BGU has received funding from the EU’s Horizon 2020 program to create a network of universities and research institutes to implement a joint PhD program on thermal energy storage (TES) technologies. The goal of such a network is to educate professionals for European research and industry institutions in this emerging field.
The consortium includes 14 universities that will implement the joint PhD program, two research institutions (AIT and PROMES-CNRS), three companies and two Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) (Arcelik, Abengoa Research, KIC InnoEnergy, UFP and LAIF), that will cooperate in defining the programme and in its implementation and deployment. BGU is represented by the Heat Transfer Laboratory, headed by Prof. Gennady Ziskind of the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
According to Prof. Ziskind, close research ties were developed with his European colleagues in the field of energy storage over the course of various European programs such as COST and Marie Curie. “The new project is a product of those successful previous collaborations,” he said.
The European Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-Plan) establishes an energy technology policy for Europe designed to accelerate the development and deployment of cost-effective low carbon technologies. The plan comprises measures relating to planning, implementation, resources and international cooperation in the field of energy technology. Moreover, the EC SET-Plan Education and Training Roadmap is intended to bring about a structural change in the EU educational landscape by enhanced integration and coordination of the business and research environments.
In accordance with the EC SET-Plan Education and Training Roadmap, the concept of this proposal is to develop a joint PhD programme between universities and research centers, on the topic of Thermal Energy Storage considering the following technologies:
Hight temperature thermal energy storage (HTES)
Short term storage technologies for load management
Seasonal storage technologies and storage
The partners in the proposal will be the core of a future larger network of excellent R&D institutions, and industries for co-funding and industrial placement, sharing infrastructure capacities, and enhancing mobility of students.
