SOLAR PRODUCTION OF FUELS AND COMMODITIES

The new challenges regarding emissions abatement in preparation for the National Integrated Plan on Energy and Climate imply a twofold increment of renewable energy penetration with the aim to reach 32% contribution in the energy mix (end use energy) in the horizon of the year 2030. This new objective involves a great effort to intensify the electrification of the energy economy, but also moves the energy system forward with a twofold increment in the use of renewable heat in industrial processes and five times increment in the penetration in transport sector.

ACES2030 focuses its R&D objectives onto three main challenges covering aggressive penetration of CSP within end use energy mix by 2030: Objective 1 – Renewable electricity. Objective 2 – Solar process heat. This objective is aligned with the integrated EC project INSHIP (Integrating National Research Agendas on Solar Heat for Industrial Processes) with the ultimate goal to prepare an ECRIA (European Common Research and Innovation Agenda) on this subject and Objective 3 – Solar fuels for transport.

Within objective 3, the Solar Fuels Unit is exploring new materials, technologies and processes for the production of H2 and other alternative solar fuels for transport. The various materials being studied include ABO3-type perovskite materials that improve the redox characteristics of the materials most commonly used to date, such as Ni ferrites (NiFe2O4), as well as materials based on Cerium oxide (CeO2) that allow the high activation temperatures for this material (1400-1600ºC) to be reduced.

IMDEA Energia (Coordinator), CSIC-ECI (Instituto de Catálisis y Petroleoquímica),  UC3 – MISE( Universidad Carlos III de Madrid / Escuela Politécnica Superior),  UNED-STEM (Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia / Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Industriales), UPMGIT (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid / E.T.S.I. Industriales),  URJC – SOLAR (Universidad Rey Juan Carlos / Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología) , CIEMAT-PSA and ABENGOA Hidrógeno