Research

Dec 30th, 2015
Synchronverters - grid-friendly inverters for distributed generation, storage
  • Storage and Management
  • Storage and Management

Many government strategies have been set to explore renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power, to lead to a low carbon economy. The efficiency of these power supplies is the highest if the maximum power from the available sources is extracted, which is then often fed into thegrid via inverters. However, when the share of the electricity generated from these sources reaches a certain level, this will no longer be tenable, as the inverters used nowadays cannot take part in the regulation of power system frequency and voltage and in maintaining overall system stability.

Opportunity

The SSG (static synchronous generators) technology allows inverters to behave in the same way as conventional large synchronous generators and, hence, these inverters are grid‐friendly. These grid‐friendly inverters can take part in the regulation of power system frequency and voltage and in maintaining overall system stability. This removes the barrier/obstacle that prevents a large share of renewable energy sources from connecting to the grid.

Technology

The technology exploits the principle and characteristics of synchronous generators. The grid‐friendly inverters are operated according to the mathematical model of conventional synchronous generators, of which the operational principles, such as synchronisation, frequency drooping and voltage drooping, are also implemented. A grid‐friendly inverter can work in grid‐connected mode and island mode. When it is connected to the grid, the real power and reactive power sent tothe grid can be regulated in two ways: one is to respond to the instructions of the grid operator and the other is to change the real/reactive power automatically, in responding to the variation of grid frequency and voltage, according to the pre‐set frequency/voltage drooping.

     

 

 

 

Research

Dec 30th, 2015
Batteries
  • Storage and Management
  • Storage and Management
 

Professor Peled and his team are developing fuel cells which are able to stabilise and store vast amounts of solar and wind energy. In short cells for storing electricity in chemical form. This chemical energy can then be converted back to electricity as and when required. These fuel cell systems could, in time, provide more than 50%  of the country’s total electricity requirements at a cost of less than $3.00/watt, and supply both household needs as well as the national electricity grid. Fuel cells function essentially in the same way as batteries, with one important differerence. The chemicals used to produce the electricity are stored outside the fuel cells, and not inside as with the normal battery. There are several major advantages to the fuel cell system.

  • Vast amounts of energy can be stored at low cost.
  • Manufacture is relatively cheap.
  • Provides a high energy-conversion rate of approximately 70%.
  • Provides a solution to the problem of fluctuations in natural energy supply. Solar and wind energies are neither constant or continuous. Solar energy is available only during the day, and wind energy varies depending on wind speeds. The fuel cell system is able to efficiently stabilise and store this energy, making it readily available when needed.
  • The system can be scaled up thereby enabling the storage of excess energy produced by solar and wind farms.

The basis of this research is finding the algorithm which will provide the optimum configuration for connecting these fuel cells in order to derive maximum operating efficiency.

 

 

 

3D-concentric microbattery on perforated Si-substrate

 

The battery is composed of 10,000 -30,000/cm2 high-aspect-ratio  parallel connected microbattery units 

 

Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Power Unit Demo 

 

Research

Dec 30th, 2015
Supercapacitors based on Peptide Nanostructured Modified Electrodes

Supercapacitors – the batteries of the future!

  • Storage and Management
  • Storage and Management
Tel Aviv University and Elbit Systems join forces in developing new generation supercapacitor energy storage devices, as well as developing industrial applications for a wide range of products.

The two largest groups of modern energy storage devices are batteries and supercapacitors. Batteries are capable of storing vast amounts of electricity, but have the disadvantages of long charging times and electrode damage which shortens their lifespan. Supercapacitors on the other hand can operate at high charge/discharge rates over an almost unlimited number of cycles, but with the disadvantage of a much lower energy density than batteries. The challenge therefore is to develop high energy density supercapacitors with modified electrodes.

 

Nano devices such as nano tubes, nanowires, nanodots and nanoparticles have become increasingly important for use as electrodes in supercapacitors. Their nanoscale size serves to increase the electrolyte/electrode surface area and creates reversible pseudocapacitance mechanisms, leading to a supercapacitor with a significantly larger capacitance and stored energy density.

 

In collaboration with Elbit Systems we at TAU are currently developing a new generation of supercapacitor-energy storage devices based on peptide nanostructured materials (PNM). PNMs are chemically synthesized peptide monomers which are able to self-assemble into bio-inspired nanostructured ensembles such as nanodots, nanotubes, nanofibres, etc.

Research

Dec 30th, 2015
Theoretical modeling of carbon based electrodes for Li-ion batteries and super-
  • Storage and Management
  • Storage and Management

Efficient energy storage is becoming critical for many applications. The growing demand for long range hybrid and fully electrical vehicles brings high requirements for many parameters such as peak power, life cycle, charging time, energy per volume and many others. Different solutions in the form of new batteries, super capacitors and fuel cells are suggested to answer some of the requirements. A possible future solution for a car might include a combination of all of the above. Modern nanomaterials science plays a crucial role in designing novel energy storage devices of all kinds. Graphene, a single layer atomic material, and its different derivatives such as graphene oxides, hydrogenated graphene, and other graphene composites, are showing a promising role in producing highly efficient super capacitors and also as anode material in Li-ion batteries.

In my research I use theoretical modeling of materials to investigate processes that happen at a carbon based anode and its interface with the electrolyte during battery operation. I use computational tools such as Density Functional Theory (DFT), Molecular Dynamics (MD) and additional electrostatic and transport models to understand those processes and hopefully design better anode material. The complexity of the problem requires the usage of diverse theoretical tools as well as some development of new methods to do multi-scale modeling of those materials and processes. This work is done in collaboration with leading experimental groups in Israel and as part of a national effort to improve future energy storage possibilities.

 

A simulation cell of graphene on a silicon-carbide substrate (left) and its calculated band structure (right).

                                             

 

Research

Dec 30th, 2015
Rural Electrification from Alternative and Renewable Sources

The installation of solar panels and wind turbines in rural areas will provide poor communities with the necessary electricity for their basic needs and requirements.

  • Energy policy
  • Energy policy

Rural Electrification from Alternative and Renewable Sources (REARS) for Pastoral and Semi Nomadic Communities: the South Hebron Masfara as Case Study

 

 

The installation of solar panels and wind turbines in rural areas will provide poor communities with the necessary electricity for their basic needs and requirements.

Rural Electrification by Alternative and Renewable Sources (REARS) enables poor peripheral populations to by-pass the expensive and long drawn-out phase of having an electricity infrastructure installed by central government. Structured in a similar way to satellite phone networks that provide third world communities communication opportunities without a wire telephone infrastructure, REARS projects are emerging in many parts of the world. Western industrial corporations are becoming increasingly interested in this line of activity, both as CSR endeavours as well as a profit-making business[1].

The REARS project, implemented by COMET-ME (Community Electricity Middle East) has been installing solar units and slightly bigger wind turbines for Bedouin households near Yatta (south of  Hebron) since 2007. A recipient of grants from the German, Danish and New Zealand Foreign Services and from various European NGOs, the project has so far installed 150 Watt/hour individual solar panels in over 80 households living in tents, shacks and caves, plus 8 wind turbines producing 1-3 kW per hour that serve villages of between 5 to 10 household. The smaller units are used primarily for lighting, TV sets and cell phone chargers, while the turbines provide power for refrigerators and butter separators, thereby enhancing the community’s ability to store and market dairy products.

The Proposed Research

The proposed research, to be based on ethnographic work and carried out in 2012-2013, will look at the impact, challenges and potential that REARS might have for the relevant communities. Looking in particular at shifting levels of energy consumption following installation, the impact on women and gender roles, the effect on technological proficiency and technical education in the community, changes in norms and practices of sharing, and the impact on perceptions of and relationships with external energy providers, this study could be relevant as an input for Social Science in guiding similar projects in a variety of third world settings.

 

 


[1]Kimberly-Clark, owners of the Duracell brand, for one example, are currently looking into sponsoring renewable energy installations in refugee camps in Africa, with a view of both a philanthropic contribution to communities at risk and a potential emerging market for a new generation of batteries that will be recharged from local renewable energy sources. 

 
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