Project Title: Evaluation of Factors and Post-Fire Recovery Techniques in Mediterranean Forests Under a Climate Change Scenario: Connections Between Productivity and Soil Quality (repostfire).
- Principal Investigator 1: Manuela Andrés Abellán
- Principal Investigator 2: Francisco Antonio García Morote
Joint treatments will be applied to the soil and vegetation to improve soil quality and survival and growth rates of pines in three post-fire scenarios, in severely burned Pinus nigra and Pinus halepensis forests in Castilla-La Mancha: i) Pinus nigra stands (in Las Majadas, Serranía de Cuenca), without post-fire regeneration; ii) dense Pinus halepensis stand (in Hellín, Albacete, Sierra de los Donceles), with very high post-fire regeneration (>30,000 feet/ha); iii) clear Pinus halepensis stand (Sierra de Los Donceles), with incomplete post-fire regeneration (< 100 feet/ha).
Three bioremediation treatments will be carried out: i) application of vermicompost as an organic amendment; ii) bioaugmentation, with application of bacterial consortium B1 (pseudomonas plus water); iii) bioaugmentation, with application of bacterial consortium B2 (pseudomonas and bacillus, enriched with nutrients).
Soil quality in the different treatments will be evaluated using physicochemical, microbiological and enzymatic parameters, while the development of the treated vegetation will be analyzed using indicators such as survival rate, growth, and leaf biochemistry (carbohydrate content and chlorophyll levels). The DNA of soil samples from the treatments will be studied and sequenced to evaluate the establishment of microbial communities.
Project Title: High Voltage Lithium-Ion Battery Production through 3D Printing (PRO-Li 3D).
- Principal Investigator 1: Juan Carlos Pérez Flores
- Principal Investigator 2: Jesús Canales Vázquez
The PRO-Li 3D project aims to produce high specific and volumetric energy Li batteries by developing high voltage 3D electrodes using additive manufacturing technologies. Upon completion of the project, a solid-state (ceramic) battery will be manufactured using 3D printing as a technological demonstrator, operating at 4.2 V and presenting energy densities of at least 400 Wh/Kg after 100 charge/discharge cycles.
To achieve this, it will be necessary to meet the following specific objectives:
- Development of the feedstock with a high ceramic load for the manufacture of electrodes and electrolytes, compatible with the additive manufacturing technologies used.
- Design of meshed electrode geometries and definition of the 3D printing process to maximize the electrode-electrolyte contact area and optimize the contact between sheets of active material.
- 3D printing (FFF, Robocasting, SLA) of the electrodes and electrolytes, followed by optimized debinding and sintering treatments to ensure the functionality of the battery components.
- Characterization of the printed electrodes, both (micro)structural and electrical/electrochemical (half cells and complete cells), using conventional liquid electrolytes to evaluate their performance compared to the state of the art (benchmarking).
- 3D printing of a solid-state battery and electrochemical characterization from ceramic cathode-electrolyte assemblies, with monitoring of the stability of the SEI, and subsequent printing of the anode.
Project Title: Addressing Challenges in Future Networks: Boosting Renewable Energies as Dynamic Participants in Electrical Systems (ChallengeREGrid).
- Principal Investigator 1: Emilio Gómez Lázaro
- Principal Investigator 2: Andrés Honrubia Escribano
The incessant increase in the presence of renewable energies in electrical systems, mainly wind and photovoltaic solar energy, gives rise to a series of technical challenges that must be urgently addressed in order to achieve an adequate participation of these non-manageable energy generation sources in the energy mix. In this scenario, the main objective of the ChallengeREGrid project is to address some of these challenges to continue guaranteeing the security, quality, and continuity of supply, as well as to achieve a more flexible operation of the network and an active and dynamic participation of these clean generation sources during such operation.
It should be noted, finally, that each and every one of the objectives pursued in this project make sense due to, on the one hand, the express support shown to this proposal by various entities in the field of renewable energies, such as the International Energy Agency (IEA), the Technological Platform of the Wind Sector (REOLTEC), the owner company of renewable plants “Planta Enersos III, S. L.”, the multinational of new technologies dedicated to wind “Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy”, or the Technical Standardization Committee CTN 221 “Wind energy generation systems”, and due to, on the other hand, the participation in the proposal of several technical managers and members of different working committees of international standards such as IEC 61400-21, IEC 61400-26 and IEC 61400-27.