Distributed Micro Generation

Trinity College Dublin

Mr. Wayne O’Connelloconnew@tcd.ie

086 406 9902

• Developing Energy Background

• Developing Research Goals

• Trinity College R&D

• 3 year project goals / Summary

Agenda

1880-1900 A Golden age of Electricity Provisioning

Thomas Edison Charles Parsons Nikola Tesla TCD

Population 1885 = 1.45bn

2010 World Electrical Grid Penetration

OECD/IEA 2010Off- Grid Population , 1.45bn

Biomass as a Primary Energy Source

Costs of Biomass• 500m fires lamps / every night

– Mother/child mortality– Accidents– Deforestation – CO2 emissions / Black Soot– Violence

Child cooking in kitchen hut

Cooking Technology

Homemade paraffin lamp

If you could change the price of one thing in the developing world to alleviate poverty by far you

would pick energy …Bill Gates ,

2010

Cost of No AccessGDP / Energy Consumption

Universal Modern Energy Access

• Electricity Cooking

UMEAC = 250kWhr /year - $33bn for 20 yrs

• Define Project Outcome – Physical Processes Available

– Needs Assessment

• Understand Resources available – Technology

– People

– Money

• Additional Constraints – Pollution

– Economics

• Scale

Research Goals

• What is Energy– What do we mean when we want to deliver or

provision energy?

• Important things to consider– Amount required – Cost to generate / convert – Cost to operate

• Adverse impacts?

Outcomes

Needs Assessment Vs UMEAC (BoP)• What is required to deliver base level services

• 75 W Hr/ day = 25 kWhr / year • Assumes Biomass/Solar for Cooking • Compare to UMEAC = 250kW/hr

Scope for Baseline energy Delivery to get people on the ladder at much lower cost !!!

Device # Voltage (V)

Time (hrs)

Current(A)

Energy (Whr)

LEDs 2 3.7 4 0.35 12

Phone 1 3.7 2 0.5 3

Fan 2 12 5 0.2 12

Radio 1 6 3 02 3

OLPC 1 7 3 3 18

Total Inc.. 50% buffer 75

Stove Technology

Rocket Stove

Gasifier Stove

Fuel Oil Stove

Charcoal Stove

Waste Heat (75%-90%)

Heat for Electricity (3-5%)

Charcoal (Biochar) for Fertilizer Carbon Negative

Heat for Cooking (10-20%)

• Lots of experience on nano-materials which are vital for next gen thermo-electrics– CRANN – Materials Indentified / Screening

• Accomplished Engineering Tradition (ZT / $)– Centre For Energy Devices – Collaboration with Bio-Engineering to develop differentiated low cost high

temperature device • Thermal Conductivity Instrumentation Design Capability• Ongoing Collaboration with developing world

– Irish DFA (Malawi)– Clinton Global Initiative – Strong industrial relationships - INTEL

• Brand Trinity open doors overseas for collaboration– Irish Aid / European Commission / Center For Climate Justice – Open Carb

Why University/Trinity Research

Thermoelectricity Direct Heat Conversion to Electricity

Snyder, “Complex Thermoelectric Materials”

Q

TTR baTIM

AR

L

TTA

QLk

baeff

Thermal Resistance

Effective Thermal Conductivity

R. Kempers, P. Kolodner, A. Lyons & A.J. Robinson, 2008, “A High-Precision Apparatus for the Characterization of Thermal Interface Materials” Review of Scientific Instruments, 80, 095111(2009). doi:10.1063/1.3193715

Unique Features Precision calibrated thermistors;

temperature uncertainty of ±0.001K

Robust uncertainty analysis for all measured and calculated quantities

Simultaneous measurement of electrical resistance

Thermal Conductivity Most Accurate in Ireland (plane perpendicular)

Phase 2 (Tony Robinson) Films / Nanowires

Test Concept Development In plane Combined ZT Biggest Challenge

Personnel Resources (New Blood /Grep /IRCSET) ????

stove 024.jpg

TCD Stove Characterization

Bio-Engineering Collaboration Opp.• Early Discussion with Kevin (O’Kelly)

• Leverage institutional knowledge of functional ceramics– Joints

• Kevin has relationships with Schvets/Gunkos synthesis Post Doc from a sabbatical partner

• Device Development, 2-3 stage process – Goal is 1/10 the cost of existing devices at > 50% of output

• Absolutely disruptive !!! (Not just for this application _– Co-Generation , Industrial Energy Harvesting

• Stove – 1.0 – 3 T CO2 offset per year ($20-$60)

– 80% + reduction in particulates/ IAP• Reduction in CO and other VOC’s • Impact on Bronchial Health

– Reduction in Time Spent Collecting Wood • Reduced burden on women and children• Deforestation

– Crop Fertilization (if gassifier/biochar used)• Carbon Sequestration (500 yr lifetime)

• Electricity– Night Light = 3 Extra Hours – Mobile Phones / Laptop = Information Age– Income Generation / Socialization / Comfort

–

System Benefits

Key Differentiation of future TCD Device • Features Advantage Benefits

Ferrite TEG Material Low Cost Device Cost Reduction

(Ceramic) Material Abundance Future Cost Trajectory/Scale

Material Robustness Long life implies lower op cost per installed capital $

High Temp Capability Reduces Engineering integration Cost Compared to current material

Ceramic Material Sandwich

Well understood manuf. process

Low Cost and Scalable process

Direct Sintering of Heat Sink to TEG

Reduced System cost through simplified thermal eng

3 yr GoalsYear 1 – 3 W Power Plant (Rocket)

10 Whr battery Storage

2 LED / Mobile Phone / Radio System Validation

Proof of Concept and Utilization in Malawi

Year 2 – 10W Power Plant (30Whr Storage)

50% x cost / efficiency improvement

Gasifier / Fuel Oil Versions

Biochar / Fertilizer Model

Franchisee Model

Solar Demonstration

Patent Portfolio

CDM Application

Year 3 – 20W Power Plant (250Whr Storage)

Solar/Thermal Combination

Electric Devices Distribution

Power 3W 10W 25W

Energy Capacity

10Wh 30Whr 75Whr

Year 1 BoM $100 $125 $ 200

Year 1 Price $150 $185 -

Year 2 BoM $50 $70 $100

Year 2 Price $70 $105 $150

Year 3 BoM $20 $35 $68

Year 3 Price $30 $50 $105

Device RoadMap CostDevice RoadMap Cost

$37.5 bn for 300m stoves (1.5 m users)

Universal Modern Energy Access Case

• Electricity Cooking

Reducing the Cost of Electricity Access

Globally - Who is resourced to Pay

(Capoor and Ambrosi, 2009)

Carbon Fossil Fuel Sub

Philanthropy Mobile/ICT

In Summary • Today more people lack access to electricity than were

alive when Edison invented modern electricity provisioning

• Access to energy/electricity is one of the key determinants of developing world growth

• Micro-Generation from Biomass is a viable low cost strategy for 1st level electricity/energy delivery to the BoP

• Trinity is determined to play a leading academic social and economic role in topical energy programme with our development partner(s), Irish Aid

•

Team (TCD) • Tony Robinson/ Kempers et al

– PI/Lecturer in Thermodynamics/Test

• Chloe Kinsella / Sean ?Shane– Gold Medal TCD Graduate - M.Sc. Student

ESBi - Energy Trading

• Seamus O’Shaughnessy/Aonghus – Heat & Mass Transfer

• Maurice Deasy– MSc Student

• Igor Schvets / John Boland – CRANN (Materials)

• Kevin O’Kelly et al– Bioengineering