ECNewsletter March 2008
Sustainable air conditioning one step closer
Sorption cooling technology developed by ECN delivers enough cooling for comfortable interior temperatures in cars. This is the interim conclusion based on the ongoing TOPMACS project. A good foundation has been built to develop the concept into a prototype for passenger cars. This brings the ?sustainable? air conditioner ? that does not require additional power but only uses residual heat from the car ? to the next development stage. More...
Hydrogen can reduce total road transport CO2 emissions by 50%
By starting to act now, hydrogen has the potential to reduce total CO2 emissions from road transport in a cost-effective way by over 50 percent in 2050. Within the context of the HyWays project, a Roadmap and an Action Plan for the introduction of hydrogen into the European energy system have been developed in a joint cooperation between leading industry partners, institutes and energy agencies. More...
New biomass gasifier
Biomass can be converted into gas through gasification. This gas is suitable for use in fuel cells, gas engines, gas furnaces and gas turbines. Gas from biomass gasifiers can also be upgraded into sustainable Substitute Natural Gas (SNG). SNG can replace conventional natural gas. The new ECN MILENA biomass gasifier produces a gas with a conversion efficiency of almost 100 percent. This 800 kW pilot gasifier has a number of important advantages: the caloric value of the gas is high and there is no combustible matter in the ash. More...
New cooperation on next-generation hydrogen production
ECN has been asked by Technip KTI SpA to deliver a hydrogen purification module for the FISR-project. This project represents an opportunity to demonstrate the use of high-temperature membranes for hydrogen production for the petrochemical industry. ECN?s approach to economic competitiveness of the technology is to use extremely thin palladium layers of a few microns. More...
European consortium develops innovative solar module assembly technology
Researchers at European research project CrystalClear have succeeded in developing solar modules with technology that can be used for very thin solar cells. The solar cells will not be interconnected through soldering, but by using conductive adhesive. This technology will pave the way to cheaper solar modules and thus helps to reduce the cost of solar electricity. More...
Gasifier-fuel cell stack system successfully demonstrated
The combination of gasification and fuel cells offers the potential of converting biomass and waste into power and heat with a high efficiency. However, fuel cells set extreme requirements to the purity of the gas. ECN has successfully coupled its Pyromaat two-stage gasifier, developed especially for processing highly polluted, high calorific value feedstocks, to a newly designed purification system to meet the requirements of these new applications. More..
Plenty of space for biofuels in Europe
The EU biofuels target for 2020 of 10 percent can be met with conventional feedstocks and current technology without major agricultural land use changes and environmental consequences. Yet, only advanced, second-generation biofuels are expected to provide a substantial contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing energy security. The introduction of these advanced biofuels requires supporting measures on several policy levels. More...
New membrane for biofuel production
A new type of membrane, developed by ECN, researchers at University of Twente, and at the University of Amsterdam, is resistant to prolonged periods of exposure to high temperatures. This ?molecular sieve? can ?dewater? solvents and biofuels, and is therefore a promising low-energy alternative to existing separation technologies. More...
Dutch consortium paves the way to affordable solar panels
Within the scope of the Dutch Sunovation II project, the consortium TTA/Eurotron, Solland, TNO and ECN have developed pilot-line equipment and corresponding low-stress interconnection technology to produce solar modules with very thin rear-contact solar cells. This pilot line shows the feasibility of producing solar modules with a throughput rate, which is six to eight times better in comparison to any existing technology. This paves the way to low-cost, high performance silicon solar modules and hence, to price-competitive solar electricity. More...
Job opportunities
ECN, the leading Dutch energy research institute, is at the cutting edge of European efforts in the development of new technologies that meet tomorrow?s energy demand. ECN conducts research and development over a large range of energy technologies, carefully selected by impact over the next decades. More...
Recent ECN Publications
The research results at the Energy research Centre of the Netherlands are published as reports or as articles in scientific journals like Nature and Science. Presentations, given at international conferences and symposia, are freely available and downloadable from our website. More...
