Interventions :

Dr. Krzysztof Kanawka, post-doctorant à la Chaire Econoving, interviendra sur le thème :

Introduction to "Fuel cells systems for intermediate stationary applications: strategies for this decade"

Various types of fuel cells (FCs) are forecasted to be an attractive auxiliary or main power source by the end of this decade, due to their increased efficiency and reduced impact on environment. Some of these FC types, such as solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), might soon play an important role for local authorities, companies and institutions, which aim to secure local electricity and heat source for their intermediate-size stationary applications. However, FC systems are still at early market entry stage and more research dedicated to durability, fuel reforming/flexibility and operation modes are required. As a consequence, first commercial units might be expensive to purchase and to operate. Nevertheless, it is conceivable that by the end of this decade the cost of stationary FC systems will become comparable or lower than more traditional power sources, and that FC units will be fabricated in mass numbers. But the success of a new technology is also dependent on its social embeddedness. Thus, social acceptance of any given FC-based technology or product must anticipate the public perception and attitude before and during the introduction. For example, social acceptability of the FC system installed in a public building (e.g. office space) might be higher than for a private (e.g., residential) counterpart. This seminar will present set of preliminary findings, which are part of research conducted by Krzysztof Kanawka and Ioan Ciumasu.

Krzysztof (Chris) Kanawka - currently holding a post-doctorial position at the Econoving Chair. This position is in 75% industrial (at GDF SUEZ research and innovation site, CRIGEN) and 25% academic. This post-doc focuses on R&D, applications and market entry of residential-size fuel cell systems, mostly the high temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC).

 et

Thor Jensen, doctorant à la Chaire Internationale Econoving, interviendra sur le thème :

Improving the Economics of Ground Source Heat Pumps through a Community Energy Utility, 

Ground source heat pumps (GSHP) are an efficient, reliable, and cost-effective technology capable of achieving significant reductions in the carbon footprint of cities. However, their initial costs are viewed as prohibitively expensive by most commercial developers. In this paper we assess the value of looking beyond a single developer capitalizing on economies of scale and divergent loads. We show that these can lead to dramatically lower capital and operating costs. Furthermore, municipal governments have eminent domain over abundant public lands allowing further cost cutting through horizontal heat-exchange networks. Finally, municipal governments through their zoning regulations can encourage the colocation of complimentary loads on the network. These circumstances may call for the adoption of a development model informed by other natural resource development initiatives. This paper explores how capturing the full network benefits associated with a GSHP infrastructure lowers overall capital costs, improves system economics and can accelerate the diffusion of this technology leading to significant GHG emission reductions while improving adaptation to heat waves.

Thor Jensen is a 2nd year PhD student working between UVSQ and the University of British Columbia, Canada. His research explores how public entities finance, operate, and renew infrastructures and other long-lived assets.

Contact : Christelle Hue
Pôle Chaires Industrielles Développement Durable
Directrice de la Coordination des Programmes
Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines
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Tel : +33 (0)1 39 25 51 55
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