Research topics
Modular, efficient, dispatchable and cost-effective solar concentration technologies for the production of fuels and chemicals, industrial processes heat and power generation.
- Modular solar thermal technologies with high efficiency, dispatchability and urban integration.
- Solar receivers and reactors based on advanced thermal fluids and particles.
- Solar fuels and chemicals production by solar thermal routes.
- Integration assessment of solar energy for electricity generation and industrial processes, heat recovery & environmental impact: advanced thermodynamic cycles, water/brine management & treatment, glint & glare.
- Photovoltaics: development of advanced materials for novel semiconductors.
Production of advanced fuels from biomass and wastes and other alternative renewable fuels.
- Production of advanced fuels and products of commercial interest from biomass residues.
- Valorization of waste plastics and used tires.
- Development of thermochemical processes and catalysts with improved efficiency.
- Application of pyrolysis biochars as bio-filters for air decontamination.
- Microalgae / bacteria consortia for anaerobic digestate treatment and biomass fermentation.
- Microbial oil production from volatile fatty acids.
- Lignocellulose based biofuels and bioproducts.
- Anaerobic fermentation of waste streams for carboxylate and biogas production.
- Production of solar fuels through thermochemical cycles.
- Photo (electro) catalytic processes for the production of fuels by means of solar energy.
Energy storage to increase the dispatchability of renewable sources and to foster the elextrification of transport.
- Thermal heat storage: sensible, latent and thermochemical.
- Development of supercapacitors with high power density.
- Design, modeling and prototyping of flow batteries with or without membrane at macro- and micro-scales.
- Application of selection criteria based on computational chemistry methods and characterization of novel redox pairs.
- Materials, components and designs to improve the performance, cyclability and recyclability of Li-ion batteries, redox flow batteries and other post-lithium technologies.
- New accelerated testing methodologies, post-mortem analysis and aging models of electrochemical devices.
Control, reliability and stability of electricity networks with renewables and storages.
Optimisation based algorithms for demand management and renewable integration.
- Control of power converters for applications in electricity networks.
- Renewable and energy storage integration.
- Stability of power networks with high penetration of renewables.
- Reliability of power systems with high share of distributed generation and storage.
Processes and technologies of Co2 valorisation.
- CO2 photoreduction, water splitting and photoreforming of biomass-derived products.
- Chemical looping reforming of CH4 with CO2.
- Development of inorganic and hybrid multifuctional materials.
- Process evaluation and scale-up.
- Techniques for CO2 capture and storage: life cycle, environmental and techno-economic studies
Energy saving and efficiency.
Energy-efficient devices for energy and environmental applications.
- Active demand management and energy efficiency in buildings, residential, hotels,...
- Optimisation of energy supply mix.
- Management of energy resources in industries, operations and processes.
- Energy efficiency in systems for vibration testing.
- Design and scale up of brackish water treatment processes by electrochemical deionization.
Sustainability assessment of energy sustems.
Process design, simulation and optimization.
Energy systems modelling for energy planning.
- Life cycle management: LCA environmental, social, costs, mul-
- ticriteria analysis (LCA+DEA), sustainability analysis and ecodesign.
- Simulation and techno-economic analysis: bioenergy, biorefineries, renewables, hydrogen and CO2 capture.
- Circular economy strategies.
- Prospective analysis: Development of energy models, sustainability indicators, scenarios for transportation and electricity.