EUREC Agency

EUROPEAN MASTER IN RENEWABLE ENERGY_NEWSLETTER ISSUE 5 _SEPTEMBER 2011 www.master.eurec.be

EUROPEAN MASTER IN RENEWABLE ENERGY

NEWSLETTER

ISSUE 5 – September 2011

EDITO, Putting PV energy to work, by Reinhold Buttgereit, Secretary

General of the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA)

The benefits of solar photovoltaic electricity for the

environment and the security of energy supply are well-

known, but we should remember also that the continuing

growth in PV markets around the world will be an

economic boon to the EU. Encouraging PV development

will play a major role in order to achieve Europe’s stated

goal to create a smart, sustainable economy for the

future – one in which high-tech innovation creates new

jobs and improves social cohesion.

While today there may be little doubt that the PV industry

is weathering a challenging period of consolidation and

market maturation, the long-term prospects for industry

growth are strong. As the cost of generating PV electricity continues to drop – a

new EPIA study forecasts a 50% decline by 2020 – the technology will become

increasingly competitive with conventional sources of electricity.

In some European market segments, this competitiveness moment will be reached

as early as 2013; by the end of the decade PV will be a competitive source of

electricity in most of the continent’s major markets. That ever-increasing

competitiveness will spur further growth and create more jobs all along the PV

value chain from module producer to installer.

At the end of 2010 nearly 220,000 were employed globally by the PV industry, and

the number of jobs in the sector has continued to grow. A recent report by EPIA

and Greenpeace estimated that 30 full-time equivalent jobs are created for each

EUREC Agency

EUROPEAN MASTER IN RENEWABLE ENERGY_NEWSLETTER ISSUE 5 _SEPTEMBER 2011 www.master.eurec.be

megawatt of solar power modules produced and installed. Worldwide, PV could

account for more than 800,000 jobs as early as 2015, rising to 1.7 million in 2020

and 2.6 million in 2030.

While it is true that the manufacture of PV modules has increasingly moved to Asia

in recent years, this is not the whole story when it comes to the whole PV system

and jobs. The lion’s share of the market for PV remains in the EU.

At least 50-55% of total value of a PV system is created close to the end market, of

which 80% was located in EU countries in 2010. This also means a significant

number of jobs are created downstream, in the local markets themselves.

Downstream jobs (related to installation, operation and maintenance, financing and

power sales) are developing and they represent today over 50% of the value of a

PV system over its lifetime.

The PV industry’s coming diversification and expansion (as innovative technologies

emerge) will require a highly trained and specially educated workforce. Capacity

building is needed at all levels of education to meet the coming labour demand as

well as the labour demand of today. We have already seen bottlenecks when it

comes to the installation of PV modules. And also academic institutions will need to

strengthen and adapt the quality of their current curriculum and increase

considerably their offer for specific courses in PV. This will be necessary to meet

demand for 50,000 new direct jobs created annually between 2006 and 2030.

The development of PV and other renewable energies will be a jobs driver in other

ways, as well – for example as the electricity grid infrastructure is updated –

although not just because of renewables – and new smart technologies are

integrated.

Despite whatever minor ups and downs the industry experiences as it moves

forward, the long-term outlook is clear: Putting PV energy to work is the same as

putting Europe to work.

Reinhold Buttgereit

EPIA Secretary General

EUREC Agency

EUROPEAN MASTER IN RENEWABLE ENERGY_NEWSLETTER ISSUE 5 _SEPTEMBER 2011 www.master.eurec.be

Contents:

Edito by Reinhold Buttgereit, President of the European Photovoltaic Industry

Association (EPIA) Master Agenda News from Universities – University of Perpignan

FAQ

Best projects 2010 – Best projects in MINES-Paristech: Hervé Brouchery and Brice

Chung

Where are they now? Article from Matthew Clarke, EUREC Master Student –

2007/2008

Links

Jobs

Events

EUREC Agency at the 26th European PV conference and exhibition in

Hamburg

Upcoming events

MASTER AGENDA

Academic Year 2010/2011

First week of October: EUREC Agency to send guidelines for the

Master thesis report and summary paper

Beginning of November: Publication of the Presentation Days

agenda

November 30: Deadline to submit Master thesis comprehensive

report and summary paper

December 14 and 15: Presentation Days 2011 in Brussels

Academic Year 2011/2012

September 5th : Starting date in MINES-Paristech

October 3rd : Starting date in Loughborough and in Zaragoza

October 4th : Starting date in Oldenburg

EUREC Agency

EUROPEAN MASTER IN RENEWABLE ENERGY_NEWSLETTER ISSUE 5 _SEPTEMBER 2011 www.master.eurec.be

NEWS FROM UNIVERSITIES

Université de Perpignan – Specialisation provider - Solar Thermal

Solar collector test bench in Perpignan

EUREC students who choose to follow the Specialisation SOLAR THERMAL will start

the classes in February at the University of Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD).

The title “Via Domitia”- name of the ancient Roman road connecting Spain and Italy

- was chosen in order to emphasise the cultural links between the University of

Perpignan, the people of the Mediterranean basin, and people all over the world.

The creation in 2005 of a Centre of Excellence (Pôle de compétitivité) for

Renewable Energies and their use in the domestic and industrial environment has

brought together physics, chemistry and electronics laboratories. This project,

fostered by the University, is working to develop an international dimension in pure

and applied research. The acquisition of this label is based on previous hard work

by teams from the University and the CNRS (Centre National pour la Recherche

Scientifique) and has resulted in the creation of a Master’s Degree in Solar Energy,

an accredited 2 years course Master program aimed to graduate 40/50 students per

year, 80% for professional issues, 20% for research (PhD applicants).

The Solar thermal courses related to the EUREC specialisation are directly derived

from this Master program, which is supported by Professors and Researchers

working in PROMES (PROcess, Material and Solar Energy), a CNRS laboratory

working in the solar field. This laboratory is located in two sites, one in the

University campus in Perpignan (15 km from the sea), and the other one in Odeillo

(in the Pyrénées Mountains).

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The course starts in Perpignan, where the students are hosted during two weeks in

PROMES facilities. During this period, lectures, tutorials and lab works focus on low

temperature solar applications, mainly heating and cooling in buildings. Intensive

use of design software and practical work provides practical skills to the students:

Solar collectors: Various technologies of collectors are available for testing

(flat plate, evacuated tubes, air heating). The laboratory is also equipped

with an industrial bench for testing of solar collectors according to European

standard EN12975.

Solar heating: Solar heating

water system with stratified storage

tank

Solar cooling: Two prototypes

of solar cooling are in operation

(Silicagel/Water, 7, 5 kW and

BaCl2/ammonia, 5 kW), both

including PCM heat and/or cold

storage.

After this first period, students move

to Odeillo for the rest of the

semester. The PROMES laboratory is

equipped with large scale

concentrating systems, with a high

temperature measurement lab and

with pilot scale solar receiver testing

facilities at medium and high

temperature:

Concentrating solar

facilities: 10 very high concentration

solar furnaces (1kW–2kW), one

medium concentration solar furnace

(5 kW), one 50 kW (thermal) dish equipped with a 10 kW Solo Stirling

engine, one 1 MW solar furnace, one 5 MW central receiver concentrating

facility (Themis)

High temperature measurement lab: Black bodies up to 3000K,

Pyrometers and IR camera, Reflectometer, Spectroradiometer

Solar receivers: Mock-ups of pressurized air solar receivers, Porous ceramic

volumetric receivers, Tube receivers.

These equipments, unique in the world, allow illustrating, at various scales, all the

theoretical items taught in the lectures and tutorials.

Themis facility

EUREC Agency

EUROPEAN MASTER IN RENEWABLE ENERGY_NEWSLETTER ISSUE 5 _SEPTEMBER 2011 www.master.eurec.be

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Actors and Roles in the European Master in Renewable Energy

1-What is the role of EUREC Agency as coordinator of the EUREC Master?

As coordinator of the EUREC Master, EUREC Agency has to assure smooth running of the

Master programme. With this respect, EUREC Agency is in charge of the students’ application

process; of organising regular meetings of the Master Steering Committee (the decisional body

of the Master course, composed of one representative per university); of implementing the

decisions taken by the Master Steering Committee; of answering to the questions raised by

students, applicants and Alumni; of promoting the EUREC Master in Europe and worldwide

through communication activities (e.g. website, leaflets, posters…)

2-What does this mean with respect to the application and selection process?

EUREC Agency receives all applications through the Master website, ensures that all documents

and information necessary to the evaluation are available, and then transmits the applications

to the concerned core University. EUREC Agency is not involved in the selection process; it is

the core provider University which selects its students. EUREC Agency then sends offer letters,

takes care of the registrations and provides students with the necessary documents such as

support letters or proof of payments.

3-What are the respective roles of the Universities and EUREC Agency

concerning students’ projects?

The core and specialisation Universities both take care of the scientific supervision of the

project.

The core provider assesses the project. EUREC Agency has several roles:

Sending information about EUREC students to our contacts to inform them that they are

looking for internships

Sending information to students: project guidelines and more information concerning

documents, templates, list of projects from alumni, deadlines, presentation days…

Organising the Presentation Days in Brussels

Keeping the thesis repository up to date (now available on the website- you must log in

to access this page)

4- What is the role of the Steering Committee?

The Steering Committee is a group of representatives from each partnering University. It is up

to the Steering Committee to take decisions on the content and structure of the course, or on

students’ requests such as changes of specialisation. EUREC Agency is in charge of organising

the Steering Committee meetings, to ensure that the involved universities regularly meet in

order to constantly check and improve the quality of the European Master in Renewable

Energy.

EUREC Agency

EUROPEAN MASTER IN RENEWABLE ENERGY_NEWSLETTER ISSUE 5 _SEPTEMBER 2011 www.master.eurec.be

BEST PROJECTS THESIS 2010

MINES-Paristech

Eco-Design: Case of an Industrial Building Located in Carros, South of France-

Hervé Brouchery

Having a computer science background – I worked for more

than 7 years for a semiconductor company – I enrolled in

the EUREC Master because I wanted to become an actor of

our growing industry.

One figure: in France the construction sector represents

43% of the whole energy consumption. This fact is the

reason why I chose to complete my Master thesis and my

mandatory internship in a field that I think has a very high

potential: energy efficiency in buildings. Therefore I spent the third semester in a

consulting firm – CEDRE – whose main activity is related to this sector. I worked on

the renovation of an industrial site located in the South of France, close to Nice. The

applied strategy to perform this renovation was based on the common methodology

used in the design of efficient buildings. It is divided into 3 steps:

1st step. Estimate of the building's energy needs (heating, cooling, lighting and

ventilation). This estimation is usually performed by running a dynamic simulation

of the building under a dedicated Software (EnergyPlus or TRNSYS).

2nd step. Optimisation phase in order to reduce the energy needs. In this phase,

the envelope of the building is improved taking into account the local climate.

3rd step. Analysis of renewable energies potential and their integration in the

building. In this phase, the costs related to the integration of renewable energies

will be particularly studied in order to obtain the most efficient solution considering

both economic and technical aspects.

I carried out the simulations under the EnergyPlus tool which is a very powerful

simulator but not so easy to get started with... To perform the first two steps, it

was really important to go on site in order to determine the building envelope

characteristics and how the building was run. The first results showed a high

cooling demand, mainly due to the many industrial processes performed inside the

building.

The third aspect of the project allowed me to apply what I had learned during the

first two semesters. After some brainstorming, we ended up with an innovative

solution to cover the main need of the industrial site. The solution consisted in

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installing a desiccant cooling system coupled to a solar thermal plant, contributing

to reduce the impact on the environment. I worked on both aspects: technical and

economic; the last one being decisive for the customer... The estimated return on

investment – around 9 years without considering any grant – was finally not

accepted by the customer who decided to install a conventional solution.

This is actually a reality: any solution presenting a return on investment longer

than 2 or 3 years has no future! Today our proposed solution depends on grants.

That is why we developed a research program including 3 different partners – Ecole

des Mines de Paris, as a research centre, being one of them. The goal is to improve

our knowledge on the topic, to find solutions to reduce the costs and to finance a

real scale demonstrator.

Today, I’m still working in the same consulting firm where my main activity consists

in implementing a sizing tool for desiccant cooling systems coupled to a solar

thermal plant or any other available heat source. The answer of our research

program application should come soon: before the end of October. This will be

hopefully the real kick off of our research program...

Liquid Metal Batteries: Energy storage at grid scale - Brice Chung

The distribution of electrical power relies on a delicate and

continuous balance between production and demand. A

combination of energy sources is carefully adjusted to match

the forecasted consumption, and occasionally, energy storage

is used as a buffer layer to facilitate this sensitive equilibrium.

In the coming decades the world electricity production is

projected to undergo significant changes. New energy sources

such as wind or solar are anticipated to decrease in cost and

play an increasing role in the energy landscape. However,

their intrinsic intermittency is most likely to limit their role, as recent studies show

that current grid architectures can only accommodate up to 10-20% of intermittent

sources [1]. Supporting the grid with energy storage would enable the large-scale

deployment of clean and sustainable sources of energy. Presently, competitive

technologies are limited, and a battery that can strive for low cost grid-scale

storage has yet to be developed.

Most prior innovations in battery technologies have led to improved energy/power

densities, which have dominantly benefited mobile applications such as laptops and

cell phones. While portable applications necessitate energy capacities of the order

of the Wh, the capacity involved in supporting the grid is much greater (~MWh). As

a result, cost ($/Wh) instead of energy density, is the key driver for prospective

grid scale storage technologies.

EUREC Agency

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The liquid metal battery (LMB) is a potential breakthrough technology. The project -

supported by Total and the US department of energy - is being developed at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Inspired by a power hungry (~MW)

electrochemical process used in the production of aluminum, LMB opens the path

for novel chemistries. Instead of exotic metal oxides that are prevalent in portable

battery technologies, earth abundant electrode materials such as magnesium or

antimony can be employed. LMB consists of a molten salt electrolyte floating

between two layers of liquid metal electrodes. Each layer has a distinct density such

that upon melting, the device self-assembles. This attribute potentially makes LMB

easy to manufacture and readily scalable, which are two assets that can be decisive

for the success of a technology. In addition, the two liquid interfaces impart LMB

with fast electrode kinetics, enabling high charge and discharge rate. Perhaps the

most attractive feature of this battery is the continuous creation and annihilation of

the liquid electrodes upon charging and discharging. This feature endows LMB with

unprecedented cycle life by rendering them immune to structural degradation

mechanisms that limit conventional battery cycle life. Overall, LMB could potentially

be a low cost and long lifetime technology – key advantages for successful energy

storage that can enable the integration of renewable energy sources.

As I was finishing my doctorate and desired to transition from theoretical physics to

innovation in renewable energy, the EUREC Master stood out as an excellent

opportunity to tackle this broad field and formulate a better understanding of the

energy challenge. While many areas were of special interest to me (PV, CSP, etc.),

I was aiming at a project on game-changing technology with forward thinking for a

better integration of clean energy. I am currently based at MIT and employed by

Total as a scientist. The development of LMB is strongly tied to the challenging

application of large-scale energy storage fostering a goal oriented, fast pace and

exciting environment. My previous and current work focuses on the scaling of initial

test cells to larger scales. Challenges include chemistry optimization and cell design

with the overall goal of developing a battery that meets the stringent cost and

performance targets. Our team has successfully demonstrated the performance of

small capacity cells (1Ah) and my work has contributed into pursuing these efforts

to high performing 20Ah cells that are routinely tested in open-air environment,

further proving the potential of LMB. I would like to thank my colleagues at Total

and MIT – Group Sadoway [2].

[1] Denholm, P. and Margolis, R. (2006), “Very large-scale deployment of grid-connected solar photovoltaics in the

United States: challenges and opportunities”, NREL Conference paper

[2] http://sadoway.mit.edu/research/liquid-metal-batteries

Brice Chung

chungb@mit.edu

EUREC Agency

EUROPEAN MASTER IN RENEWABLE ENERGY_NEWSLETTER ISSUE 5 _SEPTEMBER 2011 www.master.eurec.be

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Matthew Clarke, 2007-2008 EUREC Master student from Loughborough and Kassel

Universities.

Matthew Clarke is in the final year

of his PhD at the Vienna University

of Technology. His work focuses

on cost and performance

improvements to concentrator

photovoltaic receivers utilizing

linear concentrators. Matthew was

awarded the PVSEC student award

for most outstanding research in

the category “Advanced

Photovoltaics: New Concepts and

Ultra-High Efficiency” at the 26th

European Photovoltaic Solar

Energy Conference and Exhibition.

The award was given for his work

entitled, “A Novel, Lead-Free

Soldering Process for Concentrator

Photovoltaic Cells” and was presented on September 5th at the conference.

Briefly, concentrator photovoltaics (CPV)

use large areas of optics to concentrate

light onto a CPV receiver in order to

utilize heat, electricity, or in some cases

both for economic purposes. A CPV

receiver is typically a small specially

designed photovoltaic module utilizing

high efficiency solar cells with an

integrated cooling system.

Matthew has spent a great deal of his

time optimizing various cooling system

designs, with a specific focus on

thermally interfaces to the solar cell.

Together with the firm Heliovis AG, the

Vienna University of Technology has

investigated several designs for an A parabolic trough with CPV receivers

EUREC Agency

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inflatable parabolic trough. The technology aims to reduce the costs of the optics,

tracking, and structure. His university is presently investigating the possibility of

utilizing such light-weight structures for off-shore deployment of photovoltaic

technologies.

Matthew will continue his work through 2012 with the construction of a small pilot

plant utilizing concentrator photovoltaic receivers that were designed in conjunction

with the Australian National University.

Matthew is a graduate of the 2007-

2008 EUREC programme. He

participated in Loughborough’s core

studies and attended Kassel

University to study hybrid systems.

During his Master project,

concerning photovoltaic installations

utilizing a vanadium redox flow

battery, Matthew became further

interested in photovoltaics and

stayed in Vienna to pursue a PhD.

He sends many warm wishes to his

past colleagues and comments on

how great it is to know that they are

still following careers in renewable

energy. If you wish to contact him,

he may be reached at matthew.clarke@tuwien.ac.at

LINKS

Wind Power Monthly

Wind Power Monthly is a news magazine focusing on business, policy and

economics of wind energy. You can also find an event as well as a job section.

http://www.windpowermonthly.com/home/

JOBS

Energy Generation Jobs

Energy Generation Jobs is a global network of job sites and career resources

dedicated to energy. It is possible to restrict your search to Renewable Energy jobs,

and to receive email notifications when a new offer is published in this section.

http://www.energygenerationjobs.com/

EUREC Agency

EUROPEAN MASTER IN RENEWABLE ENERGY_NEWSLETTER ISSUE 5 _SEPTEMBER 2011 www.master.eurec.be

New offers in the Job section of the Master website

Please log in to access these job offers:

Senior Project Manager- Energy in Buildings and HVAC

Senior Wind Project Manager

Project Officer

Research Assistant

Alumni and companies are warmly encouraged to publish job ads in the EUREC

Master website: please send the offer via email to Nathalie Richet.

EVENTS

EUREC Agency at 26th EUPVSEC in Hamburg

Impressions of Hamburg

Greg Arrowsmith, policy officer at EUREC Agency, attended the CEO panel discussion hosted

by EPIA as part of its “European PV Industry Summit”

“The industry summit was one of the highlights of the conference week. The

industry leaders around the table represented well-known companies with

crystalline silicon and/or thin-film interests: Bosch Solar, Dow Corning, First Solar,

Q-Cells, Schott Solar, Solarworld and Suntech.

EUREC Agency

EUROPEAN MASTER IN RENEWABLE ENERGY_NEWSLETTER ISSUE 5 _SEPTEMBER 2011 www.master.eurec.be

They were invited to comment on slides prepared by EPIA Vice President Winfried

Hoffmann, who moderated. The panel was sceptical of Hoffmann’s suggestion that

“new technologies” (by which he understood CPV, organic PV, dye-sensitised solar

cells and a-Si-pin cells), would achieve the market shares he predicted:

Comments included “You’d need a ‘New technologies’ equivalent of a First Solar in

the next two years to achieve those market shares” [First Solar is the world’s

leading supplier of thin film technology, with a production capacity of 1.4 GW for

CdTe modules in 2010.] and “A c-Si market share of 70% will persist, especially if

the c-Si community sticks

to its roadmap of moving

from wafer thicknesses of

100µm to 50µm”. New

technologies, with the

exception of CPV, are of

lower efficiency than

current thin-film

technologies, and

according to another slide

by Hoffmann, this situation

will not be reversed within

the next 10-13 years. “A

15-23 % gap in efficiency

between the most and

least efficient technologies is not what we’ll see in 10 years’ time,” commented

Solarworld’s COO, Boris Klebensberger, implying that inefficient technologies would

remain niche.

Exhibition hall

EUREC Agency

EUROPEAN MASTER IN RENEWABLE ENERGY_NEWSLETTER ISSUE 5 _SEPTEMBER 2011 www.master.eurec.be

Martin Heming from Schott Solar reminded the room that “changes to the grid

happen on a very different timescale to the growth of PV installations”. This

prompted the President of EPIA, Ingmar Wilhelm of ENEL Green Power, to consider

the kinds of business model PV companies would have to adopt if DSOs and TSOs

are unequal to the task of integrating the 150-250 GW of PV that the industry

thinks could be installed in the EU by 2020: “My calculations show that a PV and

integrated electricity storage system [for example using batteries] would cost

around 20-22 c€/kWh.” This compares with a cost of PV electricity, across all

European countries and market segments, of 13-22 c€ by 2020.

Of specific interest to EUREC because from time to time we need to defend the

renewables industry against the accusation that it spends too little on R&D, the

panel was asked to reveal its spending in this area.

Bosch: “Like the other major players in PV, 2-3% of our turnover is spent on R&D. Anything in the range 3-5% is healthy”

Dow Corning: 5-6% [presumably of the turnover of its solar division] First Solar: 5%

Q-cells: 4% Schott Solar: “refer to Bosch’s answer”

Solarworld: “refer to Bosch’s answer” Suntech: 40 M USD last year”

Greg Arrowsmith

EUREC Agency policy officer

For more information on the 26th European PV conference:

http://www.photovoltaic-conference.com/images/stories/26th/previous/jger- waldau-highlights.pdf

EUREC Agency

EUROPEAN MASTER IN RENEWABLE ENERGY_NEWSLETTER ISSUE 5 _SEPTEMBER 2011 www.master.eurec.be

Upcoming events

Title RE

sector Date Place Conference Website

Youth and

Entrepreneurship

- Drivers of

Innovation

- 19-21 Oct Krakow,

Poland

http://eit.europa.eu/activiti

es/events/single-

view/article/youth-and-

entrepreneurship-drivers-

of-innovation.html

5th European

Solar Thermal

Energy

Conference

Solar

Thermal 20-21 Oct

Marseille,

France

http://www.estec2011.eu/

en/home/

EUREC Master

Steering

Committee

Meeting

- 4 Nov Brussels,

Belgium

EUREC Master

Presentation days All 14-15 Dec

Brussels,

Belgium www.master.eurec.be

NEXT ISSUE

Issue 6: December 2011 - Please send your articles before November 24th

For any suggestion or contribution to our newsletter, or if you want to unsubscribe,

please contact Nathalie Richet

richet@eurec.be

EUREC Agency

rue d’Arlon 63-67

1040 Brussels

Belgium