Grup de Recerca en Energia i Intel·ligència Artificial (GREiA) (INSPIRES)

Permanent URI for this collection

The GREiA research group (Research group in energy and artificial intelligence) is born from the union of the research group in energy GREA and the research group in artificial intelligence IA. The collaboration of these two groups begins in 2014. The general line of research that defines the activity of the group is to provide answers and solutions related to the fields of energy engineering, industrial and construction design, sustainability and intelligence artificial. [Més informació]

Browse

Recent Submissions

Now showing 1 - 5 of 511
  • Item
    Open Access
    Incorporating citizen science to enhance public awareness in smart cities: The case study of Balaguer
    (MDPI, 2024) Cabeza, Luisa F.; Teixidó Cairol, Mercè; Guarino, Francesco; Rincione, Roberta; Díaz Llobet, Manel; Gil Iranzo, Rosa María; Cellura, Maurizio; Mateu Piñol, Carles
    The concept of a smart city is becoming increasingly popular to improve citizens' quality of life. Institutions are also committed to enhancing the sustainability of cities by implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper presents a Balaguer case study investigating energy demand monitoring, decreasing energy demand, and citizen acceptance in a municipality district. The study collected data from three sources: (1) quantitative data coming from on-site sensors; (2) quantitative data from a simulation of the area; and (3) qualitative data from questionnaires developed with a totem located in the city center. This study shows the importance of citizen science in contributing towards the increased awareness of energy demand, renewable energy, and climate change. But it also shows how citizen science can improve research quality involving the municipality authorities. This study also was instrumental in contributing to the increase in awareness among municipality authorities and capacity building on the topic. This activity may also contribute towards the implementation of actions to reduce the energy demand in public buildings and helping them in deploying policies to decrease energy demand in buildings, increase the use of renewable energy, and increase awareness among citizens. The government will use the information gathered to develop policies for citizen improvement.
  • Item
    Open Access
    Use of molten salts tanks for seasonal thermal energy storage for high penetration of renewable energies in the grid
    (Elsevier, 2024) Prieto, Cristina; Tagle-Salazar, Pablo D.; Patiño-Rodríguez, David; Schallenberg-Rodriguez, Julieta; Lyons, Padraig; Cabeza, Luisa F.
    Energy storage is acknowledged a key technology to meet the challenges posed by the energy transition. Shortterm grid-connected storage, based on Li-Ion batteries, is becoming commonplace but seasonal energy storage at grid-scale will be needed for deep decarbonisation of the electrical power system. Pumped hydropower is considered to be the only mature technology for such applications, but this paper demonstrates that two-tanks molten salts systems, that are used today in commercial concentrating solar power (CSP) plants, can also be considered a mature technology that can be used at large scale for seasonal energy storage. This was established by evaluating the annual heat losses of molten salts tanks using validated models of these systems. The results show that the heat losses in a very well insulated molten salts tanks are around 1 K/day, which would result in good economic performance of the power block even if storage was required for up to months.
  • Item
    Open Access
    Modelling the building-related photovoltaic power production potential in the light of the EU's Solar Rooftop Initiative
    (Elsevier, 2024) Molnar, Gergely; Cabeza, Luisa F.; Chatterjee, Souran; Ürge-Vorzatz, Diana
    Decarbonizing the building sector is key to meet the EU climate goals by 2050. Although the recent policies recognized the importance of on-site solar energy production in the energy transition, there are only a few modelling studies analyzing how much the gap between the technically possible and policy-driven power generation of rooftop photovoltaic (PV) panels can be reduced. This study, therefore, uses geospatial techniques and the high-resolution Building Integrated Solar Energy (BISE) supply model to estimate the main spatial and temporal characteristics of the rooftop PV energy production potential. To support decision-making, important implications of the Solar Rooftop Initiative action plan of the European Commission on the future dimension of the PV electricity supply are also assessed in the context of the achievable potential. The modelling results indicate that the current rooftop PV technical potential could be about 2.7 PWh, being in similar extent with the EU power consumption. The largest country-level PV potentials can be found in Germany, France, Italy and Poland, with an increase of 30% by 2060. Our findings also underline that by following the latest policies, major improvement could be achieved in the EU's rooftop solar energy production by around 2040, depending greatly on the structure and energy efficiency niveau of the future building stock.
  • Item
    Open Access
    Molten salts tanks thermal energy storage: aspects to consider during design
    (MDPI, 2024) Prieto, Cristina; Blindu, Adrian; Cabeza, Luisa F.; Valverde, Juan; García, Guillermo
    Concentrating solar power plants use sensible thermal energy storage, a mature technology based on molten salts, due to the high storage efficiency (up to 99%). Both parabolic trough collectors and the central receiver system for concentrating solar power technologies use molten salts tanks, either in direct storage systems or in indirect ones. But even though this is a mature technology, it still shows challenges in its implementation and operation. This paper underscores the critical importance of stringent design criteria for molten salt tanks in thermal storage technology. Focusing on the potential ramifications of design failures, the study explores various dimensions where an inadequate design can lead to severe consequences, even jeopardizing the viability of the entire technology. Key areas discussed include structural integrity, corrosion, thermal shock, thermal expansions, and others. By elucidating the multifaceted risks associated with design shortcomings, this paper aims to emphasize the necessity of thorough reviews and adherence to robust design principles for ensuring the success, safety, and sustainability of thermal storage technology.
  • Item
    Open Access
    Sustainability of international research: evidence from an H2020 European project
    (Springer, 2023) Fabiani, Claudia; De Albuquerque Landi, Fabiana Frota; Cabeza, Luisa F.; Pisello, Anna Laura
    Greenhouse gas emissions reduction is a critical topic in the scientific community, as researchers strive to produce knowledge for the betterment of society. However, it is important to acknowledge that researchers themselves engage in activities that have a significant environmental impact. Group meetings and conferences are under the spot due to their extensive contribution to emissions through travel, catering, hosting, and other event-related activities. To address this issue, our work aims to conduct an environmental diagnosis of an ongoing H2020 European project, focusing on the impacts associated with the periodical group meetings organized in each country involved. We also sought to evaluate researchers' stance on online meetings and collected environmental and personal opinions through dedicated online forms. Results show that while travel is the primary contributor to emissions, catering, meeting structures, and hosting support should not be overlooked. Conference location and availability of public transportation also play a crucial role in the final impact of the event, as they affect directly the 87% share of emissions due to travels. Besides, using local distributors and reducing hotel stays (representing about 5% of the final impact) may reduce the potential environmental burden of these events. On the other side, besides the obtained positive feedback from online meetings, in-person activities are still more effective for reinforcing human bonds and collaborations.