The Netherlands is aiming for the roll-out of more solar PV. However like many densely populated countries, the country is running into issues of lack of space. Opportunities around infrastructural works like highways provide space without compromising the landscape. Examples of this double use are already developed and demonstrated, like for instance sound barriers and solar roads. New is the combination of solar PV with traffic barriers. This has a big potential since the Dutch main road network had 7.500 km of guiderail and the construction to put PV on is already there. In the MESH (Modular E cover for Solar Highways) project a consortium of knowledge institutes, a province and companies developed a prototype and tested it in a pilot. The consortium consists of TNO, Solliance (in which TNO is a partner, a high-end research institute for flexible thin film solar cells such as CIGS and Perovskite), Heijmans Infra (focusing mainly on the construction, improvement and maintenance of road infrastructure, including guiderails), DC Current (applying innovations with regard to power optimizers for the linear PV application), the Province of Noord-Holland (which acts as a leading customer) and the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS) as a knowledge institution that links education and research. In this project the theme Sustainable Energy Systems of AUAS is involved with both lecturers and student groups. In the project, Solliance investigated and developed the flexible thin film PV technology to be applied with a focus on shape and reliability. TNO and Heijmans developed a modular casing concept and a fastening system that allows quick installation on site. DC Current worked on the DC management with regard to voltage, electrical safety and minimizing failure in case of collision. At the end of the project, the partners in the consortium have validated knowledge about how to integrate PV into the guiderail and can start with the scaling up of the technology for commercial applications. In order to meet the various requirements for traffic safety on the one hand and generating electricity on the other hand, the Systems Engineering methodology was leading during the project. In the project we first built a small, but full scale prototype and invited safety experts to evaluate the design. With this feedback we made a redesign for the pilot. This pilot is placed on the highway as safety barrier and tested for a year. In a presentation at EU PVSEC18 [1] K.Sewalt reported on the design phase. This time we want to present the results of our test phase and give answers on our research questions.
The Smart Current Limiter is a switching DC to DC converter that provides a digitally pre-set input current control for inrush limiting and power management. Being able to digitally adjust the current level in combination with external feedback can be used for control systems like temperature control in high power DC appliances. Traditionally inrush current limiting is done using a passive resistance whose resistance changes depending on the current level. Bypassing this inrush limiting resister with a Mosfet improves efficiency and controllability, but footprint and losses remain large. A switched current mode controlled inrush limiter can limit inrush currents and even control the amount of current passing to the application. This enables power management and inrush current limitation in a single device. To reduce footprint and costs a balance between losses and cost-price on one side and electromagnetic interference on the other side is sought and an optimum switching frequency is chosen. To reduce cost and copper usage, switching happens on a high frequency of 300kHz. This increases the switching losses but greatly reduces the inductor size and cost compared to switching supplies running on lower frequencies. Additional filter circuits like snubbers are necessary to keep the control signals and therefore the output current stable.
Een van de onderdelen van het TSDCE project, WP3, betreft het meten en een veldtest op locatie. Hierbij wordt in Amsterdam op locatie gemeten, waarbij het vooral gaat om de dynamiek van veranderingen in belasting (bij remmen en optrekken). Het is gelukt om het verloop van de spanning van de bovenleiding en de minus in kaart te brengen. Meten in praktijksituatie is wat anders dan meten onder lab-omstandigheden. Aarding is een cruciaal aspect. De Deltavoeding was instabiel door een rimpel op de bovenleidingspanning. Met de solar converter is wel stroom geleverd aan het tractienet.
Nederland streeft naar een verduurzaming van het energiesysteem. In 2020 moet 14% van onze energie duurzaam opgewekt zijn, waarbij de zon, naast wind, als belangrijkste duurzame energiebron gezien wordt. Systemen voor geconcentreerde zonne-energie kunnen worden ingezet voor het opwekken van elektrische en/of thermische energie. Grootschalige systemen (multi-MW) met spiegels worden reeds toegepast in zonnevelden. Het HAN Lectoraat Duurzame Energie werkt al enige jaren aan innovatieve systemen met lenzen waarbij naast het concentreren van direct licht het overblijvende diffuse licht beschikbaar is voor verlichting van de onderliggende ruimte. We willen de in eerdere projecten opgedane kennis en ervaring nu inzetten in een nieuw project, waarin we streven van prototype naar toepassing te komen. De bedrijven zijn benaderd over de nog openstaande vragen. Hieruit is een nieuwe onderzoeksvraag gevormd: Hoe kan voor systemen van geconcentreerde zonne-energie voor toepassingen in glastuinbouw en gebouwde omgevingen voor de productie van zowel elektriciteit als warmte, de energie-opbrengst verhoogd worden door een optimaler gebruik van de lichtinval en met een compacter en duurzamer systeem? In dit project, CONSOLE (acroniem voor CONcentrated SOLar Energy), gaan we werken aan het optimaliseren van de bestaande systemen en het ontwerpen van verbeterde (hybride) systemen voor het opwekken van warmte en elektriciteit in kassen en gebouwde omgeving. We gebruiken hiervoor zowel modellering als meten en testen en komen vanuit een inventarisatie tot een pakket van eisen wat uiteindelijk tot verbeterde prototypes leidt die geschikt zijn voor commerciële toepassing. We doen dit vanuit een nauwe samenwerking met 12 MKB’s, een branche-organisatie en een Centre of Expertise. Daarnaast is er een directe koppeling met het onderwijs, door de betrokkenheid van docent-onderzoekers en studenten in semesterprojecten, stages en afstudeerprojecten.
Road freight transport contributes to 75% of the global logistics CO2 emissions. Various European initiatives are calling for a drastic cut-down of CO2 emissions in this sector [1]. This requires advanced and very expensive technological innovations; i.e. re-design of vehicle units, hybridization of powertrains and autonomous vehicle technology. One particular innovation that aims to solve this problem is multi-articulated vehicles (road-trains). They have a smaller footprint and better efficiency of transport than traditional transport vehicles like trucks. In line with the missions for Energy Transition and Sustainability [2], road-trains can have zero-emission powertrains leading to clean and sustainable urban mobility of people and goods. However, multiple articulations in a vehicle pose a problem of reversing the vehicle. Since it is extremely difficult to predict the sideways movement of the vehicle combination while reversing, no driver can master this process. This is also the problem faced by the drivers of TRENS Solar Train’s vehicle, which is a multi-articulated modular electric road vehicle. It can be used for transporting cargo as well as passengers in tight environments, making it suitable for operation in urban areas. This project aims to develop a reverse assist system to help drivers reverse multi-articulated vehicles like the TRENS Solar Train, enabling them to maneuver backward when the need arises in its operations, safely and predictably. This will subsequently provide multi-articulated vehicle users with a sustainable and economically viable option for the transport of cargo and passengers with unrestricted maneuverability resulting in better application and adding to the innovation in sustainable road transport.
The change to sustainable energy and mobility in the Netherlands is faltering, in spite of numerous technological innovations and the clear economic benefits of such a transition. The Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and four other universities in the Netherlands will therefore develop new methods and techniques to give the transition a major boost. They will work within the framework of NEON, a multidisciplinary research programme in which engineers cooperate closely with social scientists, NGOs and companies. The Dutch Research Council (NWO) supports the programme, which will run for five years, with a grant of almost 8.5 million euros.Collaborative partners:TU Eindhoven, TU Delft, Tilburg University, Dutch Research Insitute for Transitions (and affiliate of ERASMUS Universiteit Rotterdam), Hogeschool van Amsterdam, Universiteit Twente, Heliox, Brainport Development, European Supply Chain Forum, Damen Shipyards Gorinchem B.V., TNO, AMPYX Power, NKL, Zenmo, ElaadNL, RAI Automotive Industry NL, Liander N.V., Enexis, Atlas Technologies B.V., Solarge, Kitepower, IHC MTI BV, Pon, Solliance, Elestor, Provincie Noord-Brabant, Swov, NXP, Verkeersonderneming, Stad Rotterdam, Prodrive Technologies B.V., Dialogic, PBL, Metalot3C.
