.

• Stulz R., «Novatlantis and ISCN». American Delegation of Universities, July 2nd 2012, Basel.




• Stulz R., «Sustainable Urban Development». Climate KIC, August 20th, 2012, ETHZ Zurich.




For full list of presenta-tions, publications andpatents since 2006 seewebsite www.ccem.ch

107107107CCEM – Annual Activity Report 2012 Appendix


• – peer reviewed papers

• – other papers

NADiP – NOX Abatement in Diesels: Process Analysis, Optimisation and Impact

• Bernhard A.M., Czekaj I., Elsener M., Wokaun A., Kröcher O., «Evaporation of urea at atmospheric pressure».

Submitted to Chemical Engineering Journal.

• Bernhard A.M., Elsener M., Wokaun A., Kröcher O., «Hydrolysis and thermolysis of urea and its decomposi-

tion byproducts biuret, cyanuric acid and melamine over anatase TiO2». Submitted to Appl. Catal. B, status:

revisions needed.

• Bernhard A.M., Czekaj I., Elsener M., Wokaun A., Kröcher O., «Evaporation of urea at atmospheric pressure».

Submitted to Chemical Engineering Journal.

• Bernhard A.M., Elsener M., Wokaun A., Kröcher O., «Hydrolysis and thermolysis of urea and its decomposi-

tion byproducts biuret, cyanuric acid and melamine over anatase TiO2». Submitted to Appl. Catal. B, status:

revisions needed.

• Liati A., Dimopoulos Eggenschwiler P., Schreiber D., Zelenay V., Ammann M., «Variations in diesel soot re-

activity along the exhaust after-treatment system, based on the morphology and nano-structure of primary

soot particles». Combustion and Flame (2012), doi.org/10.1016/j.combustfl ame.2012.10.024.

• Sharifi an L., Wright Y.M., Boulouchos K., Elsener M., Kröcher O., «Calibration of an NH3-SCR system including

NO oxidation and simulation of NOx reduction over Fe-Zeolite catalyst in highly transient conditions». Inter-

national Journal of Engine Research, in preparation.

• Sharifi an L., Wright Y.M., Boulouchos K., Elsener M., Kröcher O., «Transient simulation of NOx reduction in an

NH3-SCR system over Fe-Zeolite catalyst and study of the performance under different operating conditions».

2011 JSAE/SAE International Powertrains, Fuels & Lubricants Meeting, JSAE Paper offer No. 20119195, in

preparation.


NO oxidation and simulation of NOX reduction over Fe-Zeolite catalyst in highly transient conditions». Inter-


• Sharifi an L., Wright Y.M., Boulouchos K., Elsener M., Kröcher O., «Transient simulation of NOX reduction

in an NH3-SCR system over Fe-Zeolite catalyst and study of the performance under different operating

conditions». 2011 JSAE/SAE International Powertrains, Fuels & Lubricants Meeting, JSAE Paper offer No.

20119195, in preparation.


NO oxidation and simulation of NOX reduction over Fe-Zeolite catalyst in highly transient conditions». Inter-


hy.muve – Hydrogen Driven Municipal Vehicle

• Walter S., «Niche Market Strategies for the Electrifi cation of Road Transportation». Dissertation, ETH Zurich,

2012.


• Dziechciaruk G., Grzesiak L., Vezzini A., Hõimoja H., «Analysis of a fl ywheel storage system for ultra-fast

charging station of electric vehicles with regard to electric machine design and operational speed range».

Przegląd Elektrotechniczny, 2012, 02a/2013.

• Cherix N., Vasiladiotis M. and Rufer A., «Functional Modeling and Energetic Macroscopic Representation of

Modular Multilevel Converters». EPE-PEMC 2012: 15th International Power Electronics and Motion Control

Conference, Novi Sad, Serbia, 4–6 September 2012.

• Christen D., Tschannen S., Biela J., «Highly Effi cient and Compact DC-DC Converter for Ultra-Fast Charging

of Electric Vehicles». 15th International Power Electronics and Motion Control Conference, EPE-PEMC 2012

ECCE Europe, Novi Sad, Serbia.

• Hõimoja H., Rufer A., «Infrastructure Issues Regarding the Ultrafast Charging of Electric Vehicles». Interna-

tional Advanced Mobility Forum (IAMF), Geneva, 8 p, 2012.

• Hõimoja H., Rufer A., Dziechciaruk G., Vezzini A., «An Ultrafast EV Charging Station Demonstrator». 2012

International Symposium on Power Electronics, Electrical Drives, Automation and Motion, Sorrento, Italy,

June 20–22, 2012.

PublicationsPublications




108108108 CCEM – Annual Activity Report 2012Appendix




• Hõimoja H., Vasiladiotis M., Grioni S., Capezzali M., Rufer A., Püttgen H.B., «Towards Ultrafast Charging Solu-

tions of Electric Vehicles». Cigré 2012 Paris session, 8 p, 2012.

• Höimoja H., Vasiladiotis M., Rufer A., «Power Interfaces and Storage Selection for an Ultrafast EV Charging

Station». PEMD2012: Power Electronics, Motion and Drives, Bristol, 2012.

• Hõimoja H., «In die Richtung des ultraschnellen Aufl adens der Elektrofahrzeuge».

• Jauch F., Biela J., «An Innovative Bidirectional Isolated Multi-Port Converter with Multi-Phase AC Ports and

DC Ports». Proceedings of the 5th EPE Joint Wind Energy and T&D Chapters Seminar, Aalborg, Denmark, June

28–29, 2012.

• Jauch F., Biela J., «Single-Phase Single-Stage Bidirectional Isolated ZVS AC-DC Converter with PFC». Pro-

ceedings of the 15th International Power Electronics and Motion Control Conference (EPE-PEMC), Novi Sad,

Serbia, Sept. 4–6, 2012.

• Tsirinomeny M., Hõimoja H., Rufer A., «Ultrafast Charging Compatibility of Electric Vehicles». International

Advanced Mobility Forum (IAMF), Geneva, 11 p, 2012.

• Vasiladiotis M., Cherix N., Rufer A., «Accurate Voltage Ripple Estimation and Decoupled Current Control for

Modular Multilevel Converters». Proc. of the 15th International Power Electronics and Motion Control Confer-

ence and Exposition (EPE-PEMC 2012), Novi Sad, Serbia, Sep. 4–6, 2012.

• Vasiladiotis M., Rufer A., Beguin A., «Modular Converter Architecture for Medium Voltage Ultra-Fast EV

Charging Stations: Global System Considerations». Proc. of the 21 Appendix A.1 References 1st IEEE Inter-

national Electric Vehicle Conference (IEVC), Greenville, SC, USA, Mar. 4–8, 2012.

THELMA – Technology-Centered Electric Mobility Assessment

• Althaus H.J., «Modern individual mobility». International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 17: 267–269,

2012.

• Althaus H.J., «Vehicle and context specifi c inclusion of road transport noise impacts in Life Cycle Assess-

ment». Environmental Science & Technology (in revision).

• Galus M.D., González Vayá M., Krause T., Andersson G., «The role of electric vehicles in smart grids». Accept-

ed for publication in Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews – Energy and Environment, 2012.

• Jäggi B., Erath A., Dobler C., Axhausen K.W., «Modeling household fl eet choice as a function of fuel price us-

ing a multiple discrete-continuous choice model». Transportation Research Record, forthcoming.

• Waraich R.A., Axhausen K.W., «An Agent-based Parking Choice Model». Transportation Research Record

2012.

• Wilhelm E., Hofer J., Schenler W., L. Guzzella, «Optimal implementation of lightweighting and powertrain ef-

fi ciency technology in passengers’ vehicles». Transport 27 (3), 2012.

• Althaus H.J., «Inventories and Impact Assessment for Road Transport Noise in Generic Life cycle assess-

ments». Diss. ETH No 20546 ETH Zurich, Zurich 2012.

• Simons A., «Life cycle inventory data related passenger vehicle transport processes». Datasets submitted to

and accepted by the ecoinvent v3 database. To be published with the ecoinvent v3 release.

Cohyb – Customized Hybrid Powertrains

• Ott T., Zurbriggen F., Onder C., Guzzella L., «Cycle-averaged effi ciency of hybrid electric vehicles». Proceed-

ings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part D: Journal of Automobile Engineering, 2012.

• Populoh S., Aguirre M.H., Brunko O.C., Galazka K., Lu Y., Weidenkaff A., «High fi gure of merit in (Ti,Zr,Hf)

NiSn half-Heusler alloys». Scripta Mater., 66 (12), 1073 (2012).

• Xie W., Weidenkaff A., Tang X., Zhang Q., Poon J., Tritt T.M., «Recent Advances in Nanostructured Thermo-

electric Half-Heusler Compounds». Nanomaterials, 2012, 2(4), 379–412. (Invited Review) (Open Access)

• Xie W., Yan Y., Zhu S., Zhou M., Populoh S., Gałązka K., Poon S.J., Weidenkaff A., He J., Tang X., Tritt T.M.,

«Signifi cant ZT Enhancement in p-type Ti(Co,Fe)Sb-InSb Nanocomposites via a Combined ‹High Mobil-

ity Electron Injection, Energy fi ltering and Boundary Scattering› Process». Acta Materilia, 2013, 61(6),

2087–2094.









DuraCAT – Highly Durable Oxide-based Catalysts for Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells

• Rabis A., Horisberger M., Fabbri E., Kötz R., Schmidt T.J., «Durable Oxide-Based Catalysts for Application as

Cathode Materials in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEFCs)». ECS transaction, PRiME, October

7–12, 2012, submitted.

CARMA – Carbon Dioxide Management in Power Generation

• Urech J., Tock L., Harkin T., Hoadley A., Maréchal F., «An Assessment of Different Solvent-based Capture

Technologies Within an IGCC-CCS Power plant». In preparation for submission to Energy, 2013.

• Prigiobbe V., Mazzotti M., «Precipitation of Mg-carbonates at elevated temperature and partial pressure of

CO2». Chemical Engineering Journal, in press, 2013.

• Schultze M., Mantzaras J., Bombach R., Boulouchos K., «An experimental and numerical investigation of the

hetero-/homogeneous combustion of fuel-rich hydrogen/air mixtures over platinum». Proceedings Combus-

tion Institute, 34, 2269–2277, 2013.

• Tock L., Maréchal F., «Co-production of hydrogen and electricity from lignocellulosic biomass: Process design

and thermo-economic optimization». Energy 45 (1), 339–349, 2012.

• Tock L., Maréchal F., «H2 processes with CO2 mitigation: Thermo-economic modeling and process integra-

tion». International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 37 (16), 11785–11795, 2012.

• Tock L., Maréchal, F., «Process design optimization strategy to develop energy and cost correlations of CO2

capture processes». In: Bogle, I. D. L., Fairweather, M. (Eds.), 22nd European Symposium on Computer Aided

Process Engineering. Vol. 30 of Computer Aided Chemical Engineering. Elsevier, pp. 562–566, 2012.

• Wallquist L, L’Orange Seigo S, Visschers V.H.M et al., « Public acceptance of CCS system elements:

A conjoint measurement». International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 6 (0):77–83, 2012.

• Zheng X., Mantzaras J., Bombach R., «Homogeneous combustion of fuel-lean syngas mixtures over platinum

at elevated pressures and preheats». Combustion and Flame, 160, 155–169, 2013.

• Wallquist, L. I. «Public perception of carbon dioxide capture and storage». Diss., Eidgenössische Technische

Hochschule ETH Zürich, ETH Publisher, Nr. 19952. 2011.

DURSOL – Exploring and Improving Durability of Thin Film Solar Cells

• Ding L., Benkhaira M., Nicolay S., Ballif C., Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 1426 (2012), 51–56.

• Gretener C., Perrenoud J., Kranz L., Baechler C., Yoon S., Romanyuk Y.E., Buecheler S., Tiwari A.N., «De-

velopment of MoOX Thin Films as Back Contact Buffer for CdTe Solar Cells in Substrate Confi guration». Thin

Solid Films, accepted for publication.

• Hänni S., Alexander D.T.L., Ding L., Bugnon G., Boccard M., Battaglia C., Cuony P., Escarré J., Parascandolo

G., Nicolay S., Cantoni M., Despeisse M., Meillaud F., Ballif C., «On the Interplay Between Microstructure

and Interfaces in High-Effi ciency Microcrystalline Silicon Solar Cells». IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics, DOI:

10.1109/JPHOTOV.2012.2214766.

• Meillaud F., Billet A., Battaglia C., Boccard M., Bugnon G., Cuony P., Charriere M., Despeisse M., Ding L.,

Escarre-Palou J., Hänni S., Lofgren L., Nicolay S., Parascandolo G., Stuckelberger M., Ballif C., «Latest De-

velopments of High-Effi ciency Micromorph Tandem Silicon Solar Cells Implementing Innovative Substrate

Materials and Improved Cell Design». IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics 2 (3) (2012), 236–240.

• Neukom M.T., Züfl e S., Ruhstaller B., «Reliable extraction of organic solar cell parameters by combining

steady-state and transient techniques». Organic Electronics 13 (2012).

• Stuckelberger M., Riesen Y., Perruche B., Despeisse M., Wyrsch N., Ballif C., «Charge collection in amorphous

silicon solar cells: Cell analysis and simulation of high-effi ciency pin devices». Journal of Non-Crystalline

Solids 358 (2012), 2187–2189.

• Zhang H., Wicht G., Gretener C., Nagel M., Nüesch F., Romanyuk Y., Tisserant J.-N., Hany R., «Semitranspar-

ent organic photovoltaics using a near-infrared absorbing cyanine dye». Submitted to Adv. Energy Mater.

2012.

• Wicht G., Berner E., Jäger T., Zhang H., Hany R., Nüesch F., «Performance and stability of organic trimethine

cyanine dye – C60 heterojunction solar cells». Workshop proceedings, World Materials Research Institute

Forum in Bangkok, Thailand (Springer).









HITTEC – High Temperature Thermoelectric Converters for Electricity Generation in a SOFEC Sysem

• Buhmann J., Sigrist M., «Numerical Study of the Thermoelectric Effect of Two-Dimensional Metals on a

Square Lattice and Breakdown of Mott’s Formula». Submitted 2012.

• Buhmann J. et al., «Numerical Study of Charge Transport of Overdoped La2XSrXCuO4 within Semiclassical

Boltzmann Transport Theory». Arxiv:1210.7668, under evaluation at Phys. Rev. B. 2012.

• Jaćimović, J., Gaál, R., Magrez, A., Piatek, J., Forró, L., Nakao, S., Hirose, Y., Hasegawa, T., «Low tempera-

ture resistivity, thermoelectricity, and power factor of Nb doped anatase TiO2». Applied Physics Letters

102(1), 013901 (2013).

• Heel A., Weidenkaff A., Peters M., «Das Projekt HITTEC: Ein Turbo für die Brennstoffzelle». Press release,

EMPA News, 12/2012.

PINE – Platform for Innovative Nuclear Fuels

• Cabanes-Sempere M., Cozzo C., Vaucher S., Catalá-Civera J.M., Pouchon M.A., «Innovative production of

nuclear fuel by microwave internal gelation: Heat transfer model of falling droplets». Progress in Nuclear

Energy, Volume 57, May 2012, Pages 111–116, ISSN 0149-1970, 10.1016/j.pnucene.2011.12.011, 2012

• Cabanes-Sempere M., Cozzo C., Catalá-Civera J.M., Peñaranda-Foix F.L., Ishizaki K., Vaucher S., Pouchon

M.A., «Characterization of Free Falling Drops inside a Microwave Cavity». Proceedings of the International Mi-

crowave Symposium IMS 2012, June 17–22, Montreal (Canada), pp. 1738–1740. ISBN 978.1.4673.10868.4.

(DOI: 10.1109/MWSYM.2012.6259757), 2012.

• Pouchon M.A., Ledergerber G., Ingold F., Bakker K., «Sphere-Pac and VIPAC Fuel». Ch 3.11 in Comprehen-

sive Nuclear Materials, Elsevier 2012, ed. Rudy Konings, ISBN: 978-0-08-056027-4, 2012.

• Pouchon M.A., Hellwig Ch., Nordström L.Å., «Modeling of Sphere-Pac Fuel». Ch. 3.25 in Comprehensive

Nuclear Materials, Elsevier 2012, ed. Rudy Konings, ISBN: 978-0-08-056027-4, 2012.

• Cozzo C., Cabanes-Sempere M., Pouchon M.A., «Method of Advance Waste Conditioning by Microwave Inter-

nal Gelation: Set Up Development and Modeling». Actinide and Fission Product Partitioning and Transmuta-

tion, 12th Information Exchange Meeting, Prague, Czech Republic, September 24–27, 2012.


• Fagiano L., Zgraggen A.U., Morari M., Khammash M., «Automatic crosswind fl ight of tethered wings for

airborne wind energy: modeling, control design and experimental results». Paper submitted to IEEE TCST.

UCSB/ETHZ, 2012.

• Fagiano L., Huyng K., Bamieh B., Khammash M., «On sensor fusion for airborne wind energy systems».

Paper submitted to IEEE TCST, UCSB/ETHZ, 2012.

• Ettlin K., «Turbulence Distortion and Unsteady Near-Wake Characteristics of a Multi-Megawatt HAWT». Mas-

ter thesis, ETHZ, FS 2012.

• Heilmann J., «The Technical and Economic Potential of Airborne Wind Energy». Master Thesis, Utrecht Uni-

versity, 2012.

• Khandekar A.D., «Scalable Design of a Powertrain and Prototype for a Pumping Kite Generator». Bachelor

Thesis, Bachelor Thesis, Bits Pilani Goa Campus, India, 2012.

• Lopez M., «Optimization of a Tensairtiy beam for a kite used for harvesting wind energy». Master thesis,

Universite de Bourgogne, France, FS 2012.

• Mani M., «Experimental and numerical performance evaluation of a ram-air kite for power generation». Mas-

ter thesis, ETHZ, HS 2012.

• Martin S., «New joining technologies for the production of infl atable kites». Bachelor thesis, ETHZ, HS 2012.

• Menzi P., Sulzer P., «Windenergienutzung mit Kites: Energierueckspeisung und Batteriemangement». Bach-

elor Thesis, FHNW, FS 2012.

• Mueller R., «Windenergienutzung mit Kites: Bestimmung von Position und Fluglage». Bachelor Thesis, FHNW,

FS 2012.

• Sommer, R., «Windenergienutzung mit Kites: Ausbau Bodenstation». Bachelor Thesis, FHNW, FS 2012.

• Winiger P., «New concept of infl atable foam wing». Bachelor thesis, ETHZ, FS 2012.









HydroNet 2 – Modern Methodologies for the Design, Manufacturing and Operation of Pumped Storage Power Plants

• Jahanbakhsh E., Pacot O., Avellan F., «Implementation of a Parallel SPH-FPM Solver for Fluid Flow». Zetta

Numerical Simulation for Science and Technology, vol.1, pp. 16–20, 2012.

• Jahanbakhsh E., Pacot O., Avellan F., Maruzewski P., «Improving Accuracy of Viscous Fluid Simulation Using

FPM». 6th Int. SPHERIC workshop, Hamburg, Germany, 2011.

• Pachoud A., «Design of Steel-Lined Pressure Shafts Considering Fluid-Structure Interaction». EPFL master

project report, fall 2012.

• Pasche S., «Obstacle Induced Spiral Vortex Breakdown». EPFL Master project report, fall 2012.

• Vessaz C., Jahanbakhsh E., Avellan F., «FPM Simulations of a 3D Impinging Jet on a Flat Plate Comparison

with CFD and Experimental Results». 7th international SPHERIC workshop, Monash University, Prato, Italy,

2012.

• Vessaz C., Jahanbakhsh E., Avellan F., «FPM Simulations of a High Speed Water Jet Validation With CFD and

Experimental Results». SimHydro 2012: Hydraulic modelling and uncertainty, Sofi a Antipolis, Nice, France,

2012

AQUASAR – Direct Re-use of Waste Heat from Liquid-Cooled Supercomputers

• Conti C., Rossinelli D., Koumoutsakos P., «GPU and APU computations of Finite Time Lyapunov Exponent

fi elds». Journal of Computational Physics, 2012.

• Costa-Patry E., Olivier J.A., Thome J.R., «Heat transfer characteristics in a copper micro-evaporator and fl ow

pattern-based prediction method for boiling in microchannels». Frontiers in Heat and Mass Transfer, 2012.

Vol. 3.

• Hejazialhosseini B., Conti C., Rossinelli D., Koumoutsakos P., «High-Performance CPU Kernels for Multiphase

Compressible Flows». VecPar 2012 – 2012.

• Hejazialhosseini B., Rossinelli D., Conti C., Koumoutsakos P., «High Throughput Software for Direct Numerical

Simulations of Compressible Two-Phase Flows». SC12 – 2012.

• Lamaison N., Marcinichen J.B., Thome J.R., «Two-Phase Flow Control of Electronics Cooling with Pseudo-CPUs

in Parallel Flow Circuits: Transient Modeling and Experimental Evaluation». ASME – Journal of Electronic

Packaging, under review.

• Marcinichen J.B., Olivier J.A., Thome J.R., «On-Chip Two-Phase Cooling of Datacenters: Cooling System

and Energy Recovery Evaluation». International Journal of Applied Thermal Engineering, 2012. Vol. 41:

pp. 36–51.

• Marcinichen J.B., Thome J.R., «Two-Phase Flow Control of On-Chip Two-Phase Cooling Systems Developed

for Data Centers». Electronics Cooling, under review.

• Marcinichen J.B., Olivier J.A., Lamaison N., Thome J.R., «Advances in Electronics Cooling». International

Journal of Heat Transfer Engineering, 2013. Vol. 34(5–6): pp. 434–446.

• Sharma C.S., Tiwari M.K., Michel B., Poulikakos D., «Thermofl uidics and energetics of a manifold microchan-

nel heat sink for electronics with recovered hot water as working fl uid». International Journal of Heat and

Mass Transfer, in press.

• Sharma C.S., Zimmermann S., Tiwari M.K., Michel B., Poulikakos D., «Optimal thermal operation of liquid-

cooled electronic chips». International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 55, 1957–1969 (2012).

• Zimmermann S., Meijer I., Tiwari M.K., Paredes S., Michel B., Poulikakos D., «Aquasar: A hot water cooled

data center with direct energy reuse». Energy 43, 237–245 (2012).

• Zimmermann S., Tiwari M.K., Meijer I., Paredes S., Michel B., Poulikakos D., «Hot water cooled electronics:

Exergy analysis and waste heat reuse feasibility». International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 55 (2012)

6391–6399.

• Wu D., Marcinichen J.B., Thome J.R., «Experimental Evaluation of a Controlled Hybrid Two-Phase Multi-Mi-

crochannel Cooling and Heat Recovery System Driven by Liquid Pump and Vapor Compressor». International

Journal of Refrigeration, 2012. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2012.11.011.











• Zimmermann M., «Gleich dick wie andere, aber drei mal so gut». Schweizer Energiefachbuch 2012,

S. 196–197, 2012.

• Stahl Th., Brunner S., Zimmermann M., Ghazi Wakili K., «Thermo-hygric properties of a newly devel-

oped aerogel based insulation rendering for both exterior and interior applications». Energy and Buildings

44(2012), pp. 114–117, 2012.


• Chapuis V., Pélisset S., Raeis-Barnéoud M., Li H.-Y., Ballif C., Perret-Aebi L.-E., «Compressive-shear adhesion

characterization of polyvinyl-butyral and ethylene-vinyl acetate at different curing times before and after

exposure to damp-heat conditions». Prog. Photovolt: Res. Appl. doi: 10.1002/pip.2270, 2012.

• Pélisset S., Joly M., Chapuis V., Heinstein, Hody Le Caer V., Schüler A., Ballif C., Perret-Aebi L.-E., «Effi ciency

of Silicon thin-fi lm photovoltaic modules with a front coloured glass». Submitted for publication to Energy

and Buildings.


• Haarlemmer G., Boissonnet G., Imbach J., Setier P.-A., Peduzzi E., «Second generation BtL type biofuels – a

production cost analysis». Energy & Environmental Science, vol. 5, no. 9, p. 8445, 2012.

• Peduzzi E., Tock L., Boissonnet G., Marechal F., «Thermo-Economic Evaluation and Optimization of the Ther-

mo-Chemical Conversion of Biomass into Methanol». In ECOS 2012 – International Conference on Effi ciency,

Cost, Optimization, Simulation and Environmental Impact of Energy Systems, 2012.

• Schlagermann P., Göttlicher G., Dillschneider D., Rosello-Sastre R., Posten C., «Composition of Algal Oil and

Its Potential as Biofuel». Journal of Combustion, vol. 2012, Article ID 285185, 14pp.

• Bagnoud-Velasquez M., Terrettaz C., Acosta Cardenas A., Ludwig C., «A sustainable production of algal bio-

mass integrating wastewater treatment and bioenergy generation». 2012.

OPTIWARES – OPTImization of the Use of Wood as a Renewable Energy Source

• Heck, T., Meyer N.K., «External costs of wood combustion systems in Switzerland». Proc. 20th European Bio-

mass Conference, Milano, 18–22 June 2012, pp. 2251–2256, 2012.

HyTech – Sustainable Hydrogen Utilization

• Borgschulte A., Gremaud R., Friedrichs O., Remhof A., Züttel A., «Complex Hydrides in ‹Hydrogen Energy›».

Edited by Detlef Stolten, Wiley-VCH, Heidelberg 2010.

• Callini E., Borgschulte A., Ramirez-Cuesta T., Züttel A., «Diborane release and structure distortion in borohy-

drides». Dalton Trans., 2013 Jan 21;42(3):719–25. doi: 10.1039/c2dt31608k.

• Haussener S., Jerjen I., Wyss P., Steinfeld A., «Tomography-based determination of effective transport prop-

erties for reacting porous media». J. Solar Energy Eng. 134, 012601-1/, (2012).

• Haussener S., Steinfeld A., «Effective heat and mass transport properties of anisotropic porous ceria for solar

thermochemical fuel generation». Materials 5, 192–209, (2012).

• Haussener S., Coray P., Lipinski W., Wyss P., Steinfeld A., «Tomography-based heat and mass transfer

characterization of reticulate porous ceramics for high-temperature processing». ASME J. Heat Transfer 132,

023305-1-9, (2010).

• Haussener S., Lipinski W., Wyss P., Steinfeld A., «Tomography-based analysis of radiative transfer in reacting

packed beds undergoing a solid-gas thermochemical transformation». ASME J. Heat Transfer 132, 061201-1-

7, (2010).



Solar-HTG – Solar Assisted Hydrothermal Gasifi cation Process

• Arrandel K., SNG production through microalgae hydrothermal gasication, Master Thesis, EPFL 2013.

• Arrandel K., Mian A., Ensinas A. V., Marechal F., «Thermo-economic and environmental model of microalgae-

to-SNG conversion process through hydrothermal gasifi cation». SFGP 2013, Lyon, France.

• Mian A., Ensinas A. V., Marechal F., «Multi-objective optimization of SNG production through hydrothermal

gasifi cation from microalgae». Proceedings of the 23rd European Symposium on Computer Aided Process

Engineering – ESCAPE 23, June 9–12, 2013, Lappeenranta, Finland, 2013.

• Mian A., Ensinas A. V., Marechal F., «Microalgae-to-SNG conversion using solar assisted catalytic hydrother-

mal gasifi cation». ECAB2/ECCE, The Hague, Netherlands, 2013.




CCEM – Competence Center for Energy and Mobility

• Tsukada A., Dietrich P., Hofer M., Büchi F., Hannesen U., «Method of shut-down and starting of a fuel cell».

Patent application EP 2 338 198 A0, 2011.

• Bernard J., Buechi F., Dietrich P. «Method of operating a fuel cell/battery passive hybrid power supply». Pat-

ent application EP 2 320 504 A1, 2011.


• Biela J., «Konverterschaltung und Verfahren zum Ansteuern einer Konverterschaltung». P3689 CH –

27.03.2012.


• Stahl Th., Zimmermann M., Brunner S., Koebel M., European patent 2013 for aerogel Render (under prepara-

tion).


• Gassner M., Vogel F., Maréchal F., «A process and a plant for hydrothermal SNG production from waste bio-

mass». Patent 2010P10758EP, pending, 2010.


• Perret-Aebi L.-E., Heinstein P., Despeisse M., Stückelberger M., Ballif C., «Manufacture of colored PV mod-

ules». European patent application, deposited in September 2012.

• Schüler A., Joly M., Hody V., – PCT application, Le Caër, «Interference fi lter with angular independent orange

colour of refl ection and high solar transmittance, suitable for roof-integration of solar energy systems».

Deposited in September 2012.


• Swiss patent fi led: Tragfl ügel aus fl exiblem Material. 12–278 CH.

PatentsPatents


Events coorganised by CCEM

• March 13–15, 2012 «CleantecCity», Schweizer Plattform für nachhaltige Entwicklung von Gemeinde, Stadt

und Unternehmen, Bern (Exhibitor, in cooperation with the other ETH-institutions)

• May 12, 2012 Tag der erneuerbaren Energie, Aarau (Exhibitor)

• May 24, 2012 Jahresanlass CCEM, @ ENERGIE, Kongress- und Ausstellungsplattform für nachhaltige

Produktion und Nutzung von Energie, St. Gallen (Organizer)

CCEM – EventsCCEM – Events

Jahresanlass CCEM 2012

Contact

Competence Center Energy and Mobility CCEMc/o Paul Scherrer Institute5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland

Phone: +41 56 310 2792Fax: +41 56 310 4416

E-mail: [email protected]: www.ccem.ch

Urs Elber, Managing Director

Phone: +41 56 310 5733Mobile: +41 79 330 0450E-mail: [email protected]

Annual Activity Report 2012 - CCEM4 Forewords CCEM – Annual Activity Report 2012 CCCEM – CEM –...

Documents

Transcript of Annual Activity Report 2012 - CCEM4 Forewords CCEM – Annual Activity Report 2012 CCCEM – CEM –...