Introducing DAIKIN, leading air-conditioning innovator

HYBUILD is a group of 21 partners from 9 countries. Every month, a new HYBUILD partner is introduced in our Blog section. Today,  DAIKIN, a leading innovator and provider of advanced, high-quality air conditioning solutions for residential, commercial, and industrial buildings. DAIKIN is involved in HYBUILD through its Greek branch.

DAIKIN in a nutshell

Daikin presence in the Greek market goes back to the 80s. In 2004, Daikin Europe NV established a branch in Greece, Daikin Europe Hellas Office. In 2006, Daikin Europe Greek Office became a 100% subsidiary of the Daikin Group, under the name of Daikin Airconditioning Greece SA. Since 2006,  Daikin Greece has established a strong sales network of professional installers offering excellent pre and after sales support to its residential, commercial and industrial customers on a B2B and B2C basis. Daikin Greece occupies more than 30 people with a sales turnover in FY17 to reach 44M€ in Greece and Cyprus. In addition to air conditioning, Daikin Greece has established itself in the Greek market of heating systems and refrigeration, and has also developed advanced direct technical service activity.  Especially for heating, Daikin Greece is driving the way of decarbonization of the market playing a leading role in the introduction of the Air to Water (A2W) heat pump technology since 2007. Daikin Greece is an active member of  Applia Hellas local branch of Applia (former CECED) and member of the Union of Greek Companies for Heating and Energy (UHHE). Daikin Greece is certified according to the standards ISO 9001:2015 & ISO 14001:2015 for its quality and environmental management systems. Daikin is committed to providing homes, businesses and industry with the most efficient and safest solutions to meet all cooling and heating needs, today and in the future. DAIKIN is aware of its responsibility to protect the environment in everything it does: all its policies, practices and processes are developed and implemented with environmental sustainability in mind.

DAIKIN Role in HYBUILD

DAIKIN, as a technological leader in the HVAC market, is in charge of the selection, modification and provision of the heat pumps needed for the HYBUILD hybrid storage system for the Mediterranean climate. The heat pump is a key element of the overall HYBUILD system, since it allows the efficient conversion of the electric energy produced by the PV panels in thermal energy, which can be either stored (in the Phase-Changing Material (PCM) storage, connected to the evaporator, or the sorption storage connected to the condenser), or directly cover the space cooling and/or DHW and heating demands. With the compressor connected directly to a Direct Current (DC) bus, this configuration will further enhance the electrical efficiency of the system.

DAIKIN Water cooled scroll heat pump

Besides, DAIKIN’s long experience in heat pump technology and market, will lead to useful recommendations within HYBUILD regarding the integration of the subsystems with the selected heat pump and the economic analysis of the whole system.

Meet our staff

Managing Director at Daikin Hellas, since August 2014. He studied mechanical engineer at the National Technical University of Athens and holds a master of Science in Automation Control from the same University. He also got a Masters in Business Administration from the Cardiff Business School of Whales.

Senior Expert Engineer. Assistant manager of the After Sales Department of Daikin Greece. He studied mechanical engineer at the National Technical University of Athens and he holds a Master of Science in Control Systems Engineering from University of Sheffield and a Master of Philosophy in Control Systems from City University of London. Member of the scientific committee of the Greek Division of CECED. He has also knowledge over the current National and European legislation related to HVAC efficiency and F-Gas.

Dimitris Kalogeras

Senior Expert Engineer. Assistant manager of the Sales Department of Daikin Greece. He studied mechanical engineering at the National Technical University of Athens. He has high skills and experience in the evaluation of current heating, ventilation and Air- Conditioning systems and also in the field of supporting consultants in developing solutions custom made for each installation by utilizing the different available technologies. He has also deep knowledge in the field of Energy Efficiency in the Building Sector.

 

HYBUILD hosted a successful 2nd Consortium meeting in Lleida and Almatret, Spain

The 21 partners of the HYBUILD project gathered in Lleida (Spain) on 12-13 April 2018 in order to review the overall progress and discuss key technical aspects for the next steps of the project.

HYBUILD consortium at the University of Lleida – 13 April 2018

The meeting was hosted by the University of Lleida and a visit of the Spanish pilot site was organised in Almatret.

Visit of the HYBUILD Spanish Pilot site in Almatret

Almatret intends to become a reference in the use renewable energy and sustainable development. HYBUILD is therefore a major element within the town “ALMI – Almatret + Energy” overall vision and roadmap which is further presented on the following dedicated website http://almiaenergy.com/

A view of Almatret surroundings – Vision and roadmap of the town at http://almiaenergy.com/

 

 

Introducing FAHRENHEIT, pioneer in adsorption technology

HYBUILD is a group of 21 partners from 9 countries. Every month, a new HYBUILD partner is introduced in our Blog section. Today, FAHRENHEIT, a company specialised in cooling innovation.

FAHRENHEIT in a nutshell

FAHRENHEIT is a pioneer in adsorption technology. Based in Germany, the company designs and manufactures the most advanced adsorption cooling devices on the market. It applies innovative research to delivering energy efficient cooling solutions. Its products have made their way into hundreds of installations worldwide across a diverse range of industries and applications.

FAHRENHEIT was founded in 2002 as a spin-off from Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE). From the very beginning, research and technological excellence have been the pillars of the company.  Its original research coupled with a keen awareness of our customers’ requirements resulted in ground breaking patents in energy solutions. FAHRENHEIT develops and manufactures innovative and efficient solutions to generate and store cold anywhere cold is needed and waste heat is available.

Adsorption chillers by FAHRENHEIT can be used wherever there is residual heat available. Its cooling technology reaches a new dimension of energy efficiency because it does not rely on electrical power for cooling. Its chillers and its adsorption modules are widely used in industrial manufacturing, for air conditioning, in data centers, in solar cooling and in various other applications. They are also ideally suited for combined heat and power plants – turning them into tri-generation units –, and they can save substantial amounts of energy and CO2 emissions in mobile applications such as cars and transport cooling.

FAHRENHEIT role in HYBUILD

FAHRENHEIT chillers operate on the principle of adsorption. Adsorption occurs when molecules of a liquid (in our case water) adhere to the surface of a solid (in our case zeolite crystals or silica gel). This causes the liquid to evaporate, generating cold. Once the solid material is saturated, heating it will cause it to release the adsorbed liquid, allowing the process to start again.

Within the HYBUILD project FAHRENHEIT focuses on the development of advanced adsorption heat exchangers for the Mediterranean region and the efficient integration of the vapour compression heat pump with the adsorption storage part in order to enhance its EER.

Figure : Adsorption heat exchanger with Al fibre material (Fraunhofer IFAM) coated with zeolite by FAHRENHEIT with detailed view of zeolite coated fibres (left: schematic, right: microscopic picture)

Meet our staff

The following staff is involved in the HYBUILD project:

Walter Mittelbach is the Chief Technology Officer of FAHRENHEIT. He founded SorTech AG, the predecessor of FAHRENHEIT, in 2002. He holds several patents on adsorption technology and, together with his team, won numerous awards for developing efficient and compact adsorption chillers.

Walter Mittelbach laid the foundation for FAHRENHEIT as a researcher at Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE). He studied physics at Graz University and at Free University Berlin.

Dr. Ralph Herrmann is in charge of research and development at FAHRENHEIT. Trained as a chemist, Dr. Herrmann dedicated a large part of his professional life to researching and evolving zeolite crystals. He holds numerous patents in this field. Since 2004, he has been applying his expertise at FAHRENHEIT.

Prior to joining FAHRENHEIT, Dr. Herrmann obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Halle and spent several years at the University of Erlangen as a researcher and as a lecturer for chemical engineers.

Ursula Wittstadt joined FAHRENHEIT in 2016 to work in the development of the next generation adsorption chiller and the co-ordination of research projects.

Ursula Wittstadt holds a diploma in Energy and Process Engineering of the Technical University in Berlin. Before joining FAHRENHEIT she worked as a researcher and project leader at the Fraunhofer Institute of Solar Energy Systems (ISE) in Freiburg within the field of adsorption heat exchanger development.

EASE-EERA Energy Storage Technology Development Roadmap 2017

The European Association for Storage of Energy (EASE) is the voice of the energy storage community, actively promoting the use of energy storage in Europe and worldwide.

The European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) is an alliance of European public research centres and universities. It is one of the cornerstones of the European Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-Plan).

EASE and EERA released the 2017 update of their roadmap which provides a comprehensive overview of the energy storage technologies being developed in Europe today and identifies the R&D needs in the coming decades. On this basis, the roadmap provides recommendations for R&D policies and regulatory changes needed to support the development and large-scale deployment of energy storage technologies. The aim is to inform policymakers for research, innovation, and demonstration in the energy storage sector in order to further strengthen Europe’s research and industrial competitiveness in the energy storage industry.

Download the EASE-EERA roadmap – 2017 update

COMSA CORPORACIÓN : HYBUILD Project coordinator

HYBUILD is a group of 21 partners from 9 countries. Every month, a new HYBUILD partner is introduced in our Blog section. Today, COMSA CORPORACIÓN, the project coordinator.

COMSA in a nutshell

COMSA CORPORACIÓN is the first largest unlisted Spanish group in the infrastructures and engineering sector. With more than a century of experience behind it, it mainly operates in the fields of Infrastructures and Engineering; Services and Technology; and Concessions and Renewable Energy. The company is currently present in more than 20 countries, has a turnover of more than €1,000 million and over 7.600 employees.COMSA CORPORACIÓN is focused on the Smart Cities with a special focus in R&D projects on BIPV, Building and District level energy management systems and advanced HVAC solutions. All these projects are devoted to increase the energy efficiency performance and a better integration of renewable energies. COMSA Industrial is the engineering company within the group. It has a long track on renewable energy systems, including BIPV installations, and an extensive background of construction and operation of sustainable buildings. Some of these projects involve some major and emblematic local projects, such as the offices of the Agbar Tower or the Blood and Human Tissue Bank in Barcelona.

COMSA role in HYBUILD

COMSA CORPORACIÓN is the HYBUILD Project Coordinator. It will ensure an efficient management of the project throughout its development from an administrative and financial point of view.  It will define the set of working procedures, processes and best practices guidelines to ensure the quality standards of the project outcome. COMSA will contribute funnelling the work of all the partners of the consortium towards achieving the expected outcomes of the project on time, and will make sure that the consortium complies with the requirements of the EC and its Horizon 2020 funding programme.

Meet our staff

COMSA CORPORACIÓN staff involved directly in HYBUILD project are Sergio Valentino Costa (Project Coordinator), Josep María Galan, and Gisela Soley:

works as a Project Manager in the Energy R&D division of the company. He holds a MSc in Energy Engineering from UPC (Spain) and MSc in Sustianable Energy Technology from TU/e (Netherlands). He has over 5 years experience working on energy and climate related projects in buildings, including three projects related to demand response and flexibility services. He has supported tasks including real-time integration of building data (hardware and software), data analytics and project coordination.

has been part of COMSA Industrial since 2006 and has been, since then, the responsible for the mechanical installations engineering department before coming the head of the mechanical installations division. He has actively participated in the engineering of HVAC systems in numerous relevant buildings (Reus, Barcelona 112 building, etc.) including the integration of Renewable Energy technologies (PV, geothermal, etc.).  In addition, Josep Maria has experience working in R&D projects. (e.g GEOED and GEOTECH).

Energy Storage Workshop at Sustainable Places 2018

For its 6th edition, the Sustainable Places International conference series is coming back to France. It will be co-hosted by INES – Institut National de l’Energie Solaire and Université Savoie Mont Blanc from 27th-29th June in Aix-Les-Bains, France. 

HYBUILD is leading the organisation of a workshop focused on Innovative Energy Storage solutions at SP18, in cooperation with its sister-projects TESSe2b, SCORES, and CREATE.

SP18 will offer a visit of CEA – INES unique facilities, a leading solar-energy research platform with technologies for building, mobility, storage and grids.

  • Interested in contributing to SP18 ? Read the Call for Papers
  • Interested in contributing to our energy storage workshop ?  contact Régis Decorme.

HYBUILD at the SHAPE ENERGY sandpits

The main goal of the SHAPE ENERGY sandpits is to bring people together who are interested in improving and innovating and who, crucially, are currently or have recently been involved in EU-funded projects on similar topics as the main subject of the sandpits.

These events are aimed at :

  • reflecting on current direction and task in individual projects;
  • generating concrete ideas for increasing impacts on society;
  • experiencing innovative methods of interdisciplinary and cross-sector working within energy and transport projects;
  • meeting cross-Europeans collaborators in a stimulating environment and generating future project ideas for progressing energy related topics.

HYBUILD will be represented through its exploitation and dissemination manager R2M Solution. The event is taking place on 22-23 February 2018 at the Valentino Castle, Torino, hosted by Politecnico di Torino.

Introducing HYBUILD exploitation and dissemination manager : R2M Solution

HYBUILD is a group of 21 partners from 9 countries. Every month, a new HYBUILD partner is introduced in our Blog section. Today, R2M Solution, the innovation, exploitation and dissemination manager.

R2M Solution in a nutshell

R2M is an integrated and multi-disciplinary consulting company that aggressively targets filling the gap between research activities and market implementation. The company partners with over 200 organizations across Europe in its ongoing research activities. Every project is an opportunity to make a difference on society and through them, R2M has the ability to facilitate technology transfer across organisational types, operational sectors and geographical locations. Through its projects, R2M has launched startups, sold IP and brought new products and services to the market.

R2M role in HYBUILD

R2M is a dynamic partner that supports the coordinator and the consortium to glue together all the HYBUILD concepts and focuses on maximum exploitation and impact, while safeguarding the interest of all industrial partners.  R2M leads both exploitation and dissemination activities of the project.

Get in touch !

R2M Solution staff involved in HYBUILD are Thomas, Pascal and Régis.

  (R2M Solution Founder and CEO): Tom Messervey has over 20 years of engineering experience spanning military service in the US Army Corps of Engineers, Industrial Experience with the Italian Engineering Company D’Appolonia, teaching excellence at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and Coaching services as the EU Facilitator for the Intelligent Manufacturing Systems program (www.ims.org). He is passionate about linking international research efforts to boost competitiveness. Read more.

  : Pascal is the CEO and co-founder of the French branch of R2M Solution, which was created in March 2017 and co-located with his other climate engineering company OSMOSE in Roquefort-les-Pins on the French Riviera. He is a specialist in HVAC, energy optimisation, and air treatment (controlled dust level facilities, clean rooms, explosive atmosphere, health and safety ventilations, etc.). Read more

: Regis is senior expert in IT research and innovation addressing societal challenges. He is focusing on Information Technologies and Open Innovation for business-oriented domains such as energy-efficient buildings, active ageing & design as well as smart cities. He is the R2M Solution representative at the European Construction Technology Platform (ECTP). Read more

 

 

HYBUILD project kicked off

HYBUILD project was kicked off in Brussels on October 18th, 2017 at the European Commission.

HYBUILD is a 6M€ project supported by the European Commission under its Horizon 2020 programme – Energy-efficient Buildings Public-Private partnership. The project will develop two innovative compact hybrid electrical/thermal storage systems for stand-alone and district connected buildings.