Benefits of Energy Research Infrastructures

Advanced materials are at the heart of innovation and new technologies. Development and optimisation of such materials requires an understanding of the structure / dynamics / functionality relationship at the microscopic level.

Neutrons and photons provide unique information about the properties of materials at the atomistic and molecular level. They are an essential tool, often applied in a complementary way, for the development of materials critical to the provision and utilisation of clean and sustainable energy for the future.

Experiments carried out at neutron and synchrotron sources contribute to the development of energy relevant materials on a broad front. Examples include characterisation of hydrogen storage and photovoltaic materials, studies of the fundamental aspects of unconventional superconductors, determination of the structural integrity of engineering components in nuclear power stations and solutions for the storage of radioactive materials.

Europeis in a privileged position to be home to the world’s leading neutron facilities and to a range of state-of-the-art third generation synchrotron sources providing the European research community with outstanding experimental capabilities. On many of the neutron and synchrotron sources, energy related materials research is a significant fraction of the overall research programme, approaching 20% at some facilities.

Research Infrastructures are at the heart of the European Research Area. Under the European Union’s Framework Programmes, neutron and synchrotron sources have formed integrated infrastructure networks[1] which enable access for European researchers to the best and most appropriate facilities. This has created a strong community which is in an excellent position to exploit the scientific capabilities of these research infrastructures.

It is generally recognized that the industrial use of energy is very well studied by the large companies themselves as it is a major part of their costs for manufacturing goods. For small and medium sized enterprises this is often much less elaborated. The same holds for the service industry (banking, insurance, office services in general) and for the residential customer.

The latter group is concentrated in urban areas, where energy is used for heating, appliances and transport. Optimising the use of energy in these applications is critical in attaining the 20 % energy reduction target of the European Commission.

At the other hand, the urban areas will contribute to the harvesting of renewable energy flows like wind, but to a very large extend solar energy. The latter can be captured either as heat or electricity, contributing to the target of 20 % renewables in the energy supplied at the one hand and the 20 % reduction of CO2 emission at the other.

Therefore, the urban areas as energy systems need to be studied in detail in order to reach for these targets. The buildings have to be treated at the one hand, but also their interaction with the grids (electricity, heat distribution, natural gas, possibly hydrogen) is critical. The supply of the energy for the mobility within the cities is a key element. Given the variable nature of the wind and solar energy, the need for storage, being it electrical or heat, is very important.

Given these elements, VITO (the Flemish research centre for technology) and the KULeuven have joined forces to bring together there knowledge on energy technology in a new research centre Energyville, that will be built in the city of Genk (Waterschei site) and will perform research in the field of energy efficient urban areas. It will host 250 researchers and will be embedded in a 25 ha technology park that will enable starters and other companies to develop new products and services within the field of energy technology. The overall site, more than 100 ha, is a green industrial area, that will be energy and CO2 neutral while using wind, sun and geothermal energy.

IMEC (Interuniversity Micro Electronics Centre) will develop the new generation photovoltaic systems also at Energyville.

The Flemish government (Minister I.Lieten) strongly supports the work and the overall idea is a key element of the ViA action for future development of the Flemish economy.

The development is part of the EIT KIC InnoEnergy, where the topic on “Intelligent and energy-efficient buildings and cities” will be handled by the co-location centre Benelux.

This overall research infrastructure therefore is aiming at bringing together the overall research line for the energy flows in the large urban areas at one site: fundamental, academic research, basic research towards application, development and deployment at one place in very close interaction with industry, the only way to get real results.

Financing of the building is being finalized (LRM, Nuhma, Vito, KULeuven, IMEC). The city of Genk contributes the land for construction. The overall cost of the research centre, without equipment is estimated to be 20 M€.