ERiCSol

Interdepartmental research area at the University of Trento on renewable energy storage and solar fuels

 

 

 

Energy and the environment are key issues for the future of humanity. In Trentino, the energy sector has been designated as a strategic area by the Autonomous Province of Trento. Apart from the efforts of individual researchers, the University of Trento had not strategically invested in this field so far. ERiCSol aims to bridge this gap by establishing an interdepartmental area uniting the skills and knowledge base of UniTrento with those of three research centers: Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK), the National Research Council (CNR) and the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT). This project represents a unique opportunity to stimulate researchers to collaborate effectively and to create a single entity in the region that acts as an interface between research and society.

 

The purpose of ERiCSol is to establish an interdepartmental area for research on renewable energy and solar fuels, in order to create a local center of reference in Trento for research, development and professional training in the strategic energy sector. By building on the University’s know-how and encouraging collaboration among different departments, the project aims to make Trento more competitive at national and international level in the area of energy and the environment.

The project involves a network of research teams from five departments of the University: the department of Physics (DF), the department of Industrial Engineering (DII), the department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering (DICAM), the department of Economics and Management (DEM), and the Centre for Integrative Biology (CIBIO). These teams carry out high-level research on their own, as demonstrated by publications on prestigious scientific journals, participation in international conferences, collaborations with public and private entities and science awards. The number and scientific focus of the departments involved reflects the multidisciplinarity of the project, which also includes scientific collaborations with researchers from FBK, CNR-Nanotech and the IIT in Rovereto.

The project attracted researchers with expertise in the creation and characterization of advanced materials and devices for the conversion of renewable energy. ERiCSol will help intensify research for:

  1. the development of novel materials and devices to harness solar irradiation in photocatalytic reactions and store it in clean fuels through electro-chemical devices
  2. the use of innovative techniques for the production of such materials and devices
  3. the development of models to assess the economic efficiency of the identified technologies
  4. the development of models to support the design, optimization and operative management of energy storage systems
  5. the use of renewable energy for recycling
  6. the use of terrestrial renewable energy

 

ERiCSol promotes:

  • research in the area of renewable energy conversion, energy storage systems, energy efficiency of buildings;
  • education and training activities to train researchers in the area of renewable energy;
  • dissemination events through a website, a two-year school on renewable energy and an annual conference entitled. The annual conference is the Energy Day (here the link for the past edition). In 2020 the Energy Day will be held on 6th March (here the link).

 

Read the full article in UNITRENTOMAG: L'università verso l'energia del futuro