http://www.ecn.nl/ News and press releases en TYPO3 - get.content.right http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:48:00 +0100 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2012/02/03/new-direction-of-ecn-with-and-for-the-market/ Today, Friday 3 February, the complete Board of Directors presented ECN’s new strategy plan 2012-2015 to Mark Dierikx, Director General for Energy, Telecom and Competition of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation (EL&I). Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:48:00 +0100 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2012/01/27/amolf-and-ecn-enter-collaboration-agreement/ The FOM Institute AMOLF and ECN signed an agreement to consolidate their collaboration. With this agreement AMOLF and ECN attempt to breach the gap between fundamental research on one side and on the other side large scale production and the actual implementation of solar cells. Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:22:00 +0100 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2012/01/18/practical-and-tailored-information-can-increase-the-impact-of-the-energy-label/ The impact that the energy label has on homeowners decisions to buy and renovate dwellings is currently limited. However, more tailored information can help increase the impact of energy labels. Households need practical and tailored information about energy saving in their own dwelling. This is the outcome of a European study led by ECN. Questionnaires and interviews were held in ten countries to find out what kind of impact the energy label for dwellings has on the decisions made by... Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:17:00 +0100 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2012/01/18/ecn-grants-ceramiques-techniques-industrielles-license-on-hybsiR-membrane-technology/ Ceramiques Techniques Industrielles (CTI), as one of the market leaders in inorganic membranes, has obtained a license for the commercialisation of the HybSi® membrane technology from ECN. The HybSi® nanosieve allows the purification of various industrial solvents at a reduced cost and at an enhanced efficiency. It further combines an outstanding performance with unprecedented long term stability. Wed, 18 Jan 2012 09:47:00 +0100 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2012/01/11/inconvenient-measurements-of-escaping-gas/ With environmental issues such as the enhanced greenhouse gas effect, acidification or air pollution, it’s all about gas and particles entering the atmosphere. This can occur from a “point source“ like a chimney which is relatively easy to measure. Measurements are much harder for so called diffuse sources. Farms, industrial installations, landfills or swamps are examples. Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:38:00 +0100 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2011/12/23/ecn-statement-on-situation-helianthos/ In the media the suggestion is made that ECN cooperates "with tax money to keep Helianthos from the market" and so "destructing fifteen years of development”. ECN strongly rejects this suggestion. The future of the business and the equipment of Helianthos is a matter of Nuon, ECN is not involved at all. Because of our international relations we contact Solmateq from Qatar (referred as potential investor in activities of Helianthos), but in this case there is no... Fri, 23 Dec 2011 09:37:00 +0100 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2011/12/21/sector-supports-market-introduction-of-torrefied-products-as-solid-sustainable-energy-carrier/ SECTOR (Production of Solid Sustainable Energy Carriers from Biomass by Means of TORrefaction) is a large-scale European project with a strong consortium of 21 partners from industry and science. The project is focussed on the further development of torrefaction-based technologies for the production of solid bioenergy carriers up to pilot-plant scale and beyond, and on supporting the market introduction of torrefaction-based bioenergy carriers as a commodity renewable solid fuel. Dutch partners... Wed, 21 Dec 2011 13:33:00 +0100 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2011/12/19/korean-posco-power-and-ecn-join-forces-in-wind-solar-and-bio-energy/ The Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) and the South Korean POSCO Power have officially joined forces. By signing a Memorandum of Understanding on 15 December, both parties have agreed on future collaboration in wind, solar and bio-energy. Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:08:00 +0100 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2011/12/07/european-cooperation-in-energy-research-pays-off/ By cooperating, energy research organisations in Europe are able to accelerate the development of low-carbon technologies. The organisations have joined forces in the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) and align their activities in Joint Programmes of research. This reduces the duplication of research activities across Europe, working towards reaching Europe’s ambitious climate and energy goals effectively and efficiently. EERA now involves more than 2,000 researchers from over 150... Wed, 07 Dec 2011 13:17:00 +0100 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2011/12/07/low-carbon-development-strategies-readiness-varies-amongst-countries/ Low-carbon development strategies have attracted interest in the climate negotiations as a soft alternative to voluntary or obligatory national greenhouse gas emission reduction targets - especially for developing countries. Several countries have embarked on drafting an LCDS. A recent Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) study explores two questions related to LCDS. First, what are the prerequisites for developing an effective LCDS, and what can a country do if these are not fully... Wed, 07 Dec 2011 09:28:00 +0100 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2011/11/29/improved-european-observation-network-supports-effective-climate-policy/ To provide an independent assessment whether European climate policy is effective, it is essential to monitor concentrations and fluxes of non-CO2 greenhouse gases accurately. A crucial component in doing so is a precise and reliable measuring infrastructure. As of this week, the Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) will be coordinating 34 institutes in a joint effort to monitor the emissions of methane, nitrous oxide and other non-CO2 greenhouse gases and to improve the... Tue, 29 Nov 2011 13:38:00 +0100 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2011/11/22/royal-visit-research-site-petten/ ECN congratulates her daughter company NRG with 50 years High Flux Reactor. On wednesday 9 November at exactly 21:48 PM, the High Flux Reactor (HFR) in Petten (the Netherlands) was in operation half a century. It was at this exact time, fifty years ago, that the first nuclear fission took place in the brand new reactor, the first one that was built in the Netherlands. NRG and JRC-IET organize a symposium today on the occasion of 50 years High Flux Reactor and the Petten Site agreement between... Tue, 22 Nov 2011 10:07:00 +0100 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2011/11/07/market-incentives-needed-to-tap-into-huge-pv-potential/ In response to an article on the bankruptcy of the American company Solyndra, published in the Economist of 15 October, Wim Sinke speaks up for our eastern neighbours. Human-induced climate change requires a quick response. The technology that offers the largest potential, i.e. solar energy, therefore deserves a boost. Mon, 07 Nov 2011 11:42:00 +0100 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2011/11/03/the-third-annual-user-day-ecn-om-tool/ On Wednesday 2 and Thursday 3 November the Third Annual User Day ECN O&M Tool was held at the premises of ECN in Petten (Netherlands). At present more than 20 leading project developers, turbine manufacturers, and consultants are using the tool to develop the most cost effective O&M strategy for offshore wind farms and to optimize their turbines with respect to maintainability. On the first day of the annual user day the users shared their experiences with the ECN O&M Tool and... Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:47:00 +0100 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2011/10/24/large-saving-on-energy-bill-of-households-is-feasible/ Tailored policy is needed Four out of five households will profit from implementing one or more energy saving measures in their homes. On average this could save 22 percent on the energy bill. In practise, however, there appear to be large differences among households. Particularly the individual heating behaviour of households will determine whether or not an investment is profitable. This is the outcome of analyses conducted by the Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) on the cost... Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:55:00 +0200 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2011/10/20/ecn-official-sponsor-of-nuna6/ With their solar race car, which the team designed and developed themselves, the Nuon Solar Team of TU Delft has won the second prize in the World Solar Challenge, a race with 30 international teams from Darwin to Adelaide. ECN is sponsor of the Nuna6. Thu, 20 Oct 2011 13:54:00 +0200 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2011/10/12/ccs-in-dutch-industry-globally-highly-recommended/ Carbon capture and storage (CCS), a technology for reducing climate change inducing CO2 emissions, is mostly associated with coal-fired plants. However, CO2 can also be captured in industrial applications, for example in the chemical industry, the steel industry and refineries. In fact, in these industrial applications, CO2 capture is often cheaper, easier and more essential. This has been confirmed by a global study in which the Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) has played a... Wed, 12 Oct 2011 11:47:00 +0200 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2011/10/05/sunday-2011-the-latest-practical-and-rd-developments-in-the-field-of-solar-energy/ On Wednesday 12 October Agentschap NL, the Energy Research centre of the Netherlands (ECN), the FOM Foundation and Shell Research will host SunDay for the third time. What are the latest developments and innovations in the large-scale deployment of solar energy and in R&D? Wed, 05 Oct 2011 10:15:00 +0200 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2011/09/20/ecns-annual-report-of-2010/ In just 20 minutes you will be fully up to date on ECN’s activities in 2010 2010 was an eventful year for ECN in many ways. Many new initiatives were developed and important projects were finished. Intensive and optimal cooperation with national and international industries, both in the research stage and in the marketing of these technologies, was sought and found. ECN succeeded, for example, in bringing its leading technologies for manufacturing solar cells to the Chinese market, together... Tue, 20 Sep 2011 12:00:00 +0200 http://www.ecn.nl/news/item/date/2011/09/20/tungsten-suitable-for-extreme-heat-load/ On assignment of the Nuclear Research and consultancy Group (NRG), the Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) is developing an extreme thermo-shock proof material for nuclear fusion applications. Can tungsten perform optimally under extreme heat load conditions, without losing any of the material’s good characteristics? The answer is yes. ECN Engineering & Services has developed an injection moulding technology process for the production of tungsten; a powder metallurgic variant... Tue, 20 Sep 2011 11:55:00 +0200