The University of Silesia in Katowice has become a member of the consortium implementing the project entitled „Electro-Intrusion. Simultaneous transformation of ambient heat and undersired vibrations into electricity via nanotriboelectrification during non-wetting liquid intrusion-extrusion into-from nanopores”. The project is funded under Horizon 2020 Programme as part of the prestigious FET Proactive competition. The team performing selected research tasks at our University is composed of Assoc. Prof. Mirosław Chorążewski, Professor of the University of Silesia (project manager), Dr Alexander Lowe and Assoc. Prof. Monika Geppert-Rybczyńska, Professor of the University of Silesia.
The project is intended to develop new, more efficient methods for the conversion of waste heat and undesired mechanical vibrations into useful electricity. Cooperation betwen the consortium members will result in the construction of a prototype of device for recovering both thermal and mechanical waste energy generated as a result of mechanical vibrations and thermal processes.
Such is the intended use of regeneration shock absorber, which will be applied e.g. in modern hybrid and electric cars. Based on the data from the European Environment Agency, the use of the proposed technological solution only in the car industry may reduce general electricity consumption in the European Union by 1-4% by 2050. The developed solution may also significantly impact the EU’s position in terms of innovation, market competitiveness and energy industry security.
Research team: (from the left) Assoc. Prof. Mirosław Chorążewski, Professor of the University of Silesia (project manager), Assoc. Prof. Monika Geppert-Rybczyńska, Professor of the University of Silesia and Dr Alexander Lowe during data analysis.
Photo by Julia Agnieszka Szymala
Research team: (from the left) Assoc. Prof. Monika Geppert-Rybczyńska, Professor of the University of Silesia, Assoc. Prof. Mirosław Chorążewski, Professor of the University of Silesia (project manager) and Dr Alexander Lowe at the research equipment – the moment of precise sample framing in tensiometer.
Photo by Julia Agnieszka Szymala
Scientists carrying out the project entitled „Electro-Intrusion. Simultaneous transformation of ambient heat and undersired vibrations into electricity via nanotriboelectrification during non-wetting liquid intrusion-extrusion into-from nanopores” – in the foreground is a globally unique high-pressure calorimeter (scanning transitiometer).
Photo by Julia Agnieszka Szymala
The following units form the consortium together with the University of Silesia in Katowice: Universita degli Studi di Ferrara (Italy), University of Birmingham (Great Britain), National Technical University of Ukraine „Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute” (Ukraine) and Tenneco company (Belgium). The consortium leader is the Centre of Cooperative Research on Alternative Energie (CIC energiGUNE) from Basque Research and Technology Alliance (Spain).
FET Proactive Horizon 2020, under which the project is executed, is a competition addressed to researchers representing various scientific disciplines, who work together with entrepreneurs (from the concept to implementation) on innovative technological solutions which may have a significant impact on the future of the world that surrounds us. The amount of funding for the whole project is over EUR 3.6 million. The research will be carried out in 2020-2024.