CySTEM by EU Research

The success of Cyprus and Solar Energy The European Research Area (ERA) Chair for the Eastern Mediterranean (CySTEM) project aims to enhance Cyprus’s research capacity in solar energy, putting in place the foundations on which tomorrow’s technologies can be built, as Professor Manuel Blanco and Professor Costas N. Papanicolas explain. Solar Energy and in particular solar thermal is viewed as a major enabling technology for the amelioration of the forecasted harsh impacts of climate change in the area The geographical location of Cyprus is a major advantage in terms of research into solar energy, with consistently high levels of sunlight exposure allowing scientists to investigate key questions in the field and develop innovative technologies. The Cyprus Institute (CyI) has already established a strong reputation and knowledge base in this area, and now the ERA Chair CySTEM project aims to build on this further. “The CySTEM project is about enhancing the already existing capability of the Cyprus Institute in relation to solar technologies and desalination,” says Professor Costas Papanicolas, the project’s Principal Investigator and the President of CyI. This work is very much in line with the wider regional agenda throughout the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East (EMME), where research into Concentrating Solar Thermal (CST) energy has been identified as a major priority. “CST technology is expected to play a major role in future energy provision, particularly to countries in Southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East; it has also an important role to play in developing the green economy of Cyprus,” says Professor Papanicolas. Climate change This research takes on even greater importance in the context of concern around the impact of climate change. The EMME region in particular is expected to be severely affected by climate change. “The predictions look serious, including rising temperatures and declining rainfall. The region around Cyprus is a large and densely populated area, so the challenge needs to be addressed to prevent serious consequences, some of global concern - like large-scale migration or destruction of agriculture,” outlines Professor Papanicolas. The CyI has

a major role to play in both heightening awareness of these challenges, and developing and promoting technologies to address them, in which it has wider support from the Cyprus government and the EU. “The Cyprus government initiated a strategy around the cogeneration of electricity and desalinated water, which is part of the country’s contribution to addressing challenges around climate change and water scarcity. The EU is supporting this research thrust in a major way,” says Professor Papanicolas. The main focus of research in the CySTEM

solar energy field, Professor Blanco believes this technology is very much in line with wider priorities. “This technology and this approach is closely aligned with the need for CST technologies in Cyprus and in the island and coastal areas of this region and other sunny regions around the world,” he stresses. This particular system not only delivers electricity on demand at any time of the day or night thanks to its energy storage, but also simultaneously delivers heat that has several possible applications, one of which is desalination. This system has been tested

The CySTEM project is about enhancing the already impressive capability of the Cyprus Institute in relation to

solar technologies and desalination

project is on CST technologies, with the aim of reducing dependence on conventional power plants and over the longer-term helping to de-carbonise the whole energy system. One particular area of interest is the development of smaller-scale systems suitable for islands and coastal environments. “For example, the CyI has been developing a very interesting cuttingedge technology based on a relatively small, concentrated solar-thermal polygeneration system utilizing molten salt,” says Professor Manuel Blanco, who is the CySTEM’s ERA Chair holder. With deep experience in the

at the proof-of-concept level at PROTEAS, a research and development facility located just outside the coastal city of Limassol. The versatility of PROTEAS is an important attribute in these terms. The PROTEAS research facility gives the Cyprus Institute and its collaborating Institutions the opportunity to test technologies related to CST alongside the desalination issue, which is very important in islands and coastal regions. “The PROTEAS facility is recognised by the EU as part of ESFRI (European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures),” says Professor Papanicolas. A major research priority is to investigate how this technology can be developed at different scales, which would help more closely match energy production to demand. Historically, it was thought that CST technology was well suited to large plants, but now researchers are exploring the possibility of downscaling it. “Downscaling

EU Research

CySTEM Cyprus Solar Thermal Energy Chair for the Eastern Mediterranean Project Objectives

The Cyrus Solar Thermal Energy Chair for the Eastern Mediterranean (CySTEM) aims in consolidating and upgrading the already substantial activity at the Cyprus Institute in Solar Energy, principally on Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) technologies for electricity production, desalination, air conditioning and heating, either in isolation or in multi-generation modes. This will be accomplished by attracting and installing a cluster of outstanding researchers and pursue a programme of excellence in Cyprus with local and regional focus in the region of Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East (EMME).

Project Funding

Horizon 2020 ERA Chairs (H2020WIDESPREAD-2014-2)

Project Partners

• The Cyprus Institute

Contact Details

Arial view of the PROTEAS solar research facility at the south coast of Cyprus. Novel solar energy and solar desalination technologies are being developed in collaboration with regional and European partners.

this technology, together with providing effective storage and generation capabilities, would be ideal for small and moderate-sized islands, such as Cyprus. It could mean bigger islands, or small islands like the Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, or the Spanish islands, or even certain isolated communities,” says Professor Papanicolas. The technology itself can be adapted for different communities, which Professor Blanco says represents an efficient approach to energy provision. “Distributed generation helps to resolve a lot of problems around power plants, including mitigating their environmental impact,” he outlines.

Global demand Beyond the EMME region, the potential demand for this type of technology is global, with climate change and water availability major concerns across large parts of the world. Researchers are now keen to explore the possibility of exporting this technology, not only to islands, but also communities in need of improved energy provision more generally. “This type of community-sized

technology will be very much in demand in future. We are already in discussions with some commercial enterprises,” says Professor Papanicolas. For tens, even hundreds of islands around the Mediterranean coastline, for example, this technology might represent an effective energy solution for their needs in electricity and desalinated water. This work still has some way to go, with the project set to run until the middle of 2020, and researchers are keen to further explore the wider potential of these technologies. Over the longer term, this will help to strengthen the research and innovation base in Cyprus, part of the wider goal of enhancing technological capacity beyond the EU’s traditional leaders, and of fostering a knowledge-based economy. The CyI is also leading the EU NESTER network, a twinning project funded by the EC’s Horizon 2020 programme, with the participation of some of Europe’s research leaders in the field: Aachen (D), CIEMAT (ES), CNRS(F) and ENEA (I), which helps build stronger relationships with other solar technology initiatives throughout Europe. Schematic drawing of the pioneering solar thermal cogeneration of desalinated sea water and electricity. Energy storage in molten salt endow it with 24/7 operational capability.

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Professor Costas N. Papanicolas The Cyprus Institute 20 Konstantinou Kavafi Street 2121, Aglantzia Nicosia Cyprus T: +35 7 22208703 E: coordination.energy@cyi.ac.cy W: https://www.cyi.ac.cy/index.php/eewrc/ research-information/ongoing-researchprojects/cystem.html Prof. Costas N. Papanicolas Professor Manuel Blanco

Prof. Manuel Jesus Blanco (European Research Area Chair): Holds a Ph.D. (Applied Physics) from the University of Massachusetts, USA, and a Doctor in Engineering from the University of Seville, Spain, and has over 30 years of experience contributing to the advancement of Concentrating Solar Thermal (CST) technologies internationally. He has held positions at CIEMAT and CENER (Spain), University of Texas (USA), and CSIRO (Australia). He is Vice-Chair of SolarPACES the Technology Collaboration Program of the International Energy Agency on CST and Solar Chemistry technologies. Prof. Costas N. Papanicolas (President of CyI): Holds BSc (Physics) and Ph.D.(Nuclear Physics) degrees from MIT and has over 35 years of research experience on the fields of Hadronic, Medical Physics, and in Solar Energy and Energy Policy. He has held positions at CEA (France), University of Illinois (USA), and University of Athens (Greece). He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and a member of the Academia Europe.