EUROPEAN CO-OPERATION IN ENERGY

European Commission Directorate-General For Research And Innovation

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• Publié par: EUROPEAN-COMMISSION-DIRECTORATE-GENERAL-FOR-RESEARCH-AND-INNOVATION
• Nombre de lectures: 13
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 13 Mo

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Community research *•*
Energy
RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURES
IMPROVING THE HUMAN RESEARCH POTENTIAL AND
THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC KNOWLEDGE BASE Interested in European research?
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EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Directorate-General for Research
Programme: 'Improving the human research
potential and the socio-economic knowledge base'
Contact: C. Warden
European Commission
Rue de ¡a Loi/Wetstraat 200 (SDME 4/36)
B-1049 Brussels
Fax [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
Website: http://www.cordis.lu/improving European Commission
Research Infrastructures
Energy
The European Round-Table on Energy
by Nicholas Syred,e Coordinator
Editor: Campbell Warden (European Commission)
Improving the human research potential and the socio-economic knowledge base
Directorate-General for Research LEGAL NOTICE
Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible
for the use which might be made of the following information.
A great deal of additional Information on the European Union is available on the Internet.
It can be accessed through the Europa server (http://europa.eu.int).
Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication.
Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2000
ISBN 92-894-0035-8
© European Communities, 2000
Reproduction Is authorised provided the source Is acknowledged.
Printed in Belgium
PRINTED ON WHITE CHLORINE-FREE PAPER Table of Contents
Page
5 FOREWORD
7 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
9 ENERGY TECHNOLOGY AND THE NEED
FOR EUROPEAN WIDE INVOLVEMENT
10 HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE CONCERTED ACTION
IN ENERGY
29 THE FUTURE
30 LOCATION AND DATA OF CONCERTED
ACTION IN ENERGY PARTNERS
32 ACCESS TO RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURES FOREWORD
Many fields of European research are underpinned by access to world-class research infrastructures.
However, the majority of such facilities are owned by National Government agencies and are open
mainly to their national user community. In view of this, successive editions of the 'Framework
Programme' (FP) for Community R&D have supported transnational access to a selected group of
outstanding research infrastructures.
This has been widened to include the funding of a series of Round-Tables which have brought
together the operators and representatives of the user community in a particular class of facilities
around a common research theme, in this case Energy. These Round-Tables have been much more
effective than 'usual' interactions between scientists because they have guaranteed the participation
of the full range of institutional facilities and the representatives of the users, avoiding obvious
problems of narrow or partisan actions. Their mission has focused on finding and implementing the
solutions to problems of common interest and seeding new transnational collaborations.
Starting in 1993 with a group of three research centres active in the area of Combustion Technology,
the Commission has given support to provide access to pilot and industrial scale research. It was
obvious from subsequent meetings that themes across a large range of energy and environmental
related topics were of common interest. These encompassed the global use of energy for which not
all of the expertise required was covered within this initial Round-Table. Hence this was seen as the
first step in the development of an Infrastructure Cooperation Network that covers experience gained
across four Framework Programmes. The group was expanded from three to six large-scale facilities
covering key aspects of the use of energy in its many different forms.
This brochure has been prepared by the Coordinator of the Round-Table for Energy and it aims to
provide useful information both to the researchers active in this field and to those responsible for
developing new research infrastructure in this area.
I am very pleased to present this excellent example of how multi-national research cooperation has
developed for those who are working in fields where such a highly developed culture of cross-border
co-operation does not yet normally exist. The EC wishes to continue to encourage such development.
Therefore it will make available during the period 2000-2003 at least 180 million Euro to support
top-class research infrastructure through the activity 'Enhancing Access to Research Infrastructures'
within FP 5.
OUdLJ
Manuela Soares
Acting Director
Improving the Human Research Potential and the Socio-economic Knowledge Base Increasing furnace
temperatures in
combination with
decreasing the oxygen
concentrations in the
furnace leads to a slower
combustion intensity which
consequently results in a
flatter heat release profile
and lower peak flame
temperatures. The result is
a combination of high
efficiency and low
emissions of NOx and CO. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Energy is a global name for many activities that includes equipment construction, process use and its
management. Further classification can be made in terms of fossil and alternative fuel sources. The
broad definitions of usage are industrial, domestic and transportation. Within the industrial sector
this can be subdivided into power generation and process use. With further pressures to both reduce
the formation of gases that produce acid rain and the drive to again further reduce greenhouse gas
levels such as carbon dioxide, there will be a need to improve the science, technology and
understanding of the complex governing equations. Furthermore, the use of hybrid systems that uses
a combination of fossil fuel and alternative energy like for instance solar, are of considerable interest
via the need to improve costs, efficiency and reduce overall environmental impact. Within the
European Union, individual member countries control, operate and use energy in distinct and
different ways and hence the use of good practice across Europe is currently a difficult task to
undertake due to the mix, match and use of different procedures.
Advanced combustion and energy systems are essential for future European prosperity. These must be
able to be fuelled by varying combinations of fossil and renewable fuels. As efficiency is improved
working temperatures increase and the behaviour of process materials at these elevated temperatures
is also of importance.
In order to develop and implement such optimised systems, a new generation of multi-disciplinary
engineers and scientists are required. The challenge for the future is to develop a greater knowledge
base and instil flexibility of thinking over a wider range of energy conversion systems. The sciences of
heat transfer, combustion and emissions control are still difficult to master due to their complexity
and interactive characteristics, and become more complex in the field of environmental impact. It is
difficult to conceive a situation whereby the requirements stated above can be met without
cooperation across a range of boundaries and disciplines. In the era where the total impact of energy
from a "cradle to grave" scenario requires great certainty of the technology that is used, so that future
generations can enjoy the same quality of life that we have today.
Science and infrastructure research needs are difficult to coordinate due to the global nature of
energy and within Europe by individual country demands. The bonding of the six partners within the
Concerted Action for Energy has allowed particular directions to be both explored and enhanced.
This brochure introduces the large-scale facilities used in this programme and highlights some of the
research achievements of the six partners of the Concerted Action for Energy. The first part
summarises the need for European wide involvement in the field of Energy Technology. In the second
section the activity of the Round-Table supported by the European Community's Framework
programmes is presented. The third section provides an overview of the facilities available at each of
the partners sites and presents some of the types of research that are carried out. In the final section,
"The Future" the implications of the Kyoto agreement and the objectives of the Concerted Action
which is carrying on the work of the Round-Table are presented.
Nicholas Syred
Round-Table Coordinator The thermal treatment of
materials in the solar furnace
employs highly concentrated
energy that rapidly raises the
temperature on a sample
surface to above 2,000°C
resulting in thermal shock.
This method is suitable for
surface modification of
materials, where it is entirely
competitive with laser based
technologies, whilst having the
capability of irradiating lar