SMARTCATs Action originated from the idea that, in order to successfully complete the "energy transition" toward a fully sustainable energy system, it is necessary to identify new ways to store, distribute and transform the energy. As a matter of fact, in the chain starting from energy produced by renewable energy sources (RES) and the final use of this energy, for industrial, domestic and transportation purposes, the most critical issue is represented by the re-design of the existing storage, distribution and transformation technologies. However, there are many constraints and potential advantages that affect the final outcome of the energy transition process: societal needs, viable, environmental and economic sustainability in the long term, utilisation of as much as possible of the existing infrastructures, increase of global efficiency. These constraints are swiftly and continuously changing, so altering the possible scenarios of the near future energy market, but there are some clear trends in the picture. Global warming is becoming an undeniable reality and as a consequence the request of renewable, green energy systems is an indisputable priority. On the other hand, geopolitical equilibria force the grid to remain anchored to well- established, traditional energy production systems thus hindering the necessary drastic reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Energy carriers coupled with advanced thermo-conversion technologies are synergistic twin strategies that can satisfy the two apparently antithetic requirements of geo-political and environmental sustainability and security. A Smart Energy Carrier (SEC) identifies with molecules (derived from standard, alternative, or unconventional sources), suitable for storing energy surplus from both conventional and renewable sources, that can be safely and cleanly transformed to produce energy by means of the best available combustion technologies. The progress of the SMARTCATs action through dedicated meetings, workshop and other initiatives had tackled many of the different facets of the re-design of the energy chain connected with energy carriers, from the production to the final use. The final goal of all these activities has been the understanding, the dissemination and the communication of both the basic chemical and physical science and the technology of SECs, by means of a strong interaction with many industrial entities at small and large scale. The SMARTCATs Action has successfully tackled three outstanding issues. The first issue is the identification of robust criteria to follow in selecting the best energy carriers available. This is followed by the set-up of effective chemistry tools to characterize energy carriers exploitation, reduce possible pollutants emissions (also possibly harmful instead of pollutants) and maximize the transformation process efficiency. Such methodology cannot be effectively pursued without the parallel development of advanced diagnostics and numerical tools. Finally, to efficiently exploit the large class of locally available energy carriers, an intense networking activity with industrial stakeholders involved in the fuel-flexible advanced combustion technologies production and utilization was systematically pursued. In outmost synthesis the outstanding result of SMARTCATs is to have affirmed and diffused the concept of Smart Energy Carriers as a key and viable approach for facing the needs of the future energy scenario.
CM1404: Chemistry of Smart Energy Carriers and Technologies (SMARTCATS) COST Action Final Achievement Report (06/03/2015 to 30/04/2019)
Pino Sabia;Pino Sabia;Raffaele Ragucci
2019
Abstract
SMARTCATs Action originated from the idea that, in order to successfully complete the "energy transition" toward a fully sustainable energy system, it is necessary to identify new ways to store, distribute and transform the energy. As a matter of fact, in the chain starting from energy produced by renewable energy sources (RES) and the final use of this energy, for industrial, domestic and transportation purposes, the most critical issue is represented by the re-design of the existing storage, distribution and transformation technologies. However, there are many constraints and potential advantages that affect the final outcome of the energy transition process: societal needs, viable, environmental and economic sustainability in the long term, utilisation of as much as possible of the existing infrastructures, increase of global efficiency. These constraints are swiftly and continuously changing, so altering the possible scenarios of the near future energy market, but there are some clear trends in the picture. Global warming is becoming an undeniable reality and as a consequence the request of renewable, green energy systems is an indisputable priority. On the other hand, geopolitical equilibria force the grid to remain anchored to well- established, traditional energy production systems thus hindering the necessary drastic reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Energy carriers coupled with advanced thermo-conversion technologies are synergistic twin strategies that can satisfy the two apparently antithetic requirements of geo-political and environmental sustainability and security. A Smart Energy Carrier (SEC) identifies with molecules (derived from standard, alternative, or unconventional sources), suitable for storing energy surplus from both conventional and renewable sources, that can be safely and cleanly transformed to produce energy by means of the best available combustion technologies. The progress of the SMARTCATs action through dedicated meetings, workshop and other initiatives had tackled many of the different facets of the re-design of the energy chain connected with energy carriers, from the production to the final use. The final goal of all these activities has been the understanding, the dissemination and the communication of both the basic chemical and physical science and the technology of SECs, by means of a strong interaction with many industrial entities at small and large scale. The SMARTCATs Action has successfully tackled three outstanding issues. The first issue is the identification of robust criteria to follow in selecting the best energy carriers available. This is followed by the set-up of effective chemistry tools to characterize energy carriers exploitation, reduce possible pollutants emissions (also possibly harmful instead of pollutants) and maximize the transformation process efficiency. Such methodology cannot be effectively pursued without the parallel development of advanced diagnostics and numerical tools. Finally, to efficiently exploit the large class of locally available energy carriers, an intense networking activity with industrial stakeholders involved in the fuel-flexible advanced combustion technologies production and utilization was systematically pursued. In outmost synthesis the outstanding result of SMARTCATs is to have affirmed and diffused the concept of Smart Energy Carriers as a key and viable approach for facing the needs of the future energy scenario.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
