The CETP (Clean Energy Transition Partnership) research program brings together 30 countries, including the UK and the US, to create transnational innovation ecosystems to promote the clean energy transition and contribute to the EU’s goal of climate neutrality. The projects are smaller than research projects in the EU’s Horizon2020 research program but offer good opportunities to collaborate on new environmental and climate technologies. Absolicon has now been granted funds in two projects, a total about 2.1 million SEK.
DETECTIVE is a three-year project for concentrated solar heating. All systems for concentrated solar energy need to have advanced receiver tubes to get high efficiency. The DETECTIVE project will develop a new type of receiver consisting of several thin tubes instead of one large tube. The project is led by Polito, Italy’s second largest university. KTH and the Spanish research institute Ciemat are also involved in the project.
The project will first develop and build prototypes of the new tube. The prototypes will then be tested at Platforma Solar de Almeria in southern Spain. The project has been awarded 2 milljon euro (about 24 million SEK). Absolicon participates in the project with its expertise in concentrating solar collectors and applications in industry. Absolicon’s share in the project is 155,000 euro, about 1.9 million SEK with 70% funding from CETP (just over 1.3 million SEK).
TRAINING is a project in which Absolicon and Dalarna University participate from Sweden and has been awarded 2.3 million euro (about 28 million SEK) to develop models for the district heating system of the future, where solar heat, heat pumps and electrical systems interact with buildings and energy storage.
Absolicon has long experience of working with solar powered district heating. In Härnösand there is a unique facility where solar heat from concentrating solar collectors is fed into the district heating network. The TRAINING project is led by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and in addition to Absolicon, Dalarna University and prestigious research units from Norway and Germany are participating. Together they will develop models for how district heating in the future can be made more efficient with heat storage and advanced control.
There are 6000 district heating networks in Europe, most of which are fired with fossil fuels. Several countries are investing in district heating. In 2022, Germany has created a support program of 3 billion euro (equivalent to 36 billion SEK) for new district heating networks and to eliminate fossil fuels in its district heating network.
The TRAINING project will run for three years and will develop intelligent control systems for smart district heating systems based on the latest developments in machine learning methods to optimize the control and flexibility strategies at the building level. Absolicon will in the project, among other things, use the solar heat park in Härnösand’s district heating network as an example of how solar heat can be combined with pit heat storage to provide district heating without emissions both cost-effectively and reliably. Absolicon’s share in the project is 155,000 euro, about 1.9 million SEK with 45% funding from CETP (approx. 800,000 SEK).
The two research projects DETECTIVE and TRAINING will be important parts of Absolicon’s research and development work in the coming years.
