• Dr Daniel Serafini and Dr Álvaro San Martín, both professors at the Department of Physics, have developed an innovative solution that allows to store energy as hydrogen. One of the advantages of this technology is that it is not intermittent as current non-conventional energy sources (NCES), like solar and wind energy. This project is a contribution of Universidad de Santiago de Chile to the energy industry.

An innovative technology to store energy as hydrogen is being developed by Dr Daniel Serafini and Dr Álvaro San Martín, both professors at the Department of Physics of Universidad de Santiago de Chile.

According to Dr Serafini, one of the advantages of this technology is that it is not intermittent as current non-conventional energy sources (NCES), like solar and wind energy.

Hydrogen is generated during off-peak periods via water electrolysis. Then, depending on the needs, electric power is generated using the hydrogen stored in an electrochemical device called fuel cell. This system is very efficient and is environmentally friendly, because hydrogen combustion only generates water vapour, free of greenhouse gases and particulate matter.

Storing energy as hydrogen is a better solution in comparison to lithium batteries. “We compete with lithium batteries and they are much more expensive and heavier and they have technological problems regarding their size, i.e., at equal size, they have a more reduced capacity,” Dr Serafini says.

According to the expert, with current battery technology, lithium reserves in the world “are enough to cover only 40% of the cars in the Unites States.”

It is also worth to mention that this solution is particularly attractive to settlements in remote areas that do not receive power supply from the interconnected grid system.

The researchers implemented a demonstration module at the Minera San Pedro mining camp, in Til Til (at the north of the Metropolitan Region), where the pilot project has been working since mid-2015.

The CLP150 million project has been funded by the Innova Chile program of the Chilean Economic Development Agency (CLP132 million) and Minera San Pedro.

Greater involvement of the private sector

For his part, Dr San Martín stresses that the project has been well received by the Government and that now, a greater involvement of the private sector is required. “In developed countries, different public and private programs to develop hydrogen technologies have been funded with millions of dollars for a long time,” he says.

State-run bodies in Chile have already recognized the importance of hydrogen in the future for a clean non-polluting public transport. Both researchers agree that this is an essential starting point. 

Target market

One of the benefits of implementing this type of technology in Chile is that we have enormous ENCS resources of all kinds (solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric and tidal power), but they are intermittent, so the use of hydrogen would be highly convenient. 

The researchers say that this project “is not targeted at large companies for now, but remote places, like small settlements or fishing villages away from interconnected grid systems, little mine sites and road construction zones, etc.”

They expect to fully implement the project by mid-2016. Although they acknowledge that it is necessary to make this technology more price competitive, they say that costs have significantly fallen in recent times due to the huge development of fuel cell vehicles.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• The equipment was acquired with funds awarded to the Department of Chemical Engineering of Universidad de Santiago, in the context of the project “ Teacher Education and Training in Solar Thermal Energy” sponsored by the Ministry of Energy, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), plus the active collaboration of ProCobre.
• “It is a special occasion for the University, because we are receiving cutting-edge technology related to a sensitive issue for our society: energy saving,” Francisco Cubillos, the Director of the Department of Chemical Engineering said, adding that the implementation of this lab will contribute to both teaching and research.”

 
Our University has new equipment available to study and develop renewable energies, as the Solar Thermal Laboratory was inaugurated at the Department of Chemical Engineering, on October 16th. This laboratory has cutting-technology that will strengthen teaching activities and research on this field.

The opening ceremony was attended by Juan Manuel Zolezzi, President of Universidad de Santiago; Francisco Cubillos, Director of the Department of Chemical Engineering; Paloma Toranzos, representative of the United Nations Development Program; Andrés Véliz, coordinator of the Renewable Energy Program of the Ministry of Energy, and, on behalf of the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Cristián Vargas, Vice-Dean for Research and Development.

The laboratory was set up at the campus, in an open place with enough exposure to sunlight and it includes two solar thermal panels that receive the solar radiation. Then, by means of a copper heat collection system, the water is heated and stored in a tank nearby, which heating capacity is complemented by the use of water heaters according to what is needed.

“It is a special occasion for Universidad de Santiago, because we are receiving equipment with cutting-edge technology related to a very sensitive issue for our society: energy saving. The system can operate in eight different ways, what provides a solar thermal lab that will allow us to have teaching activities and conduct studies in this field. This advance will position us as a leading academic unit in the implementation of this technology,” director Cubillos said.”

Part of a larger project

The new equipment is part of the “Teacher Education and Training in Solar Thermal Energy” project awarded to the Department of Chemical Engineering and sponsored by the Solar Program of the Ministry of Energy; the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), plus the active collaboration of ProCobre.

The initiative also includes free workshops to disseminate information on how society can use this type of energy and, in the future, the incorporation of relevant knowledge about solar thermal energy in the curricula of the programs given by the Department. Today, one of the two 50-hour workshops is being held to train professionals, technicians, students and people who work as plumbers and electricians. There were more than 150 applicants for only 21 places available, “what shows a high interest in this field,” Cubillos added.

Paloma Toranzos, representative of the UNDP, said that one of the commands that the UN gives to the programs is precisely to give support to the country so that it reaches sustainable development with regards to initiatives like renewable energies. “In the context of the project, installing this new system has been a major success; let’s hope it has a significant impact on the university community,” she added.

Andrés Véliz, coordinator of the Renewable Energy Program of the Ministry of Energy, said that the project was awarded funds because it exceeded the initial expectations. “We first thought about a training course, but we were pleasantly surprised that the knowledge gathered on this issue will be included in the programs’ curricula, and even more, there is research on this field,” he said.

ProCobre’s consultant Sergio Molleda explained that this type of technology also impacts the country image and the economy of mining industry, as “the parts of these solar collectors, like plates, piping and heat collection systems are made of copper,” what expands the uses of this mineral and its world exporting potential. “We think that developing these projects at Universidad de Santiago is essential, because they promote the use of this type of energies in the future in different productive sectors,” he said.


Translated by Marcela Contreras

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• Dr Daniel Serafini and Dr Álvaro San Martín, both professors at the Department of Physics, have developed an innovative solution that allows to store energy as hydrogen. One of the advantages of this technology is that it is not intermittent as current non-conventional energy sources (NCES), like solar and wind energy. This project is a contribution of Universidad de Santiago de Chile to the energy industry.

An innovative technology to store energy as hydrogen is being developed by Dr Daniel Serafini and Dr Álvaro San Martín, both professors at the Department of Physics of Universidad de Santiago de Chile.

According to Dr Serafini, one of the advantages of this technology is that it is not intermittent as current non-conventional energy sources (NCES), like solar and wind energy.

Hydrogen is generated during off-peak periods via water electrolysis. Then, depending on the needs, electric power is generated using the hydrogen stored in an electrochemical device called fuel cell. This system is very efficient and is environmentally friendly, because hydrogen combustion only generates water vapour, free of greenhouse gases and particulate matter.

Storing energy as hydrogen is a better solution in comparison to lithium batteries. “We compete with lithium batteries and they are much more expensive and heavier and they have technological problems regarding their size, i.e., at equal size, they have a more reduced capacity,” Dr Serafini says.

According to the expert, with current battery technology, lithium reserves in the world “are enough to cover only 40% of the cars in the Unites States.”

It is also worth to mention that this solution is particularly attractive to settlements in remote areas that do not receive power supply from the interconnected grid system.

The researchers implemented a demonstration module at the Minera San Pedro mining camp, in Til Til (at the north of the Metropolitan Region), where the pilot project has been working since mid-2015.

The CLP150 million project has been funded by the Innova Chile program of the Chilean Economic Development Agency (CLP132 million) and Minera San Pedro.

Greater involvement of the private sector

For his part, Dr San Martín stresses that the project has been well received by the Government and that now, a greater involvement of the private sector is required. “In developed countries, different public and private programs to develop hydrogen technologies have been funded with millions of dollars for a long time,” he says.

State-run bodies in Chile have already recognized the importance of hydrogen in the future for a clean non-polluting public transport. Both researchers agree that this is an essential starting point. 

Target market

One of the benefits of implementing this type of technology in Chile is that we have enormous ENCS resources of all kinds (solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric and tidal power), but they are intermittent, so the use of hydrogen would be highly convenient. 

The researchers say that this project “is not targeted at large companies for now, but remote places, like small settlements or fishing villages away from interconnected grid systems, little mine sites and road construction zones, etc.”

They expect to fully implement the project by mid-2016. Although they acknowledge that it is necessary to make this technology more price competitive, they say that costs have significantly fallen in recent times due to the huge development of fuel cell vehicles.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• The equipment was acquired with funds awarded to the Department of Chemical Engineering of Universidad de Santiago, in the context of the project “ Teacher Education and Training in Solar Thermal Energy” sponsored by the Ministry of Energy, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), plus the active collaboration of ProCobre.
• “It is a special occasion for the University, because we are receiving cutting-edge technology related to a sensitive issue for our society: energy saving,” Francisco Cubillos, the Director of the Department of Chemical Engineering said, adding that the implementation of this lab will contribute to both teaching and research.”

 
Our University has new equipment available to study and develop renewable energies, as the Solar Thermal Laboratory was inaugurated at the Department of Chemical Engineering, on October 16th. This laboratory has cutting-technology that will strengthen teaching activities and research on this field.

The opening ceremony was attended by Juan Manuel Zolezzi, President of Universidad de Santiago; Francisco Cubillos, Director of the Department of Chemical Engineering; Paloma Toranzos, representative of the United Nations Development Program; Andrés Véliz, coordinator of the Renewable Energy Program of the Ministry of Energy, and, on behalf of the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Cristián Vargas, Vice-Dean for Research and Development.

The laboratory was set up at the campus, in an open place with enough exposure to sunlight and it includes two solar thermal panels that receive the solar radiation. Then, by means of a copper heat collection system, the water is heated and stored in a tank nearby, which heating capacity is complemented by the use of water heaters according to what is needed.

“It is a special occasion for Universidad de Santiago, because we are receiving equipment with cutting-edge technology related to a very sensitive issue for our society: energy saving. The system can operate in eight different ways, what provides a solar thermal lab that will allow us to have teaching activities and conduct studies in this field. This advance will position us as a leading academic unit in the implementation of this technology,” director Cubillos said.”

Part of a larger project

The new equipment is part of the “Teacher Education and Training in Solar Thermal Energy” project awarded to the Department of Chemical Engineering and sponsored by the Solar Program of the Ministry of Energy; the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), plus the active collaboration of ProCobre.

The initiative also includes free workshops to disseminate information on how society can use this type of energy and, in the future, the incorporation of relevant knowledge about solar thermal energy in the curricula of the programs given by the Department. Today, one of the two 50-hour workshops is being held to train professionals, technicians, students and people who work as plumbers and electricians. There were more than 150 applicants for only 21 places available, “what shows a high interest in this field,” Cubillos added.

Paloma Toranzos, representative of the UNDP, said that one of the commands that the UN gives to the programs is precisely to give support to the country so that it reaches sustainable development with regards to initiatives like renewable energies. “In the context of the project, installing this new system has been a major success; let’s hope it has a significant impact on the university community,” she added.

Andrés Véliz, coordinator of the Renewable Energy Program of the Ministry of Energy, said that the project was awarded funds because it exceeded the initial expectations. “We first thought about a training course, but we were pleasantly surprised that the knowledge gathered on this issue will be included in the programs’ curricula, and even more, there is research on this field,” he said.

ProCobre’s consultant Sergio Molleda explained that this type of technology also impacts the country image and the economy of mining industry, as “the parts of these solar collectors, like plates, piping and heat collection systems are made of copper,” what expands the uses of this mineral and its world exporting potential. “We think that developing these projects at Universidad de Santiago is essential, because they promote the use of this type of energies in the future in different productive sectors,” he said.


Translated by Marcela Contreras

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"4249","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","typeof":"foaf:Image"}}]]

• Dr Daniel Serafini and Dr Álvaro San Martín, both professors at the Department of Physics, have developed an innovative solution that allows to store energy as hydrogen. One of the advantages of this technology is that it is not intermittent as current non-conventional energy sources (NCES), like solar and wind energy. This project is a contribution of Universidad de Santiago de Chile to the energy industry.

An innovative technology to store energy as hydrogen is being developed by Dr Daniel Serafini and Dr Álvaro San Martín, both professors at the Department of Physics of Universidad de Santiago de Chile.

According to Dr Serafini, one of the advantages of this technology is that it is not intermittent as current non-conventional energy sources (NCES), like solar and wind energy.

Hydrogen is generated during off-peak periods via water electrolysis. Then, depending on the needs, electric power is generated using the hydrogen stored in an electrochemical device called fuel cell. This system is very efficient and is environmentally friendly, because hydrogen combustion only generates water vapour, free of greenhouse gases and particulate matter.

Storing energy as hydrogen is a better solution in comparison to lithium batteries. “We compete with lithium batteries and they are much more expensive and heavier and they have technological problems regarding their size, i.e., at equal size, they have a more reduced capacity,” Dr Serafini says.

According to the expert, with current battery technology, lithium reserves in the world “are enough to cover only 40% of the cars in the Unites States.”

It is also worth to mention that this solution is particularly attractive to settlements in remote areas that do not receive power supply from the interconnected grid system.

The researchers implemented a demonstration module at the Minera San Pedro mining camp, in Til Til (at the north of the Metropolitan Region), where the pilot project has been working since mid-2015.

The CLP150 million project has been funded by the Innova Chile program of the Chilean Economic Development Agency (CLP132 million) and Minera San Pedro.

Greater involvement of the private sector

For his part, Dr San Martín stresses that the project has been well received by the Government and that now, a greater involvement of the private sector is required. “In developed countries, different public and private programs to develop hydrogen technologies have been funded with millions of dollars for a long time,” he says.

State-run bodies in Chile have already recognized the importance of hydrogen in the future for a clean non-polluting public transport. Both researchers agree that this is an essential starting point. 

Target market

One of the benefits of implementing this type of technology in Chile is that we have enormous ENCS resources of all kinds (solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric and tidal power), but they are intermittent, so the use of hydrogen would be highly convenient. 

The researchers say that this project “is not targeted at large companies for now, but remote places, like small settlements or fishing villages away from interconnected grid systems, little mine sites and road construction zones, etc.”

They expect to fully implement the project by mid-2016. Although they acknowledge that it is necessary to make this technology more price competitive, they say that costs have significantly fallen in recent times due to the huge development of fuel cell vehicles.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• The equipment was acquired with funds awarded to the Department of Chemical Engineering of Universidad de Santiago, in the context of the project “ Teacher Education and Training in Solar Thermal Energy” sponsored by the Ministry of Energy, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), plus the active collaboration of ProCobre.
• “It is a special occasion for the University, because we are receiving cutting-edge technology related to a sensitive issue for our society: energy saving,” Francisco Cubillos, the Director of the Department of Chemical Engineering said, adding that the implementation of this lab will contribute to both teaching and research.”

 
Our University has new equipment available to study and develop renewable energies, as the Solar Thermal Laboratory was inaugurated at the Department of Chemical Engineering, on October 16th. This laboratory has cutting-technology that will strengthen teaching activities and research on this field.

The opening ceremony was attended by Juan Manuel Zolezzi, President of Universidad de Santiago; Francisco Cubillos, Director of the Department of Chemical Engineering; Paloma Toranzos, representative of the United Nations Development Program; Andrés Véliz, coordinator of the Renewable Energy Program of the Ministry of Energy, and, on behalf of the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Cristián Vargas, Vice-Dean for Research and Development.

The laboratory was set up at the campus, in an open place with enough exposure to sunlight and it includes two solar thermal panels that receive the solar radiation. Then, by means of a copper heat collection system, the water is heated and stored in a tank nearby, which heating capacity is complemented by the use of water heaters according to what is needed.

“It is a special occasion for Universidad de Santiago, because we are receiving equipment with cutting-edge technology related to a very sensitive issue for our society: energy saving. The system can operate in eight different ways, what provides a solar thermal lab that will allow us to have teaching activities and conduct studies in this field. This advance will position us as a leading academic unit in the implementation of this technology,” director Cubillos said.”

Part of a larger project

The new equipment is part of the “Teacher Education and Training in Solar Thermal Energy” project awarded to the Department of Chemical Engineering and sponsored by the Solar Program of the Ministry of Energy; the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), plus the active collaboration of ProCobre.

The initiative also includes free workshops to disseminate information on how society can use this type of energy and, in the future, the incorporation of relevant knowledge about solar thermal energy in the curricula of the programs given by the Department. Today, one of the two 50-hour workshops is being held to train professionals, technicians, students and people who work as plumbers and electricians. There were more than 150 applicants for only 21 places available, “what shows a high interest in this field,” Cubillos added.

Paloma Toranzos, representative of the UNDP, said that one of the commands that the UN gives to the programs is precisely to give support to the country so that it reaches sustainable development with regards to initiatives like renewable energies. “In the context of the project, installing this new system has been a major success; let’s hope it has a significant impact on the university community,” she added.

Andrés Véliz, coordinator of the Renewable Energy Program of the Ministry of Energy, said that the project was awarded funds because it exceeded the initial expectations. “We first thought about a training course, but we were pleasantly surprised that the knowledge gathered on this issue will be included in the programs’ curricula, and even more, there is research on this field,” he said.

ProCobre’s consultant Sergio Molleda explained that this type of technology also impacts the country image and the economy of mining industry, as “the parts of these solar collectors, like plates, piping and heat collection systems are made of copper,” what expands the uses of this mineral and its world exporting potential. “We think that developing these projects at Universidad de Santiago is essential, because they promote the use of this type of energies in the future in different productive sectors,” he said.


Translated by Marcela Contreras

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