Two EEMCS researchers nominated for Best Climate Action & Energy Paper
Increasingly extreme weather conditions and a steadily rising sea level are unmistakable signs of the deepening climate crisis. Climate action and an accelerated energy transition can make a difference, with a crucial role for technology and engineering – and thereby for the thousands of students, PhDs, and postdocs of TU Delft. A total of nine TU Delft researchers are in the running for the Best Climate and Energy Paper of 2023, including two from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS). Two winners will be announced on Tuesday, 19 March.
Andrés Calcabrini, PhD - A shady roof? There’s a solar panel that fits.
Electrical performance of a fully reconfigurable series-parallel photovoltaic module
The future of energy is in local production and consumption. But standard solar panels may see a big drop in performance even if only partially shaded, which can easily happen in urban areas. Andrés Calcabrini built a full-scale prototype solar panel that can dynamically reconfigure itself. Without shade, the panel will configure its solar cells in series for maximum output – like a long garden hose. But in shady conditions, when a single solar cell affects the output of the entire panel (like a garden hose bent at a sharp angle), it will switch to a more parallel arrangement. He subsequently tested this panel over a four-month period, exposing it to urban-like shading, to determine its year-round performance. While the additional electronics reduces power generation somewhat at moments without shade, it boosts the yearly energy yield with 10% compared to the current standard in “shade-resilient” panels. His study defines the limits for how much more expensive such a solar panel can be and whether it is worth mass-producing. Who knows, it may eventually pay off to put solar panels on your partially shaded garden shed, or any other partially shaded surface.
Vaibhav Nougain, PhD - Location, location, location – finding faults in DC power grids
Fault Location Algorithm for Multi-Terminal Radial Medium Voltage DC Microgrid
With the massive growth in renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, demand for DC power grids (electricity grids using direct current) is expanding rapidly too. Although these systems are designed to function 24/7, electrical faults do occur. Having previously published on fault identification (which power line has a failure), Vaibhav Nougain has now developed a mathematical model that can pinpoint the location of the fault (where in this line is the failure) within milliseconds. This will save a lot of time and manual labour in locating and then fixing the fault, restoring normal DC power grid operation. Whereas previous research mostly focussed on locating the fault in a single line, Nougain’s breakthrough algorithm works no matter the complexity of the DC power system, or whether it is low, medium or high voltage. Applicable to ships, offshore wind energy, the two-way transfer of power in homes (and more), it is an essential tool for the transition towards renewable energy sources.
Read more about climate action, the energy transition and about signing up for Best Climate and Energy Paper Award 2023 Ceremony on Tuesday 19 March.