The Small Scale Demonstrator in Sion (SSDS)

The Small Scale Demonstrator in Sion (SSDS) is a project of EPFL Valais/Wallis in Energypolis in Sion in order to realize the conversion of locally collected solar energy in electricity by photovoltaics, store the electricity in batteries, electrolyse water for hydrogen production and finally reduce CO2 with hydrogen to synthetic hydrocarbons. This represents the application of the research done by the EPFL groups working in Energypolis in Sion. Beside the demonstration the installation serves as a platform to collect data about the performance as well as the interaction of the components, it is an experimental platform for the investigation of the scale up of new materials and it serves as an interface to facilitate the collaboration with industry. 

Copyright Energypolis

Who ?

EPFL Valais/Wallis in Energypolis

When ?

2017-2020

What ?

The Small Scale Demonstrator in Sion (SSDS) is a project of EPFL Valais/Wallis in Energypolis in Sion in order to realize the conversion of locally collected solar energy in electricity by photovoltaics, store the electricity in batteries, electrolyse water for hydrogen production and finally reduce CO2 with hydrogen to synthetic hydrocarbons. This represents the application of the research done by the EPFL groups working in Energypolis in Sion. Beside the demonstration the installation serves as a platform to collect data about the performance as well as the interaction of the components, it is an experimental platform for the investigation of the scale up of new materials and it serves as an interface to facilitate the collaboration with industry. On Friday, 14. September 2018 the inauguration of the demonstrates takes place in a public event at Energypolis in Sion.

Energypolis EPFL Valais/Wallis has installed a small scale demonstrator for the conversion of solar energy to hydrogen and hydrocarbons. The installation represents the application of the scientific research carried out in Energypolis by the 9 groups from EPFL Valais/Wallis.

The installed peak power of renewable energy converters i.e. photovoltaic panels and wind turbines is increasing exponentially, thanks to the efforts in China to produce large amounts of photovoltaic panels for a very competitive cost and to install more photovoltaics than the whole rest of the world together in 2016. If the current development continues as it did in the last 10 years the peak power of renewable energy will reach 18TW (world energy demand in 2016) in 2024. The challenges of the climate change due to the combustion of fossil fuels and the nuclear waste deposits are soon replaced by the challenge to store renewable energy in significant quantities in order to cover the world energy demand with renewable energy.

The CO2 free hydrogen cycle can be realized by purely technical means and hydrogen is produced by electrolysis from the renewable electricity. large scale electrolyzers (> 10 MW) have to be developed in order to produce hydrogen from renewable power stations. Furthermore, the storage of hydrogen requires materials with a large gravimetric hydrogen density in order to economize on the amount of material and on the cost for mobile and seasonal energy storages. The storage of hydrogen in nanocarbon materials as well as in complex hydrides may offer the necessary hydrogen density if the hydrides are reversible and sufficiently stable at ambient conditions. The storage of hydrogen under high pressure, in liquid form or in hydrides is a material challenge and limited to 50% of the energy density of liquid hydrocarbons.  The hydrogen can be used to reduce CO2 from the atmosphere in order to synthesize liquid hydrocarbons. This requires large scale electrolyzers, hydrogen storage, adsorption of CO2 from the atmosphere and finally a well controlled and selective reaction of H2 and CO2 to a specific product, e.g. ethanol or octane. The storage of liquid hydrocarbons is an established technology.

 

How ?

The Small Scale Demonstrator in Sion (SSDS) is a project of EPFL Valais/Wallis in Energypolis in Sion in order to realize the conversion of locally collected solar energy in electricity by photovoltaics, store the electricity in batteries, electrolyze water for hydrogen production and finally reduce CO2 with hydrogen to synthetic hydrocarbons. This represents the application of the research done by the EPFL groups working in Energypolis. The components which are directly related to the research activity are developed, constructed and built in house, while the components which are commercial products available on the market are purchased. Therefore, the demonstrator is unique and at the front of today’s state-of-the-art technology. The SSDS will exhibit the application of the research performed in Energypolis to the visitors as well as the collaborators in the building. Furthermore, it will show the industry the enormous potential of the chemical engineering to change the world from the non-sustainable fossil fuels to synthetic fuels produced from renewable energy.

Who ?

The SSDS will also stimulate collaborative projects between the research groups and the industry, such as CTI/KTI projects. Furthermore, the SSDS serves as an experimental platform for the first up-scaling step from the laboratory to an industrial application. Thereby, the size of the components in the SSDS is small enough to make the development and modifications in the laboratory environment, but large enough to investigate the performance under real-world conditions. The SSDS will deliver data of the performance of individual components as well as the interaction between the components and the operation under real conditions accountings for effects such as weather, seasonal and long-term effects. The SSDS will be shown in real time on a web page and the data as well as the results will be available to the public. The real time data will show the energy stored in the different storage systems and the power fluxes between the components. Performance evaluation and long term statistics will be created by the system automatically and provide the information necessary to optimize and further develop the demonstrator. The size of the demonstrator corresponds to approximately the global average energy consumption per capita of 2 kW or the average electricity consumption per capita in Switzerland. Therefore, the results can be easily brought in relation to the daily life of a person. It also nicely demonstrates the requirements to transform the energy economy to renewable energy only. The new development of the numerous components is likely to lead to intellectual property, which we plan to protect by patents and potentially develop commercial products.

Two start up companies of EPFL Valais/Wallis have been created “GRZ Technologies SA” producing hydrogen storage systems based on metal hydrides and “Valais Perovskite Cells” producing a new type of photovoltaic cells based on perovskite materials. Both companies apply new materials and technology in order to convert and store renewable energy, solar and wind.