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Electro-bioremediation of contaminated waters

The LEQUIA group at The University of Girona has developed an innovative microbial electrochemical technology for the bioremediation of contaminated waters. They use electroactive bacteria that are capable to use an electrode as electron donor or electron acceptor and allows the removal of ammonium, arsenic and nitrate.

Membrane housing device for sustainable water treatments

The LEQUIA group at the University of Girona has developed a novel membrane housing device that allows to regenerate and recycle end-of-life membranes in an efficient manner, with very small energy requirements, optimizing resources. The solution is cheaper to manufacture, easier to transport and assemble, and more flexible to use compared to other existing membrane housings.

Data driven methods to provide enhanced energy services

The eXIT group at The University of Girona has developed a decision support toolkit: a solution that incorporates a suite of web services that provides enhanced energy monitoring and scheduling capabilities using artificial intelligence. It is conceived as a commercial off-the-shelf solution, ready to be integrated in Distribution Management Systems, Building Energy Management Systems, IoT middlewares and other facility operation software.

Woodtricity: On-demand renewable heat & power generator for ZEB

The GREFEMA group at The University of Girona has developed WOODTRICITY, a biomass-powered micro CHP that produces electricity and hot water for a household. It uses cheap thermoelectric generators with an innovative mechanism.

High throughput superconducting conductors

The SUMAN group at ICMAB has developed a technology to obtain high temperature superconducting tapes with a huge impact on the industrial scale-up of coated conductors. Based on a disruptive Transient Liquid Assisted Growth process combined with Chemical Solution Deposition, the method enables ultrafast growth of YBCO films on metallic and flexible substrates by using low-cost printing deposition techniques.

A method for obtaining n-type organic semiconductors by UV-VIS irradiation

The NANOPTO group at ICMAB has developed a method that allows to prepare an n-type semiconducting material simply by UV-VIS irradiation of a deposited p-type carbon nanotube composite. This photo-induced change is useful whenever complementary organic semiconductors are needed.

Flexible heating and cooling solutions for efficient buildings

The Thermal Energy and Building Performance group at IREC has developed simplified building models that predict the energy profile using little resources. These models focus on a few key parameters able to represent and forecast the energy demands and the comfort conditions of buildings.

Building reduced energy models

The Thermal Energy and Building Performance group at IREC has developed two complementary control algorithms to improve the operation and performance of heating and cooling systems. A fault detection and diagnosis algorithm assesses heat pump performance, while it identifies anomalies to reduce energy and operational costs.

Versatile and resilient power converter

The Power Systems group at IREC has developed an innovative power converter, applicable to several sectors as renewables, energy storage and mobility. It is fault-tolerant, since it is able to continue operation after the failure of any of the internal semiconductor devices. This allows doubling the power converter lifetime and saving service and maintenance expenses, being particularly advantageous for remote areas or critical systems.

Gridwatch: A tool that analyses the risk of electrical network failure

The Power Systems group at IREC has developed GridWatch, a practical tool that identifies risks
in the electrical network in case of extreme weather events, such as sudden floods, strong winds or unexpected fire. It can early detect vulnerabilities of the system and forecast the risk of network failure several days ahead using meteorological data.

FowApp: The floating offshore wind assessment App

The Power Systems group at IREC has developed FowApp, a desktop application that performs reliable economic and environmental analysis of floating offshore wind farms. It provides information for decision-makers, particularly important in the early project development, the technology assessment, the environmental impact evaluation and the performance analysis.

CASE: the demand aggregator

The Energy Systems Analytics group at IREC has developed CASE - a software platform for demand aggregators. It provides advanced technological solutions to monetise demand management and flexibility of energy assets to allow the integration of renewable energy sources. It provides advanced machine learning techniques for energy consumption, real-time trading for flexible assets and optimal bid strategy.

SEMS: The Smart Energy Management Solution

The Energy Systems Analytics group at IREC has developed an Energy Box - a product for the optimal management and rational use of energy. It is a hardware and software solution for the smart and dynamic energy management of self-consumption solutions that is able to include multiple types of consumption and generation units, energy storage systems, as well as electric vehicle charging infrastructures or vehicle-to-grid systems.

Manufacture of catalysts for synthetic gas production

The Energy Storage, Harvesting and Catalysis group at IREC has developed a manufacturing process of catalytic material able to convert green hydrogen and carbon dioxide to synthetic methane. The material is suitable for advanced reactors and micro-reactors. The catalyst exhibited higher activity, stability and tolerance to industrial impurities compared to the commercial references.

Nanostructured flexible fabrics for thermoelectric power generation

The Nanoionics and Fuel Cells group at IREC has developed a revolutionary technology to obtain
thermoelectric materials with high performance and low cost. The material is made of thin-walled microtubes, providing high flexiblility and a fabric-like texture.

Cost-effective micro-oxygen sensor

The Nanoionics and Fuel Cells group at IREC has developed a new micro-fabricated sensor based on zirconia, integrated in less than one square centimetre on Silicon. The sensor provides a fast and stable response to oxygen concentrations and does not degrade upon sudden changes of heat or cold.

Manufacturing monolithic ceramic complex geometries by 3D printing

The Nanoionics and Fuel Cells group at IREC has developed an original 3D printing process able to fabricate customized functional ceramic structures in a single step. The method allows the manufacturing of monolithic complex geometries to improve the energy density, the performance, the thermal and fluidic management or gas leakages by design.

Subsurface exploration tools for geothermal purposes

The Computer Applications in Science and Engineering (CASE) Department at The Barcelona Supercomputing Centre has developed a software-based technology to explore and monitor the subsurface that creates useful imaging prototypes for industrial applications. It uses geophysical data and produces accurate maps of complex subsurface structures.

Recycling steel byproducts into energy efficient building materials

The DIOPMA research group at the University of Barcelona has developed an innovative product that transforms the dust from electric arc furnaces into a valuable building product for construction applications. The innovation relies on the integration in a polymer matrix of the waste and a phase changing material, resulting in products with high thermal inertia.

Electroanodes for hydrogen production

The Artificial Photosynthesis group at ICIQ has developed a technology to fabricate a highly performing electroanode for water oxidation, useful for water hydrolysis and the production of hydrogen. The new electrode comprises a coordination oligomer of a molecular catalyst strongly attached to an electrode surface via supramolecular interactions with no need for a binder to fix the catalyst to the electrode.

Polymers made from carbon dioxide and biomass

The small molecule activation, catalysis and valorization group at ICIQ has developed a method for the production of polycarbonate materials which can be transformed into functional coatings, packaging ingredients and other advanced materials. The polycarbonates are made by co-polymerization of limonene oxide with CO2.

Selective deposition of thin films on microdevices

The Power Devices and Systems group at IMB-CNM has developed a shadow-masking method
based on a set of self-aligned metallic masks that allows the selective metallization of microelectronic substrates and devices for the implementation of tracks and pads. It is based on a set of masks that do not need photolithographic process or complex alignments.

Biodrying for animal manure valorization into biofuel

The BETA Technological Centre, at the University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia has developed a novel biodrying pilot plant to valorize waste from farming into high-valuable products. It uses the biogenic heat produced from the organic biodegradation activity to remove the water content quickly, minimizing the energy consumption and preserving the heating value of the material.

Dual active bridge isolated bidirectional DC-DC converter

The CITCEA group at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya has developed a Dual Active Bridge isolated bidirectional DC to DC converter that provides galvanic isolation between different assets or battery technologies with compact dimensions. It transmits up to 20 kW of bidirectional power for applications such as electric-vehicle chargers, battery integration, or provide isolation to back to back converters.

Artificial intelligence applied to the energy sector

The CITCEA group at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya is developing data-driven services for improving the current monitoring, operation, planning and maintenance of electrical distribution grids. These services are based on techniques including machine learning, deep learning, data mining and pattern recognition, combined with optimization.

Electronic controller for electrical mobility

The CITCEA group at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya has developed an electronic controller based on Field Oriented Control for both electric motorbikes and electric mild-hybrid vehicles. The controller allows for real time monitoring of the powertrain status, alarms and control variables, and can upgrade its functionalities with additional updates.

BEMS: Energy management system for intelligent buildings or households

The CITCEA group at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya has developed the Building Energy Management System: a control and monitoring system for optimally operating flexible devices. The solution allows controlling electrical assets at the household level, for instance space heating or cooling, electric water heaters or electric vehicle chargers.

HESS: The hybrid energy storage solution

The CITCEA group at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya has developed the Hybrid Energy Storage Solution, a power electronics modular converter that integrates different battery technologies at once. The optimal and complementary management of each battery ensures the best characteristics of each technology.

Software tools to analyze and control power systems

The CITCEA group at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya has developed a variety of tools which can be used to size, design and analyze power systems dominated by such power electronics. The tools can be combined with commercial software to provide insightful indexes and results that can be used to monitor the operation, protection and control considering the special characteristics of power electronics and the nature of renewable energy sources.

A dynamic thermal system for minimizing energy demands in buildings

The GREiA group at the University of Lleida has developed a system that relies on the ability of roofs and walls to adapt the position and their morphology during its operation. It uses a phase change material, which is able to store large amounts of heat and cold. The system changes the position of this phase change material layer with respect to the insulation to maximize solar benefits in winter and night free cooling in summer.

Production or commercialization of bio-based PCMs

The GREiA group at the University of Lleida has developed bio-based phase change materials that show a substantial improvement in energy density performance compared to products in the market with similar characteristics. The materials are not based on paraffins or salt hydrates, and have a lower carbon footprint than commercial petroleum-derived and other bio-based phase change materials.

Bee Geo: A geographical benchmarking tool

The Building Energy and Environment Group at CIMNE has developed BEE Geo – a web tool application that provides geographical analysis of the electricity consumption by postal code, enabling characterization and benchmarking of consumption indicators.

BeePV: Massive photovoltaic optimization

The Building Energy and Environment Group at CIMNE has developed BeePV, a tool to allow the massive prospection and optimisation of PV solar systems. The differential factor is the integration of the hourly electricity consumption profile of each client, providing personalised reports according to their needs.

Solid-state ionics electrolyte-gated transistors

The Nanoionics and Fuel Cells group at IREC has developed a transistor based on a solid oxide ion gating to be applied in neuromorphic computing devices. This new generation transistor is based on a thin film used as solid oxide-ionic electrolyte. The technology is compatible with mainstream microelectronic industry and overcomes low voltage, low power and high performance limitations faced by traditional technologies.

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Capacities of the network

XRE4S laboratories and capabilites in low carbon technologies

In the coming decades, we will see a revolution in the field of energy generation and conversion, that will secure sustainable energy supplies for our society.

XRE4S laboratories and capabilites in smart grids

The energy sector of the future will play a key role in securing sustainable energy supplies. It will require smart and efficient distribution of energy, and safe integration of renewables, while taking advantage of digitalization technologies.

XRE4S laboratories and capabilites in energy efficiency

Improving energy efficiency in industry, housing and mobility is critical to meet the future energy demands while preventing climate change.