Fossil-free energy day

Vice-rector Charlotte Platzer Björkman opens the day:

– An important internal reason for the areas of strength is increased collaboration and dialog between departments. We need to be up to date with what is happening outside our own areas, as we are facing the same challenges. The main external reason is the visibility we get by bringing research together in this way, which can attract both collaborations, students and researchers.

When it comes to energy research, Uppsala University has substantial breadth. The topics of the day are Electromobility, Hydrogen energy, Geothermal energy, Solar energy, Nuclear energy, materials science (WISE), battery research (COMPEL), Wind, water and wave, Power Grid, Interdisciplinary research and natural resources and Research finance in the energy area.

– Why are we doing so much energy research? We have tremendous challenges such as climate change and the green transition. Our research is vital and we need more and new knowledge, says Daniel Brandell, professor in Materials Chemistry and coordinator for the strength area.

Partly overlapping with the strength area Fossil-free energy is the strategic research area STandUp for energy, which is about renewable energy. Not everything that is fossil free is considered to be renewable.

Electromobility
Electromobolity is the use of electric propulsion for all sorts of vehicles. It’s a way to reduce reliance of fossile fuels and creating a cleaner and more sustainable transport sector. One area of research is about charging infrastructure for electric aviation, with the goal to create an overview of how the airports can be developed to meet a future increased need of electricity.

• Speaker: Valeria Castellucci, Electrical engineering
• Presentation: Electromobility Pdf, 5 MB.

Hydrogen energy
At Uppsala University there is research on various ways of producing hydrogen, with research questions from atomic to industrial scale. From existing competence, it’s possible to educate next generation of scientist and engineers on the topic of hydrogen.

The university also has special infrastructure and expertise for measuring hydrogen in materials using ion- and neutron-based techniques. New multi-disciplinary research teams should be set-up around the new infrastructures developed.

• Speaker: Daniel Primetzhofer, Physics and Astronomy
• Presentation: Hydrogen energy Pdf, 18 MB.
  

Geothermal energy
Sweden is the third largest country in the world in terms of total direct use of geothermal energy. Other energy sources have been cheaper to produce and there are some challenges in explaining geoenergy as a complement in the energy mix. With energy produced 24/7 underground independent of weather, geothermal is excellent for security.

– Geothermal energy in Sweden is mostly focused on small-scale heating and cooling. I would be very excited if we at Uppsala University could contribute to a more large-scale development of geothermal energy in Sweden. In the short term for the production of heating and cooling, and in the longer term also for electricity production from geothermal heat, says Maria Ask.

• Speaker: Maria Ask, Geoscience
• Presentation: Geothermal energy Pdf, 6 MB.
  

Nuclear energy
Uppsala University are at the front of national and international efforts in nuclear science and technology. High energy density used in fission and fusion has proven capability and excellent potential to help mitigating climate change.

A national competence centre led by Uppsala University is The Academic Industrial Nuclear Technology Initiative (ANitA), that brings together industrial and academic expertise in nuclear technology.

• Speaker: Stephan Pomp, Physics and Astronomy
• Presentation: Nuclear energy Pdf, 6 MB.

Solar energy
This year, Uppsala University sat a new world record in the generation of electrical energy from CIGS solar cells, together with the company First Solar ETC and achieving an efficiency rate of 23.64%. Solar energy is increasing a lot, because it is now very competitive.

– When it comes to low cost renewables, solar cells tick all the boxes. There are low costs of production of components as well as installation. It is also reliable and safe to use, with low carbon footprint and low end-of-life costs, says Marika Edoff.

A national competence centre led by Uppsala University is SOLVE - Solar Energy Research Centre Sweden.

• Speaker: Marika Edoff, Materials science
• Presentation: Solar energy Pdf, 3 MB.

Power Grid
We are facing a climate change, but also doubled electricity consumption. The power system is a critical infrastructure for the society. The competence needs in this area are mainly about classical electrical engineering, Cyber Security and IT.

• Speaker: Göran Ericsson, Electrical engineering
• Presentation: Power Grid Pdf, 898 kB.

Wind, water and wave
In the field of wind power, we have a broad range of topics such as wind resource and climate, spatial planning and noise, aerodynamics, electric grid and farms as well as innovative technologies, atmospheric processes, climate and extremes.

When it comes to water, there are two different techniques: Hydropower and Marine current. For both water and wave, we have a lot of topics spanning from understanding the energy resource to building and testing things in a real environment and also understanding systematic aspects.

• Speaker: Malin Göteman, Electrical engineering
• Presentation: Wind, water and wave Pdf, 6 MB.

WISE
Energy is a key component of WISE, Wallenberg Initiative Materials Science for Sustainability. This research program is the largest-ever investment in materials science in Sweden. Initiated and financed by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, WISE is primarily based at seven of Sweden’s foremost research universities.

• Speaker: Magnus Berggren, director at WISE
• Presentation: WISE Pdf, 2 MB.

COMPEL
Since 2022, Chalmers, Lund University and Uppsala University have been working closely together on battery research within the COMPEL (COMPetitiveness for the ELectrification of the transport system) platform. The universities collaborate on research and education to offer expertise to the Swedish industry. A major challenge is that there is a shortage of labour supply for primarily the growing battery industry, but also for the electrification of the vehicle industry.

– Uppsala university has been strong in battery research, primarily for materials and electrochemistry. We npw expand into other disciplines. Batteries could even be a gold mine for people interested in sociology, says Daniel Brandell.

• Speaker: Daniel Brandell, Chemistry - Ångström Laboratory
• Presentation: COMPEL Pdf, 838 kB.

Interdisciplinary research and natural resources
Energy and sustainable development is cleary intertwined. Interdisciplinary perspectives are needed to address the multi-dimensional challenges in the transition to sustainable energy systems and carbon neutrality. Minding the full transnational flow picture of material risks, environmental and social impacts are essential for holistic views on sustainability in line with SDG12.

• Speaker: Mikael Höök, Earth Sciences
• Presentation: Interdisciplinary research and natural resources Pdf, 2 MB.
  

Research finance in the energy area
From where can you get funding for energy research? The big ones are Vinnova, Swedish Research Council, Formas, Forte, Swedish Energy Agency, Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research, Wallenberg Initiative Materials Science for Sustainability (WISE) and EU – Horizon Europeand European Defence Fund.

In the presentation below you will find more about statistics, achieved funding for energy projects, regulation of dual-use items, military items and protective security, how to succeed with your proposal and what support is available at Uppsala University.

• Speakers: Pia Lansåker + Linnea Burke Rolfhamre
• Presentation: Research finance in the energy area Pdf, 2 MB.
• Uppsala University’s Research Handbook

Panel discussion
The day ended with a panel discussion, moderated by Cajsa Bartusch Kätting, Civil and industrial engineering. The panel consisted of four of the speakers of the day – Mikael Höök, Earth Sciences, Göran Ericsson, Electrical engineering, Marika Edoff, Materials science and Stephan Pomp, Physics and Astronomy.