newsletter energy materials group - iom3 16 2018 08... · 2018-08-07 · iom3 energy materials...

IOM3 Energy Materials Group Newsletter Issue 16 Aug 2018

The Energy Materials Group is an interdisciplinary special interest group of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining of 14

Newsletter

Energy

Materials

Group

Aug 2018

Issue 16

Image courtesy of Loughborough University



EMG Newsletter Lead – August 2018

As a surface engineer and not an energy materials specialist, I am delighted to be given the chance to write the lead article for this edition of the newsletter. Surface engineering has a significant and important role to play in improving the efficiency, increasing the lifetime and reducing the maintenance requirements of all power generation equipment - fossil fuel, nuclear and renewables.

Surface engineering has been used for over fifty years in fossil-fuel combustion generation. For example by protecting the surfaces of boiler pipes and tubes against increasingly aggressive fireside corrosion (arising from biomass firing/co-firing and oxy-fuel CCS) and steam-side oxidation (arising from the adoption of Ultra Super Critical steam conditions). Steam turbine components are protected against more aggressive steam droplet erosion, particle erosion and steam oxidation attack. Gas turbine components are protected from more aggressive conditions, arising from increased operating temperatures and the use of syngas fuels. Surface engineering is also used to create enhanced sealing in both gas and steam turbines. The next generation of new nuclear fission build will require higher operating efficiencies with a focus on enhanced safety features. This drive for enhanced safety, coupled with the need to extended operating lifetimes for both new build and existing installations, will lead to Surface Engineering opportunities from the full fuel cycle - mining/extraction of the primary ores, fuel enrichment to fuel processing and reprocessing. There will also be opportunities in nuclear fission hardware, nuclear plant de-commissioning and nuclear waste management.

As the use of renewables become more widespread then surface engineering will play a greater role in the protection of new components to increase life and performance and to repair and refurbish existing components. In Hydro-Power, the turbine components are protected to combat degradation by cavitation, pitting or particle erosion. Wind Power components such as turbine blades are surface engineered to protect against solid particle and foreign object damage. Blades and bearings also need to be protected against tribo-corrosion. Corrosion protection will also be required for high performance Nd−Fe−B permanent magnets used in marine environments and other extreme environments. There is also a need for surface engineering solutions to combat tribological problems in gearboxes and in yaw and pitch drives. Turbine towers will also require protection against corrosion, biofouling and corrosion fatigue in marine environments, surface engineering technologies are widely used for similar applications in offshore oil production. There are also opportunities for surface engineering solutions in wave and tidal technologies – those involving the building of barrages or containments are close derivatives of hydro-power with similar material challenges; others are more aligned to wind turbines and are subject to similar challenges. Opportunities in Solar Power for surface engineering are likely to be in improved efficiency and cost reduction.

Surface Engineering can contribute to energy sustainability by involvement in making manufacturing and production techniques more efficient by using less material from more efficient machining techniques. By creating improved fuel efficiency in engines – higher operating temperatures for aero engines, lower friction transmissions and engines, reduced drag for ships and swimmers – the list goes on. The importance of energy materials whether they be solid or coatings cannot be overstressed and the Energy Materials Group goes a long way in raising the awareness and importance of materials in the Energy Sector – keep up the good work.

Keith Harrison (EMG committee member)



EMG Annual Lecture – Prof Nigel Brandon – 14 June 2018

Materials for Energy Storage in Electric Vehicles and Low Carbon Grids – Opportunities and Challenges

The EMG annual lecture took place in the Mine at IOM3 headquarters, 297 Euston Rd, on 14 June 2018 and delivered by Prof. Nigel Brandon of Imperial College. Attendance this year was lower than previous years, which was a shame as the topic of the lecture and delivery was excellent, so a big thank you to Nigel for taking the time to educate the assembled audience.

Nigel set the scene with an overview of UK energy demand (see below graphic) where the biggest energy consumption within GB is transport fuels. This was a surprise to me from the power sector to see that transport is twice that of the power sector. This goes a long way to explain the interest in cleaning up the transport sector via electric vehicles, EV’s, and the associated battery technology.



EMG Annual Lecture (cont)

Prof. Brandon then moved into the technology of batteries including Li-Ion and the conflict between energy density of the storage device and charging/discharging rates and highlighted the amount of recoverable energy with different discharging rates as outlined in the below graphic. If you consider the area under the curve as the energy recovered this very graphically shows the inefficiency of an accelerated discharge. Technically this isn’t a problem but practically the human animal is not very patient so foot/accelerator/brain are not always on the same page. This may be an agreement for driverless vehicles where acceleration/speed/deceleration are controlled by algorithm. This subject was not discussed during Prof. Brandon’s lecture but these are rather the Editor’s machinations.



EMG Annual Lecture (cont)

Prof. Brandon discussed various battery technology developments before ending on energy storage for low carbon grids, highlighting the benefits that coupling energy storage with a flexible smart grid could increase the effectiveness of installed equipment, negating the need for expanding the installed capacity. The development of flow batteries is one area that is attracting a lot of excitement, having large storage capacity, rapid response rates, recovery rates of 90% and slow decay associated with repeated cyclic operation. Current disadvantages are relatively low energy density leading to increased sizes and the cost of the vanadium-based electrolyte, see schematic below. If you’re interested in reviewing Prof. Brandon’s lecture or in the topics of batteries and energy storage please contact Prof. Brandon at Imperial College.

mailto:[email protected]



Energy Materials Information Streams

The EMG microsite is a mine of information relating to Energy

Materials with links to various sources of information,

including funding sources for collaborative

research/development.

The EMG microsite is actively managed and regularly updated;

the link to the appropriate location on the microsite is given

below

http://www.iom3.org/energy-materials-group/energy-materials-links

Parsons Conference

The Parsons lecture is being given by Geoff Horsemann of

Siemens and will no doubt focus on the development of steam

turbines with an emphasis on Parsons turbines.

Front Cover

So have you decided what the picture on the front cover is?

Hardness testing of brittle materials is always a challenge as in

this case using a 4Kgf load on a SiC ceramic. The radial cracks

are often found in such materials but the pyramid cracking

adds a nice dimension to the image.

Editor’s Note: No, this isn’t the recommended procedure for

hardness testing of these materials but does make a nice picture.

Colston Research Symposium 2018

Nuclear energy: cornerstone of a low-carbon future?

(24 October 2018, 10.00 am - 25 October 2018, 6.00 pm)

The annual lecture will be hosted by the Faculty of Engineering,

University of Bristol, at the Wills Memorial Building. In 2018

the theme is 'Nuclear energy: cornerstone of a low-carbon future?'

Each Colston symposium consists of three elements: a

conference over two to three days, a dinner and a public

lecture. Following the event, the proceedings are published;

past Colston symposia publications form a series of volumes,

held in the Special Collections in the University of Bristol Library.

The Society was founded in 1899 as the ‘University College

Colston Society’, by a body of Bristol citizens who wished to

assist the University College. From 1908 to 1948 it applied its

resources in grants towards specific research projects in

various departments of the University. The Society has been

supporting symposia since 1948.

For more information and registration please contact https://southwestnuclearhub.ac.uk/colston-2018/.



https://southwestnuclearhub.ac.uk/colston-2018/



Organisation Profile

International Energy Agency The International Energy Agency (IEA) works to ensure reliable, affordable and clean energy for its 30 member countries and beyond. Our mission is guided by four main areas of focus: energy security, economic development, environmental awareness and engagement worldwide.

The history of the IEA began with the 1973-1974 Middle East War crisis and its immediate aftermath. Many countries permitted excessive and even wasteful and inefficient use of energy. Energy conservation measures were woefully underdeveloped and oil production potential was not fully realized, nor was sufficient investment devoted to the development of alternative energy sources. The crisis led to the establishment of the IEA in November 1974 with a broad mandate on energy security and other questions of energy policy co-operation among Member countries. The main policy decisions and the Agency framework were firmly anchored in the IEA treaty called the “Agreement on an International Energy Program”, and the new Agency was to be hosted at the OECD in Paris. The Agency would become the focal point for energy co-operation on such issues as: security of supply, long-term policy, information “transparency”, energy and the environment, research and development and international energy relations.

While these remain key aspects of its work, the IEA has evolved and expanded over the decades. It is today at the heart of global dialogue on energy, providing authoritative statistics and analysis and examining the full spectrum of energy issues, advocating policies that will enhance the reliability, affordability and sustainability of energy in its 30 members countries and beyond. Today the Agency has a staff of 240 energy analysts, modellers, data managers/statisticians, technicians, secretaries and support staff working on global energy challenges with the objective of building secure and sustainable energy supplies and markets, as platforms for promoting economic development, protecting the environment and eliminating energy poverty for the benefit of people worldwide. The offices of the Agency are located in central Paris near the Eiffel Tower.

An ever-growing function of the IEA is to share knowledge and best practice in the field of energy globally. The IEA has carried out training activities since its creation more than 40 years ago, starting with the Emergency Response Exercises (ERE) for its member countries to prepare them for oil supply disruptions. Over the decades, the scope for training has broadened to include energy statistics, modelling, technology, energy efficiency and renewable energy policies and subjects of similar interest. With the globalisation of energy markets and the global consequences of climate change, the IEA works with an increasing number of countries. IEA training is targeted at central government officials and key national stakeholders, such as executive agencies and private-sector organisations. Some courses are intended for specific experts (e.g. energy statistics), while others are targeted at a diverse audience of managers and policy makers.

For more information on the IEA and its activities please visit https://www.iea.org/

Eds Note: On the IEA website there are a large number of reports and statistics on global energy, some examples follow below.

https://www.iea.org/



The above graphic is an example of the type of statistics available from the IEA website. In this case the map shows the overall energy self-sufficiency for each country globally but here zoomed into Europe. The differences are quite surprising with UK coming in at 66%, Ireland at 14%, France 56%, Germany 39%, Spain 28% and Italy 24%. On the positive side of the fence are Norway at 703%, Saudi Arabia 293% and Russian Federation 188%



This graphic shows the change in total energy consumption between 1973 and 2015 across the globe. In most countries there has been a significant increase but for some like the UK consumption has come down from 143.23 Mtoe to 125.29 Mtoe, (Million tonnes of oil equivalent).



Editor’s Titbits Section

Drax submits plans for UK gas and battery storage project

Drax Power Station has submitted an application to develop a gas generation and battery storage project in the UK. Last year, it announced plans to replace the two remaining coal generating units with up to 3.6GW of high efficiency gas-fired power production and up to 200MW of battery storage. Since then, it has been developing engineering and environmental reports for the application as well as carrying out consultations with local people, landowners and councils. The company has so far converted three out of the six coal units to biomass and a fourth is scheduled for conversion this summer.

Battery boom means wind and solar will produce half of all power by 2050

The global boom in battery storage will enable the world to source half of all electricity from wind and solar by 2050. That’s according to a new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), which suggests “precipitous reductions” in cost will enable more power from intermittent renewables to be stored and discharged to meet shifts in demand and supply. It expects coal’s share of the mix to shrink from 38% to just 11% of global generation by the middle of the century as costs shift heavily in favour of low carbon technologies.

The report shows lithium-ion battery prices are already down nearly 80% per MWh since 2010 and suggests these costs will continue to drop as electric vehicle manufacturing rises. BNEF expects $11.5 trillion (£8.7tn) to be invested in new power generation capacity before 2050, with $8.4 trillion (£6.4tn) to be spent on wind and solar and a further $1.5 trillion (£1.1tn) on other low carbon technologies such as hydro and nuclear. This investment is expected to produce a 17-fold increase in solar capacity and a six-fold increase in wind capacity, resulting in the levelised cost of electricity for the former dropping by 71% and by 58% for onshore wind. The role of gas is expected to change from providing base load power to primarily providing back-up for renewables.

New enzyme-based biofuel technology

A new biological processes mean enzymes could help break down plant-based biomass into sustainable fuels up to 30 times faster than previously possible. That’s according to new research from scientists at Imperial College London, who claim to have enhanced the process of using biology to make products such as fuels, plastics, medicines and cosmetics, which often proves quite expensive and time consuming.

The scientists modified the glucosidase enzyme, which helps break down complex carbohydrates in biomass such as cellulose into glucose. This glucose can then be fermented to make the fuel ethanol. The researchers tweaked glucosidase to be able to withstand heat of up to 137°C accelerating the previously lengthy process.

Editor’s Note: The source of many of these titbits is Energy Live News.



Editor’s Titbits Section UK Government refuses to back £1.3bn Swansea Bay tidal lagoon project

Plans to build a £1.3 billion tidal lagoon project in Wales have been rejected by the UK Government. Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark said Tidal Lagoon Power’s proposed programme does not meet the requirements for value for money and “would not be appropriate to lead the company to believe the public funds could be justified”.

The developer previously said the project would power around 155,000 homes in Wales every year and was expected to create more than 2,000 jobs in construction and manufacturing. The Welsh Government announced its backing for the scheme, with a £200 million pledge and urged the UK Government to follow suit. However, the energy secretary added the same amount of electricity could be generated through a mix of offshore wind and nuclear at a lower cost. At an estimated £1.3 billion for the tidal lagoon project, the capital cost per unit of electricity generated each year would be three times that of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station. If a full programme of six lagoons were constructed, the Hendry Review found that the cost would be more than £50 billion and be two and a half times the cost of Hinkley to generate a similar output of electricity. Enough offshore wind to provide the same generation as a programme of lagoons is estimated to cost at least £31.5 billion less to build. Editor’s comment: With the life expectancy of the SBTLP expected to be3 times that of Hinckley point then the life time cost of electricity is near parity or less than Hinckley point. The pumped hydro scheme is essentially an energy storage scheme, like Dinorwic and is not an alternative to solar and wind but actually will support these renewable energies in providing storage at peak times of generation and release at times of peak demand.

Pumped hydro project proposed for Loch Ness

A clean energy company has applied to build a pumped hydro project in Scotland’s notorious Loch Ness. Intelligent Land Investments (ILI) is planning to install a 2.4GWh pumped hydroelectric project on the shores of the loch. The project could deliver up to 400MW of power for six hours – it would work by pumping water from a lower reservoir to a higher reservoir when electricity is abundant and releasing it through a turbine at a time when power is required. ILI says the facility would be immediately dispatchable on demand, unlike more intermittent solar and wind generation. The company is yet to secure approval for the proposed site.




UKPN installs ‘virtual power station’ on Londoners’ rooftops

UK Power Networks (UKPN) has announced it will create a ‘virtual power station’ in London, entirely made up of solar panels on residents’ rooftops. The distribution network operator, which delivers electricity to more than eight million homes and businesses across London, the South East and East of England, claims it will be the first ever project of its kind in the capital. The equipment will be installed in approximately 40 homes across the London Borough of Barnet. UKPN says although solar panels and batteries have previously enabled people to store self-made, surplus energy, the new system will allow them to both save and earn money from their batteries.

When demand is high, UKPN will be able to instruct the batteries, through energy aggregator Powervault, to discharge in unison and relieve pressure on the electricity network, at which point a payment will be sent to householders.

Energy storage firm wins €50k award with salt cavern technology

Energy storage developer Storelectric has won €50,000 (£43.800) and a contract as part of an international competition. Storelectric’s technology is Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES), which allows surplus wind and solar power to be stored efficiently over long durations in underground salt caverns. Air is pumped into caverns and released when energy is needed – as it rushes out it passes through a turbine to generate usable power. The firm will now work with NAM to build large-scale renewable energy storage in Holland and potentially under the North Sea.

Bacteria-powered solar cells

Scientists have created bacteria-powered solar cells able to generate electricity under dark and cloudy skies. Researchers from the University of British Columbia in Canada have genetically engineered E.coli microbes to produce a dye that absorbs light and converts it to energy. The researchers coated the bacteria with a mineral which acts as a semiconductor, allowing it to generate a current density of 0.686 milliamps per square centimetre.

The team claim the cells work as efficiently in dim light as in bright light and say the technology can generate a stronger current than any previously recorded on similar devices. They say the method is cheap, sustainable and versatile and hope the hybrid cells become commonplace in locations where overcast skies are frequent.




London’s lost rivers – Low carbon heat Source

London’s lost rivers could provide the city with an unlimited source of low carbon heat. That’s according to a new report from 10:10 Climate Action and energy consultancy Scene, which suggests waterways buried into heavily engineered channels under the streets and buildings of London could provide an untapped resource of heat energy.

The waters, although not warm enough to heat buildings on their own, could be directed through heat pumps, which in conjunction with a range of energy efficiency measures could provide usable heat. The report claims the hidden river Tyburn under Green Park could be used to provide 100% of Buckingham Palace’s heat demand. It also suggests with reconfiguration of existing heating systems, the River Fleet could provide a third of the energy currently distributed through the Somers Town Heat Network in Camden and all the heating needs of the Acland Burghley school in the north of the borough. Even Brockwell Lido, where the winter temperature can fall to as low as 2°C, could be heated by the nearby River Effra to a temperature of 25°C all year round.

Third runway at Heathrow Airport cleared for take-off

UK MPs have backed controversial plans to build a third runway at Heathrow Airport. Conservative MPs were ordered to vote in favour of the project but while Labour’s leadership was opposed to the expansion, its MPs were given free rein on the vote. Around eight Tory MPs however rebelled against the whip, including former ministers Justine Greening and Greg Hands while 119 Labour MPs voted in support of the government. The news followed Transport Secretary Chris Grayling’s pledge to deliver the project within existing climate change and air quality obligations. It was won by 415 to 119 votes despite a group of protesters staging a lie-in demonstration in Parliament, putting the central lobby on lockdown.

Environmentalists criticised the move, with Friends of the Earth stating: “MPs who backed this new runway will be harshly judged by history. Climate change is already hitting the world’s most vulnerable people and expanding Heathrow will only make things worse. However, business group CBI welcomed the news as it believes a third runway at Heathrow is a “vote for growth, jobs and prosperity across the UK for generations to come”. The prize is tens of thousands of jobs and billions of pounds of growth for the British economy.”

If you’re interested in EMG activities and/or interested in joining the EMG committee please Contact: Prof Stuart Irvine, [email protected]

Items Relating to Newsletter Contact: Dr Peter Barnard, [email protected]





Upcoming Events

NEXT COMMITTEE MEETINGS

Oct/Nov 2018, IOM3, 297 Euston Rd, London, UK.

EMG WORKSHOPS/CONFERENCES

Parsons 2019, 16–18 September 2019, Cranfield University, UK

OTHER WORKSHOPS/CONFERENCES/COURSES OF INTEREST

2nd International Conference on Energy Materials and Fuel Cell Research, 27–28 August 2018, Boston, USA

Residual Stresses in Thermal Spray Coatings, 3–4 Sep 2018, Aberdeen, UK

12th ECCRIA The European Conference on Fuel and Energy Research and its Applications, 5–7 Sept 2018, Cardiff, UK

EuroSuperalloys 2018, 9–13 Sept 2018, Oxford University, UK

8th Cofiring biomass with coal workshop, 11–13 Sept 2018, Copenhagen, DK

Engineering Integrity of Structures & Components Subjected to Degradation Mechanisms, 11 Sept 2018, Cranfield University, UK

Colston Research Society's 2018 symposium, 24–25 Oct 2018, University of Bristol, UK

European Biomass to Power Conference, 7–8 Nov 2018, Stockholm, SE

European Oxide Scale Conference (OXI 2018), 11–12 Dec 2018, IOM3, Euston Rd, London, UK

High Temperature Materials Degradation Workshop 2019, 29 Jan 2019, Grantham, UK

Parsons 2019, 16–18 Sept 2019, Cranfield University, UK

ECCC2020, 14–16 Sept 2020, TBA, UK

For a list of events visit www.iom3.org/energy-materials-group/events

http://www.iom3.org/energy-materials-group/events

newsletter energy materials group - iom3 16 2018 08... · 2018-08-07 · iom3 energy materials...

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