TECHNION
ENERGY
PROGRAM
Grand Technion
Energy Program
Securing Israel today.
Transforming Israels tomorrow.
Guardian
Visionary
Builder
Mentor
Benefactor
Builder
Founder
WHEN CONSIDERING
ENERGY RETURN ON
INVESTMENT (EROI),
WIND PERFORMS FAR
BETTER THAN NEARLY
ALL OTHER ENERGY
SOURCES. THIS IS A
VERY IMPORTANT
INDICATOR AS TO THE
RELATIVE IMPACT OF
THIS ENERGY SOURCE
ON THE ENVIRONMENT.
THINK POWER.
WIND IS THE FASTEST
GROWING ENERGY SECTOR
IN THE WORLD. BY 2006
THE WORLD MARKET FOR
WIND REPRESENTED $23
BILLION ANNUALLY.
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
RESEARCH OFTEN INVOLVES A
COMPLEX MULTIDISCIPLINARY
APPROACH. FOR EXAMPLE,
BUILDING INNOVATIVE WIND
TURBINES INVOLVES KNOWHOW IN AERONAUTICS,
MECHANICAL, ELECTRICAL
MATERIAL AND CIVIL
ENGINEERING AS WELL
AS METEOROLOGY AND
OTHER SCIENCES.
PETROLEUM POWERED
VEHICLES ARE VERY
INEFFICIENT. ONLY
20% OF THE ENERGY
PRODUCED BY THE
FUEL IS SUCCESSFULLY
CONVERTED TO USEFUL
MOTION.
4.
The power of
science
9.
Why Israel?
GLOBAL ENERGY
CONSUMPTION WILL SHIFT
AS EARLY AS 10 YEARS
FROM NOW FROM SOLIDS
TO LIQUID AND GAS
BASED FUELS. SUCCESSIVE
FUEL SOURCES WILL
BE INCREASINGLY
DECARBONIZED. THE
HYDROGEN TO CARBON
RATIO WILL INCREASE.
THE TRANSPORTATION
SECTOR IS ALMOST ENTIRELY
DEPENDENT ON PETROLEUM.
26.
A future powered
by GTEP
27.
28.
The GTEP
power agenda
Hidden Powers:
Alternative fuels
32.
Power 2 Go:
Energy storage &
conversion
36.
40.
The Streamline:
Energy conservation
THINK
POWER.
If 10 kilograms
of matter
spontaneously
turned into energy there
would be enough energy
to power a 100 watt light
bulb for 300 million years.
Policy makers, scientists and investors across the planet are awakened to an
urgent need to revolutionize the way we generate energy.
Harnessing the ultimate resource of the sun, scientists are pioneering methods
for the direct conversion of solar energy to electricity and chemical fuels.
Learning to direct and control materials and chemical processes at the quantum
level pave the way for essentially new quantum control impacting catalysis,
photochemistry, molecular biology, and device physics that are the foundational
pieces in solar energy conversion.
Increased understanding of how biological feedstocks are converted into portable
fuels; the way in which energy, entropy, and information are manipulated within
the nanosytems of life provides researchers with information on how to develop
sophisticated new energy technologies.
POWER OF SCIENCE
Mass and energy are
both but different
manifestations of the
same thing very small
amounts of mass may
be converted into a
very large amount
of energy.
ALBERT EINSTEIN
TECHNION FOUNDING FATHER
WHY THINK
ENERGY?
Two hundred years ago, the industrial
revolution transformed agriculture,
manufacturing, mining, and transport.
This was a major turning point in human
history. A key generator of change
was energy: steam power fuelled by
coal, and the use of water wheels and
powered machinery caused dramatic
increases in production. Around
1850, the second industrial revolution
heralded steam-powered ships,
railways, and the internal combustion
engine and electrical power generation.
With the escalation of high-technology
and the evolution of civilization, energy
has been called the ultimate resource.
Without energy, all the other resources on
the planet are unobtainable. Unlike water
TOTAL PRIMARY
ENERGY SUPPLY
(Mtoe*/yr)
TOTAL PRIMARY
ENERGY SUPPLY
(Mtoe/yr)
WHY ISRAEL?
WHY ISRAEL?
Israel is an
international
power-center for
global problem
solving.
WHY ISRAEL?
11
WHY ISRAEL?
THINK
POWER.
Israel has
the most
scientists
and engineers in the world
per capita. With the highest
number of academics per
square meter, Israel is the
worlds most concentrated
and accessible resource of
advanced skills.
WHY TECHNION?
13
WHY TECHNION?
As a world-class institute of
technology, Technion is a central
station of scientific collaboration,
drawing experts from across the globe.
Empowered by a penchant for survival
through applied brainpower, Technion
scientists show the flexibility,
creativity and innovation that will
make scientific understandings about
energy an applied new reality.
As guardians of over two-thirds of
Israels technological leaders, the
THINKING POWER
IS THINKING ABOUT
THE CHALLENGES
THAT FACE THE NEXT
GENERATION
15
HOW DO WE
TRANSFORM OUR
ECONOMIC MODEL
TO EMBRACE
ALTERNATIVE
ENERGIES?
17
ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE,
BOTH LOCAL AND GLOBAL,
SUCH AS GLOBAL WARMING,
DAMAGE TO FLORA AND
FAUNA, AND HEALTH
DAMAGE TO HUMANS ALL
UNDERSCORE THE NEED
FOR CLEANER ENERGIES.
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INVESTMENTS IN R&D OF
ALTERNATIVE ENERGIES
IS EXPECTED TO GIVE
RETURNS OF $50 FOR
EVERY INVESTMENT OF $1.
THE ENERGY
GENERATION
Technion is empowering future generations of students through the
GTEP graduate program in energy studies. Multidisciplinary skills and a
flair for integration and cooperation makes the education of students in
energy science and engineering a national priority.
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23
GTEP
25
THINK
POWER.
World energy
consumption
should
increase by 50 percent
between 2005 and
2030, driven by robust
economic growth and
expanding populations
in the worlds developing
countries, according to
the latest projections
from the US Department
of Energy.
A FUTURE
Powered by
GTEP FACULTIES:
Aerospace Engineering
Architecture and
Town Planning
Biology
Biotechnology and
Food Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Chemistry
Civil and Environmental
Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Materials Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Physics
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I.
Alternative fuels
Non-carbon fuels
Biomass-based fuels
Hydrogen technology
Photovoltaics
Wind power
Solar thermal energy
II.
1.
HIDDEN POWERS
Alternative fuels
THINK
POWER.
Today, about
90% of
vehicular
fuel needs are met by oil.
Petroleums worth as a
portable, dense energy
source powering the
vast majority of vehicles
and as the base of many
industrial chemicals
makes it one of the
worlds most important
commodities.
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Hydrogen Hiatus
Split 4 Power
Photoelectrochemical cells (PECs)
can split water into H2 and O2, and
thereby promise renewable, clean
production of hydrogen from sunlight.
PECs involve great challenges in
tuning the photoelectrode electrical
and optical properties to optimally
balance the requirement for stability
against (photo) corrosion on the
one hand, and efficient solar energy
harvesting on the other. Technion
researchers propose several innovative
strategies that will advance the science
of photoelectrochemistry and bring
water splitting closer to technological
realization. They are exploring new
materials and developing advanced
PEC schemes designed to achieve
high photoconversion efficiencies,
using highly innovative approaches: (a)
advanced nanostructures; (b) innovative
semiconductors; and (c) fundamental
studies on model systems. The most
successful materials will be used to
model and construct test devices.
Sun + Sea =
Hydrogen Power
At the Faculty of Materials
Engineering, Dr. Avner Rothschild and
his team are part of a large European
collaborative project looking to split
water into hydrogen and oxygen using
the energy of the sun - thus initiating
a 100 percent clean fuel.
Efficiency, says the self-described
idealist-realist, is very low. Splitting
water is not easy. It can be done with
electrolysis but this expensive process
at best achieves 70 percent efficiency.
Solar energy is free, but efficiency
drops to 14-18 percent and systems
last no more than 1-2 hours before
corroding. Stable systems have only an
efficiency of 1-2 percent. The process
is possible - it works - but the problem
is the cost, says Rothschild, who sees
the solution in the development of
new electro-ceramic materials. We
are aiming at 5000 hours survival at
10% efficiency. The material were
looking at doesnt involve rare
elements - we are checking iron ,
copper and titanium for example. They
are all abundant and cheap.
In the Can
At the Faculty of Aerospace
Engineering, Dr. Valery Rosen and
Prof. Alon Gany have canned an
innovative method for self-sustained
reaction of powdered aluminum and
water to produce hydrogen. Initial
experiments have revealed that a fast,
self-sustained, complete reaction of
the activated aluminum with water
can take place at room temperature.
This method has been tested
systematically revealing 100 percent
yield of the reaction. The reaction rate
may be controlled by the aluminum
particle size, water temperature, metal
activation conditions, and metal/water
mass ratio. Our invention consists
of original chemical treatment and
activation of aluminum powders,
explain the researchers.
Applications include fuel cells and
power generation on Earth, Sea,
Air and Space; energy storage for
emergency power generation, battery
replacement; and direct automotive
and marine propulsion.
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Plant Power
Our goal is to develop a platform
technology for conferring new genetic
traits to crop plants; such crop plants
should provide a net energy gain, have
environmental benefits, be economically
competitive, and be producible in
large quantities for biofuel production
without reducing food supplies.
THINK
POWER.
How will
energy
markets
deal with the current
credit crunch and how
will current economic
instability effect these
markets? Are we heading
for supply crunch?
How will new clean
energy systems be
financed?
2.
POWER 2 GO
Energy Storage
& Conversion
THINK
POWER.
A fuel cell is an
electrochemical cell that
converts a source fuel
into an electrical current. It generates
electricity inside a cell through reactions
between a fuel and an oxidant, triggered
in the presence of an electrolyte.
By contrast, batteries store electrical
energy chemically and hence represent
a thermodynamically closed system.
33
The development of
practical proton exchange
membrane fuel cells
(PEMFCs) is particularly
promising for the
automotive industry.
Solid Oxide Fuel Cells
(SOFCs) are promising
for small-and-large scale
stationary applications.
THINK
POWER.
Battery Beyond
Prof. Yair Ein-Eli won world attention
with a new Israeli battery based
on silicon and air that provides
thousands of hours of power. The
portable electrochemical battery
could soon replace expensive regular
or rechargeable batteries in hearing
aids and sensors and eventually in cell
phones, laptop computers and even
electric cars. The unique battery is based
on silicon as a fuel that reverts to its
original sand. The battery can also be left
on the shelf for years and inserted into a
device to provide immediate power.
In collaboration with Prof. Digby
Macdonald of Pennsylvania State
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3.
POWERS THAT BE
Renewable Energy
Sources
According to 2008
statistics, 32% of all
the worlds crude oil
production came from the Middle
East while OECD countries including
the US, Canada and Europe counted
for less than 22% of world crude
oil production. By contrast, OECD
countries counted for over 42% of all
hydroelectric production worldwide.
THINK
POWER.
Sun Science
Israel has the highest per capita use of
solar energy worldwide. Most of this
solar energy is used for domestic water
heating, but innovative technology
from the nano-scale through to applied
engineering has a tremendous potential
to revolutionize our use of solar power.
Solar Balloons
Nano Power
37
THINK
POWER.
In 2007, 32%
of worldwide
electricity
generation was derived from
alternative fuels. The principle
component is hydro power
with 21% and nuclear energy
in second place with only 3.3%
of total energy production.
Source: International Energy Agency Report 2009
Illuminano
Prof. Gitti Frey is illuminating tomorrows
world, where nano-scale science and
the principle of self-organization at the
molecular scale could make familiar
objects like the household light-bulb an
antiquated curiosity.
Whole new concepts in domestic and
industrial lighting, limited only by the
breadth of the designers imagination
could be making the idea! light bulb
seen above the head in cartoon strips
an icon of the past. But new concepts
for emitting light is just one possible
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4.
THE STREAMLINE
Energy
Conservation
THINK
POWER. In 2007, oil,
Gel Propel
The result is a device that gives you
more mileage with less fuel.
Prof. Benny Natan of the Faculty of
Aerospace Engineering is developing
higher performance possibilities in rocket
or ramjet propulsion applications with a
jelly-like substance, based on gasoline.
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You get much more from metalenhanced fuel than from hydrocarbons,
and it is much safer, he concludes. It
is important from every aspect, and
there is simply no damage to
the environment.
Power Houses
A Zero-Energy House, designed to balance
the energy coming in and going out of
the structure. The Civil Engineering and
Architecture departments have teamed up
to integrate features such as windows and
insulation that can collect energy when
available (on a sunny summer day, for
example) for use when needed, at night or
in winter.
The building sector is the largest
consumer of electrical power, and
therefore a major research goal is to
provide the knowhow for designing
zero energy buildings that consume
minimal power and can produce as
much power as they use. Significant
reductions in energy demands, which
do not adversely affect the standard of
living and are well controlled to provide
Power 2 Change
To bring about the required
breakthroughs in energy conservation,
new ideas and innovative technologies
are needed. Among other international
initiatives, GTEP is facilitating the USIsrael workshop on sustainable buildings,
materials and energy, to be held at
Technion in July 2010.
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ENERGY.
VISION
Grand Technion
Energy Program
Securing Israel today.
Transforming Israels tomorrow.
http://gtep.technion.ac.il
gtep@tx.technion.ac.il