Presentation

In the context of energy transition and the fight against climate change, island territories such as Réunion Island face a twofold challenge: a strong dependence on imported fossil fuels and increased vulnerability to environmental impacts. Decarbonising the transport sector, which is a major emitter of greenhouse gases, is therefore a strategic priority for meeting climate targets and strengthening the territory’s energy autonomy.

Among the solutions being considered, the development of renewable alternative fuels, such as biohydrogen and biomethane, offers promising prospects. The valorisation of local organic waste (green waste, agricultural effluents, agro-industrial by-products) appears to be a relevant lever for producing energy while aligning with a circular economy logic. However, several scientific, technological and economic barriers still limit the deployment of these supply chains at the local level, notably the variability of resources, low biological yields and the lack of a structured hydrogen supply chain.

The H2RUN project – Biohydrogen production from green waste for the transport sector in Réunion Island – is part of this dynamic. It aims to explore and optimise innovative processes for producing biohydrogen and biomethane from local resources, combining dark fermentation, anaerobic digestion and hybrid approaches coupled with water electrolysis. The project draws on an interdisciplinary approach at the interface of biological engineering, environmental sciences and energy economics.

Funded under the ERDF 2021-2027 programme (Climate Energy), the H2RUN project has a budget of €799,743.68, co-financed by the European Union (85%) and the Région Réunion (15%). It is led by the ENERGY-Lab and PIMENT research units, in partnership with the CHEMBIOPRO research laboratory (UR), the BioWooEB research unit (CIRAD) and the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education (Netherlands).

This project thus contributes to the structuring of a local alternative fuel supply chain, in response to the energy, environmental and territorial challenges specific to Réunion Island.

Objectives

The H2RUN project aims to develop a complete value chain for the production of alternative fuels from organic waste, based on several specific objectives:

1. Characterisation of local resources

Identify and quantify the organic waste deposits that can be mobilised on the territory, and assess their hydrogen and methane production potential.

2. Development and optimisation of biological processes

Implement and improve dark fermentation processes for hydrogen production, coupled with anaerobic digestion for methane production, while optimising yields through pre-treatments and the use of biochar.

3. Scale-up and process integration

Study the transition from laboratory to larger-scale systems, as well as coupling with complementary technologies such as water electrolysis.

4. Feasibility assessment and end uses

Analyse the techno-economic and environmental viability of a local supply chain, particularly for applications in heavy mobility (passenger and freight transport).

Dessimination

The H2RUN project aims to produce concrete results that can be directly mobilised at the territorial level.

The main expected results are:

• A better understanding of local resources: characterisation of organic waste deposits and their energy potential, enabling the steering of valorisation strategies.
• Technological advances: optimisation of biohydrogen and biomethane production processes, improvement of yields and experimentation with innovative hybrid solutions.
• An assessment of territorialised energy scenarios: analysis of the conditions for deploying an alternative fuel supply chain in Réunion Island, integrating the technical, economic and logistical constraints specific to the territory.
• Scientific outcomes: production of scientific articles, participation in conferences and strengthening of the positioning of the laboratories involved in the field of bioenergies.
• An environmental and socio-economic impact: contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, valorisation of local waste and support for the emergence of an energy circular economy.

Through these results, the H2RUN project contributes to building a more sustainable energy model, adapted to island specificities, and to the structuring of a hydrogen supply chain in Réunion Island.

Partners

Partenaires financiers

Le projet est financé par l’Union européenne via le FEDER et cofinancé par la Région Réunion, dans le cadre du programme 2021-2027 dédié à l’excellence en recherche et innovation dans le domaine Climat Énergie.

Academic partners

Le projet repose sur une collaboration entre acteurs académiques :

• CIRAD : BioWooEB

• IHE Delft Institute for Water Education

Contact

Scientific project leader:
dominique.grondin@univ-reunion.fr
laetitia.adelard@univ-reunion.fr

Management team associated with the project at ENERGY-Lab:
michel.benne@univ-reunion.fr
dominique.grondin@univ-reunion.fr

Management team associated with the project at the PIMENT Laboratory:
mathieu.david@univ-reunion.fr
laetitia.adelard@univ-reunion.fr

Presentation

Our century is defined by a race against time to limit global warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels, as agreed in the Paris Agreement by 192 Parties in December 2015. In this context, the massive deployment of intermittent renewable energies (RE) is a national and European priority, particularly in non-interconnected island territories such as La Réunion, where grid stability relies on energy storage and decarbonized hydrogen production.

Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis (PEMWE) is a key technology for converting surplus renewable electricity into hydrogen. However, the accumulation of oxygen bubbles at the anode significantly reduces system performance and durability. These complex two-phase phenomena (bubbly, slug, and stagnated regimes) lead to partial coverage of the active surface, increased overpotentials, and accelerated component degradation.

To overcome these bottlenecks, artificial intelligence represents a breakthrough innovation. Pioneering work carried out by Idriss Sinapan led to the development of deep learning-based bubble detection and recognition tools (YOLO), initially in single-class and then in multi-class configurations, combined with a transparent PEMWE cell and a high-resolution video acquisition system on the SysPacRevers test bench. These approaches have already enabled precise quantification of coverage rates, bubble counts, and flow dynamics, as well as the identification of counter-intuitive phenomena related to water flow rate and current density.

The H2-DurabilitAI project – Improving H2 system durability through AI, led by Idriss Sinapan as principal investigator, builds on this body of work. It aims to establish a comprehensive experimental database, develop an advanced AI pipeline (multi-class detection/segmentation, non-uniformity heat maps, bubble residence time estimation), and propose new component topologies and optimizations, in partnership with Fraunhofer ISE for experimental validation.

The H2-DurabilitAI project is funded by the European Union in the amount of €167,924.67 under the ERDF-ESF+ Réunion 2021–2027 programme, for which the Région Réunion serves as the Managing Authority. Europe is committed to La Réunion through ERDF funding. The Région Réunion supplements this funding with a national counterpart contribution.

This project strengthens local expertise in artificial intelligence applied to hydrogen and contributes to the decarbonization and energy resilience of the Réunion territory, while promoting open innovation through the public release of the database and the AI model on GitHub.

Objectives

This project builds on the pioneering work of Idriss Sinapan, which led to the development of deep learning-based oxygen bubble detection and recognition tools in PEMWE electrolyzers. This work enabled, for the first time, a multi-class analysis (bubbly, slug, and stagnated) of bubble dynamics at the anode, using a transparent PEMWE cell coupled with a high-resolution video acquisition system on the SysPacRevers test bench.

The H2-DurabilitAI project continues and expands upon this work through four specific objectives:

1. Large-scale data acquisition and establishment of an experimental database

The objective is to generate a rich, multi-condition database on the transparent PEMWE. Several tasks are carried out:

• Recommissioning and calibration of the SysPacRevers test bench;
• High-resolution video acquisition synchronized with operating signals (current density, water flow rate, temperature, pressure, channel and porous medium topologies);
• Structuring, organization, and open sharing of data via a NAS system.

2. Development of an artificial intelligence pipeline for bubble analysis

The objective is to create an advanced AI tool dedicated to the detailed analysis of two-phase phenomena. Several tasks are carried out:

• Development of a multi-class bubble detection/segmentation model (bubbly, slug, stagnated);
• Generation of coverage non-uniformity heat maps;
• Implementation of bubble tracking to compute dynamic indicators such as residence time and mean evacuation time;
• Post-processing and performance evaluation (mAP, IoU, etc.).

3. Analysis of results and proposal of new topologies and optimizations

The objective is to leverage AI-derived indicators to improve PEMWE performance and durability. Several tasks are carried out:

• Comparative analysis of bubble regimes according to operating conditions and topologies;
• Proposal of component modifications (channels, porous transport layer, MEA assembly);
• Validation in partnership with Fraunhofer ISE.

4. Dissemination, outreach, and preparation of future projects

The objective is to ensure the dissemination of results and the strengthening of local expertise. Tasks include:

• Publication of results in a Category A scientific journal;
• Public release of the AI model and database on GitHub;
• Preparation of analysis reports and recommendations;
• Prefiguration of a Horizon Europe consortium.

Dissemination

The H2-DurabilitAI project aims to produce concrete and reusable results, both scientifically and technologically, with a strong territorial impact.

The main expected outcomes are:

• A rich and open experimental database: Collection and structuring of a large volume of high-resolution videos synchronized with operating conditions (current density, flow rates, temperature, pressure, topologies). This database will constitute a valuable resource for the international scientific community working on two-phase phenomena in PEMWE electrolyzers.
• An advanced artificial intelligence tool: Development of a high-performance AI pipeline for multi-class bubble detection (bubbly, slug, stagnated), generation of non-uniformity heat maps, and computation of dynamic indicators (residence time, coverage rate, etc.). The model and source code will be made available as open source on GitHub to promote reproducibility and collaborative innovation.
• Scientific and technological advances: Publication of results in a Category A scientific journal, including a comparative analysis of bubble regimes and component optimization recommendations (flow channels, porous transport layer, MEA assembly). This work will significantly improve the performance and durability of PEM electrolyzers.
• Strengthening of local expertise and international outreach: Development of computer vision expertise applied to hydrogen within ENERGY-Lab, strengthening of the partnership with Fraunhofer ISE, and preparation of a consortium for Horizon Europe projects.

Through these deliverables, the H2-DurabilitAI project will contribute to reducing green hydrogen production costs and to the energy resilience of island territories, concretely supporting the ecological transition of La Réunion.

Partners

Financial partners

The H2-DurabilitAI project is funded by the European Union under the ERDF-ESF+ Réunion programme, for which the Réunion Region is the Managing Authority. Europe is committed to Réunion through the ERDF.

Academic partners

Fraunhofer ISE (Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems) – Germany

Discussions are underway with Fraunhofer ISE regarding a scientific partnership, particularly on the use of AI for the segmentation and analysis of porous media from 3D images acquired by laser microscopy. This collaboration would extend the scope of the H2-DurabilitAI project towards the detailed characterization of internal components of PEMWE electrolyzers.

Contact

• Project coordinator:
  • idriss.sinapan@univ-reunion.fr
• Project leader:
  • amangoua.kadjo@univ-reunion.fr
• Management team associated with the project at ENERGY-Lab:
  • michel.benne@univ-reunion.fr
  • dominique.grondin@univ-reunion.fr
  • cedric.damour@univ-reunion.fr

Presentation

Objectives

The LIGHTEN-IO project builds on the achievements of the SWIO-Energy partnership (2020-2023) and the IOS-net network (2019-2022) to move from bilateral scientific exchanges to the structuring of a genuine regional network dedicated to green hydrogen. It is organised around four specific objectives:

1. Structuring and coordinating a SWIO stakeholder network

The objective is to design a concerted strategy for the deployment of green hydrogen across the South-West Indian Ocean. Several tasks are carried out:

• Organisation of a kick-off seminar in Réunion and definition of deliverables, roles and milestones;
• Development of a shared regional strategy among SWIO partners;
• Establishment of a monitoring system for territorial initiatives;
• Coordination of regular training workshops and working meetings with partners.

2. Generation of regionalised climate and energy data

The objective is to produce harmonised, open datasets enabling the fine-grained assessment of renewable resources. Several tasks are carried out:

• Collection, ingestion and normalisation of climate, meteorological and energy data from in-situ observations, satellite products and climate simulations;
• Training in downscaling tools (LSCE) and development of a statistical downscaling tool based on U-Net architectures (Keras/TensorFlow);
• Production of climate fields at high spatial and temporal resolution from global model outputs;
• Distribution of data via an open-access THREDDS Data Server, accompanied by a data management plan and a data paper.

3. Assessment of green hydrogen potential and decarbonisation scenarios

The objective is to leverage regionalised data to support specific case studies and inform public decision-making. Several tasks are carried out:

• Training in the RESkit tool (IEK-3, Jülich) and assessment of green hydrogen development potential;
• Study of climate change impacts and land-use changes;
• Comparative analysis of SWIO territories and development of sectoral decarbonisation scenarios;
• Organisation of scientific conferences on the regionalisation of renewable energies and green hydrogen production in the SWIO area.

4. Dissemination, outreach and regional structuring

The objective is to ensure the dissemination of results and the sustainability of the network. Tasks include:

• Publication of scientific articles (statistical downscaling, green hydrogen potential, decarbonisation scenarios);
• Open-source release of source code and datasets;
• Production of a project website and a documentary series for outreach purposes;
• Organisation of the final seminar and training workshops in target territories.

Dissemination

The LIGHTEN-IO project aims to deliver concrete, reusable outputs with strong scientific and territorial impact across the SWIO region.

The main expected outcomes are:

• An open, interoperable database: collection, harmonisation and distribution of a significant volume of climate, meteorological and energy data through a THREDDS Data Server, accompanied by enriched metadata and a data management plan. This resource will provide a valuable asset for the scientific community and energy-transition stakeholders across the South-West Indian Ocean.
• A deep-learning-based statistical downscaling tool: development of a pipeline using U-Net architectures, enabling the generation of regionalised climate projections at high spatial resolution with lower computational cost compared to traditional dynamical downscaling approaches. The source code will be released as open source to foster reproducibility and replicability to other island regions facing similar challenges.
• Territorialised energy and decarbonisation scenarios: assessment of green hydrogen production potential across SWIO territories, analysis of climate change impacts on renewable resources, and development of sectoral decarbonisation scenarios designed to inform public policy.
• Scientific advances and regional outreach: publication of scientific articles (statistical downscaling, green hydrogen potential, decarbonisation scenarios), organisation of two thematic conferences, and delivery of a final seminar. These outputs will strengthen ENERGY-Lab’s positioning as a regional hub on green hydrogen issues in insular environments.
• Capacity building and regional structuring: cross-training between partners (LSCE, IEK-3/Jülich), workshops in target territories, and the establishment of shared regional governance. In doing so, the project transforms a still-blurred regional vision into a precise, operational local strategy for the deployment of the green hydrogen value chain.

Through these deliverables, LIGHTEN-IO will contribute to reducing the cost of access to strategic climate information, assessing the viability of green hydrogen as a regional energy carrier, and enhancing the energy resilience of the island territories of the South-West Indian Ocean.

Partners

Financial partners

The LIGHTEN-IO project is funded by the European Union under the INTERREG VI Indian Ocean 2021-2027 programme (Action Sheet 1.3), with the Région Réunion acting as Managing Authority. Europe is committed in Réunion through ERDF funding, complemented by a matching contribution from the Région Réunion.

Academic partners

• Université des Mascareignes (UdM) — Mauritius: expertise in renewable energies (solar, wind), energy efficiency and dynamical downscaling. Previous SWIO-Energy partner (2020-2023).
• University of Mauritius (UoM) — Mauritius: expertise in renewable energies and both dynamical and statistical downscaling. Previous SWIO-Energy partner (2020-2023).
• Institut Supérieur de Technologie d’Antananarivo (IST-T) — Madagascar: expertise in renewable energy systems and energy transition in Madagascar; gateway to local energy professionals.
• University of Nairobi (UoN) — Kenya: expertise in hydrogen production pathways and artificial-intelligence methods applied to statistical downscaling.
• Université des Comores (UC) — Comoros: gateway to academic and professional energy stakeholders in the Comoros. Previous IOS-net partner (2019-2022).

Institutional partners

• Forschungszentrum Jülich (IEK-3) — Germany: expertise in renewable potential assessment tools (GLAES, RESkit) and associated training.
• Météo-France — Réunion Island: access to regional meteorological data.
• Seychelles Meteorological Authority (SMA) — Seychelles: provision of SMA station data and expertise on South-West Indian Ocean climate. Previous IOS-net partner (2019-2022).

Contact

• Scientific coordinator:
  • beatrice.morel@univ-reunion.fr
• ENERGY-Lab management team involved in the project:
  • michel.benne@univ-reunion.fr
  • dominique.grondin@univ-reunion.fr
  • cedric.damour@univ-reunion.fr

Presentation

Within the framework of the European ERDF-ESF+ Programme 2021-2027, Action Sheet 1.1.13 “Supporting Réunion’s integration into the European Research Area (ERA), Indian Ocean and international spaces”, the beneficiary commits to carrying out the following operation, funded by the ERDF:

“BECOME: BEnefits of COmplementarity of interMittent Energies”

The purpose of this operation is to contribute to Réunion’s energy transition towards a 100% renewable electricity mix, by examining the potential benefits of complementarity between solar and wind resources, as well as their hybridisation in future energy systems.

The content of the operation referred to in this article, as well as its implementation arrangements, are described in the attached annexes — specifying in particular the objective, the eligible cost of the subsidised operation, the description of investments supported by structural funds, the provisional implementation schedule, project-related indicators and publicity obligations. These annexes, together with this document, constitute the contractual components of the agreement.

The BECOME project is funded by the European Union in the amount of €153,099.75 under the ERDF-ESF+ Réunion programme, for which the Réunion Region is the Managing Authority. Europe is committed to Réunion through the ERDF. The Réunion Region supplements this funding with a national counterpart of €24,010.72, for a total budget of €177,110.47, fully covered.

Objectives

1. General objective
   To quantitatively characterise the complementarity properties of solar and wind resources and explore the economic, environmental and technical benefits of their hybridisation, in order to facilitate Réunion’s energy transition towards a 100% renewable electricity mix.
2. Specific objectives
   • Building a high-resolution database for renewable energy studies in Réunion
   • Quantifying solar-wind complementarity (temporal, spatial, spatio-temporal)
   • Identifying the benefits of hybrid solar-wind-battery power plants for Réunion
3. Scientific / technological challenges
   Lack of a consistent high-resolution database for solar and wind resources in Réunion. Solar-wind complementarity insufficiently documented in non-interconnected zones (NIZ). Optimisation of hybrid configurations under tropical island meteorological constraints. Integration of intermittent energies into an isolated electrical grid with high energy dependency.
4. Work packages (WP)
   Action 1: Data collection and processing (M1-M8)
   Action 2: Complementarity analysis and hybrid system optimisation (M6-M24)

Dissemination

1. Scientific impacts
   • First comprehensive study of solar-wind complementarity in Réunion
   • Contribution to the knowledge of renewable resources in tropical non-interconnected zones
   • Reproducible methodologies for complementarity analysis applicable to other island territories
2. Socio-economic impacts
   • Reduction of storage needs through optimisation of solar-wind combinations
   • Potential decrease in electricity costs (currently ~€300/MWh)
   • Decision-support for renewable energy investments
3. Territorial / environmental impacts
   • Contribution to Réunion’s energy self-sufficiency
   • Increase in the share of local intermittent energies in the electricity mix
   • Reduction of dependency on imported fossil fuels (target: 100% renewable)
   • Mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions
4. Valorisation activities
   • Open-access databases for research and industry
   • Complementarity index mapping for siting guidance
   • Optimal hybrid power plant configurations adapted to local conditions
5. Dissemination activities
   • Project web page
   • Open-access scientific publications
   • Final dissemination seminar open to energy transition stakeholders

Partners

Financial partners

The BECOME project is funded by the European Union under the ERDF-ESF+ Réunion programme, for which the Réunion Region is the Managing Authority. Europe is committed to Réunion through the ERDF.

Academic partners

The project involves a partnership with DTU Wind Energy, part of the Technical University of Denmark, a Danish academic partner. Its central role focuses on wind energy expertise, particularly through internationally recognised tools such as the Global Wind Atlas, WAsP and HyDesign, which will support resource analyses and hybrid configuration optimisation within the project.

Contact

• Project coordinator:
  • chao.tang@univ-reunion.fr
• Scientific lead for ENERGY-Lab:
  • Beatrice.Morel@univ-reunion.fr
• Associate professors on the project at ENERGY-Lab:
  • michel.benne@univ-reunion.fr

Presentation

This century is marked by a race against time to limit global warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels, as agreed in the Paris Agreement by 192 Parties in December 2015 [1]. In this context, technologies using decarbonized hydrogen have become a national priority for many countries [2, 3]. As disruptive innovations, they promise to decarbonize the most energy-intensive sectors (industry, transport, energy storage) and to reduce the real costs (environmental, climatic, health-related) across the energy value chain, from conversion to end-use [4]. In particular, they play a crucial role in decarbonizing the steel and fertilizer industries, electrifying heavy transport, and storing electricity from intermittent or seasonal renewable energy sources (RES). On the scale of non-interconnected grids, such as those in island territories, the hybridization of multi-source conversion units relies on the deployment of storage systems, both to decouple energy production and demand from the availability of local RES and to manage the complementarity of variable and flexible resources. Storing energy in the form of hydrogen and its stationary reconversion into electricity help mitigate the intermittency of variable RES by optimizing electrical production capacity.

Currently, the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is the most widely adopted fuel cell technology [6]. However, it faces technological challenges that must be overcome for large-scale commercialization, such as low power densities, high costs, and limited lifespan [7]. In particular, the transient operating conditions induced by RES variability lead to performance, reliability, and durability issues in hydrogen systems: cell degradation, premature aging, or the occurrence of faults (water management, corrosion, etc.). To address these challenges, global institutions have set several development targets for PEMFCs. Regarding power and current density improvements, the European Union aims to reach 1.2 W·cm⁻² at 0.675 V by 2030 [8], while Japan targets 6 kW·L⁻¹ and 3.8 A·cm⁻² for the same year [7]. For cost reduction, the European Union seeks a price below €50/kW by 2030 for fuel cells in heavy-duty vehicles [8]. Finally, concerning lifespan, the European Union aims for 30,000 operating hours for hydrogen buses by 2030 [8].

Numerical modeling of fuel cells contributes to achieving these development goals. Indeed, models provide insights into the internal states of cells that traditional sensors cannot capture, as placing them directly inside the ultra-thin cell layers is impractical. With this precise information, PEMFC diagnostics can be enhanced [9, 10]. This enables more effective real-time control of fuel cells by adjusting operating conditions—such as pressure, temperature, humidity, and gas flow rates—which can improve performance, prevent faults like cell flooding, and reduce degradation.

The general objectives of the OPUS-H2: « Optimization of Performance and dUrability of hydrogen Systems using an advanced digital twin » project, led by Prof. Michel Benne and running from May 2025 to May 2027, are to significantly contribute to the development of numerical models for PEM fuel cells in order to improve their performance and durability, as well as to build experimental expertise in collaboration with ZSW, a well-established European partner in the field, with the aim of transferring these skills to Réunion Island. The sharing of knowledge and cross-disciplinary expertise within this partnership will foster innovation and research. 

The OPUS-H2 project is funded by the European Union with a grant of €136,060.78 under the FEDER-FSE+ Réunion program, with the Réunion Region acting as the managing authority. Through the FEDER fund, Europe is committed to supporting Réunion. The Région Réunion complements this funding with a national co-financing contribution of €24,010.72.

Sources:
[1] The Paris Agreement, United Nations 2015 (https://unfccc.int/documents/9064)
[2] The Future of Hydrogen. Seizing Todayʼs Opportunities, IEA 2019 (https://www.iea.org/reports/the-future-of-hydrogen)
[3] Y. Wang et al. 2011 (10.1016/j.apenergy.2010.09.030)
[4] Panchenko et al. 2023 (10.1016/j.ijhydene.2022.10.084)
[5] Stratégie Nationale Pour Le Développement de l’hydrogène Décarboné En France, Gouvernement français, Dossier de Presse 2020 (https://www.economie.gouv.fr/presentation-strategie-nationale-developpement-hydrogene-decarbone-france)
[6] A. Dicks et al. 2018 (ISBN 978-1-118-70697-8 978-1-118-61352-8)
[7] K. Jiao et al. 2021 (10.1038/s41586-021-03482-7)
[8] Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking. Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda 2021 – 2027 (https://www.clean-hydrogen.europa.eu/about-us/key-documents/strategic-research-and-innovation-agenda_en)
[9] Fei Gao et al 2010 (10.1109/TIE.2009.2021177)
[10] J. Luna et al 2016 (10.1016/j.jpowsour.2016.08.019)

Objectives

This project builds upon the doctoral work of Raphaël Gass, which led to the development of a dynamic 1D physical model of a PEM cell with auxiliaries, named AlphaPEM, serving as a building block for a fuel cell digital twin. Based on this model, a control strategy for inlet humidity was formulated, theoretically enabling a 60% increase in cell power output or a 15% improvement in efficiency.

The OPUS-H2 project advances this work through five specific objectives:

1. Development of the digital twin and inlet humidity control strategy by adding new functionalities to AlphaPEM.

   • The first aim is to improve the accuracy of the AlphaPEM model by enabling it to simulate additional physical phenomena. Six tasks are implemented to achieve this:
     • refining the model simulating electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) curves,
     • adding a thermal phenomena model to AlphaPEM,
     • incorporating the microporous layer (MPL) into the PEM cell modeling,
     • using improved auxiliary control tools,
     • increasing the spatial dimension of the single-cell model to 1D+1D,
     • precisely characterizing multiple cells forming a stack.
   • The second aim is to enhance the inlet humidity control strategy developed in previous work. Three tasks are implemented to achieve this:
     • using improved tools for controlling operating conditions,
     • further developing the theory on the limiting liquid water quantity (slim), established in prior work, linking voltage drop at high current densities, liquid water content in the cell, and its operating conditions,
     • refining the inlet humidity control strategy based on the results of this action.

2. Conducting experiments on test benches to validate AlphaPEM and verify performance gains obtained through simulations.

   • The objective is to perform experimental tests on the European partner’s equipment to validate AlphaPEM improvements and the proposed inlet humidity control strategy. Three tasks are implemented to achieve this:
     • generating polarization and EIS curves under different fixed operating conditions on near-single-cell stacks,
     • generating polarization and EIS curves under model-controlled operating conditions on near-single-cell stacks,
     • repeating tests on stacks of around one hundred cells.

3. Integration of models into the digital twin to estimate cell degradation state and remaining system lifespan.

   • The objective is to enable AlphaPEM to account for the current degradation state of an experimental stack and incorporate this impact into the results. Two tasks are implemented to achieve this:
     • integrating a model to estimate electrochemical surface area (ECSA) degradation in the catalytic layer into AlphaPEM,
     • integrating a model to calculate the system’s remaining useful life (RUL).

4. Development of model-based control strategies to maintain optimal performance and reduce degradation over the cell’s lifetime.

   • The objective is to apply the theory produced in the objective 3 to create an operating condition control strategy that maximizes performance and minimizes future degradation in an aged stack. Two tasks are implemented to achieve this:
     • developing a control strategy for operating conditions, based on AlphaPEM, to maintain maximum performance of an aged stack at all stages of its life,
     • developing a control strategy for operating conditions, based on AlphaPEM, to minimize future degradation of an aged stack at all stages of its life.

5. Conducting accelerated degradation experiments on test benches (single cells and stacks) to validate digital twin enhancements and formulated control strategies.

   • The objective is to perform experiments on the European partner’s test benches to validate the proposals from objectives 4 and 5. Three tasks are implemented to achieve this:
     • conducting accelerated degradation experiments without modifying operating conditions on near-single-cell stacks,
     • conducting accelerated degradation experiments with operating condition control strategies on near-single-cell stacks,
     • repeating tests on stacks of around one hundred cells. 

Dissemination

The OPUS-H2 project : « Optimization of Performance and Durability of Hydrogen Systems using an Advanced Digital Twin » aims to promote the sustainable development of hydrogen systems and the energy transition toward a low-carbon economy. This will strengthen energy security in territories while reducing their dependence on imported energy resources. Knowledge sharing and cross-disciplinary expertise within the European Union network, combined with regional initiatives, will foster innovation and research in this field. The project’s outcomes (open-access digital twin and control strategies) will benefit all stakeholders in the energy transition (research institutes, industries, economic actors, etc.).

From a scientific perspective, the project will first provide the scientific community with an open-source fuel cell simulator, specialized for control applications—something not currently available at such an advanced level in the literature. Next, it will deepen the understanding of the relationship between voltage drop at high currents, liquid water content in the cell, and operating conditions through theoretical developments and experimental testing. Following this, control strategies to improve fuel cell performance will be experimentally validated. Additionally, the project will integrate and experimentally test cell degradation physics into the simulator to develop a model accounting for fuel cell aging. Resulting control strategies to extend fuel cell lifespan will then be experimentally assessed. Finally, the project will enable the candidate to acquire technical expertise on modern hydrogen test benches from the European partner, allowing these skills to be transferred to Réunion Island.

Partners

Funding partners

The OPUS-H2 project is funded by the European Union under the FEDER-FSE+ Réunion program, with the Réunion Region acting as the managing authority. Through the FEDER fund, Europe is committed to supporting Réunion.

Academic partners

The OPUS-H2 project aims to sustainably connect Réunion Island to the European research ecosystem by promoting interoperability and collaboration. Its main objective is to establish strong links to fully integrate the island into the European network. To this end, a new partnership has been formed with the ZSW research center (The Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg) in Ulm, Germany. This laboratory is one of the most significant in the European Union for fuel cell modeling and testing on experimental benches.

Contact

• Project Coordinator:
  • raphael.gass@univ-reunion.fr
• Scientific Manager for Energy-Lab:
  • michel.benne@univ-reunion.fr
• Associated professors at Energy-Lab:
  • dominique.grondin@univ-reunion.fr
  • cedric.damour@univ-reunion.fr

Presentation

DeepRun – Deep Learning for Reunion Energy Autonomy

The intelligent specialisation strategy for research and innovation S3 2021-2027 of the Réunion Region seeks to achieve the objective, among many others, of electrical autonomy by 2023 (Siby, 2020). And the regional programme “Green Revolution, La Réunion île solaire et terre d’innovation” proposes to further encourage renewable sources (solar, wind, thermal, biomass) and to store unused energy by sustainable means. Priority areas 1 and 4 of the ERDF programme are to invest in the levers of growth and to move towards energy transition and electrical autonomy. Two levers are available: the first is the increase of renewable energies (biomass, solar, etc.) and the second is the control of intermittent energies (solar and wind) through hydrogen storage.

By 2023, coal-fired power stations will have to be converted to biomass power stations (ALBIOMA, 2020). However, to date there is no detailed mapping of the agricultural area on Reunion Island, making it difficult to characterise the agricultural areas on the scale of the island. Remote sensing using satellite images offers a means of producing large-scale knowledge of soils at a reasonable cost. This image capture not only makes it possible to reach areas that are difficult to access, but also opens up the possibility of periodic revisits for project monitoring. Vegetation is easily distinguished from concrete (Gaetano et al., 2018). However, differentiating sugarcane from maize, or wooded Creole orchards with satellite resolutions is a much more difficult task. Here, recent Deep Learning approaches promise to efficiently analyse the phenomenal amounts of data (Watanabe et al., 2020) and improve land use classifications while being easily exploitable by a user (Ayhan et al., 2020). These tools will thus be implemented in the DeepRun project to obtain fine maps of land use.

Among all the means of sustainable storage, hydrogen represents an energy vector of the future, very promising for the territory. In this sense, France has just launched the hydrogen recovery programme for 2030. Despite this, many technological and societal obstacles remain to be resolved. To reduce production costs, Japan, for example, has just inaugurated the largest electrolyser plant in the world. One of the many challenges is the lack of reliability through the occurrence of malfunctions (Dijoux et al., 2017). Conventional diagnostic tools only integrate external variables which are difficult to interpret with little sensitivity. The DeepRun project aims to improve the understanding and detection of these faults by integrating internal observations with classical tools. And, recent Deep Learning methods show excellent results in this kind of application (Haas et al., 2020).

The postdoctoral project DeepRun investigates in a transversal way artificial intelligence tools for image recognition in order to support a transition towards energy independence.

Postdoctoral project duration: 18 months (October 2021 – March 2022)

Objectives

Main objective

The main objective is the development of cross-sectional multi-scale image recognition tools, using Deep Learning algorithms, applied to the estimation of biomass resources for bioenergy production, and to the reliability of hydrogen converters for energy storage optimisation.

Expected outcomes

• Development and research of a deep learning tool that meets the operating constraints of the Reunionese territory.
• Multi-scale application of the developed method, fine detection of crop types on a plot scale, and recognition of bubble/drop regimes.
• Availability of research results to the scientific community and society.

R&D

The DeepRun project consists of three actions:

Action 1: Design of a multi-scale image recognition tool

• Bibliography on multi-scale Deep Learning image recognition tools
• Development of a scientific tool specific to the conditions of the Reunionese territory
  • Operation of hydrogen converters in a tropical environment (humidity and temperature)
  • Diversity of Reunionese cultures and steep relief
• Creation of databases with satellite images (Pléiades) and new truth maps from the DEAL REUNION / IGN
• Creation of databases for hydrogen converters

Action 2: Application to the recognition of land use on a landscape scale

• Detection of crop types and generation of fine maps of land use (1 per year)
• Cross-referencing of maps (risks, deposits, uses) for photovoltaic decision making

Action 3: Application on a microbubble scale at the electrochemical cell scale

• Creation of databases and detection of bubbles/droplets, then determination of operating regimes
• Coupling of the obtained spatial distributions to models and design of a multimodal diagnostic tool

Equipement

To complete the project, the postdoctoral researcher will be provided with computing machines at different scales:

• Local computing stations at ENERGY-lab and CIRAD
  • GPU: 2 x Nvidia Quadro RTX 4000 (8 Go) + 1 x Nvidia RTX 5500 (24 Go)
  • RAM: 128 Go
  • Storage: 4 To

• Mésocentre HPC et données Meso@LR
  • GPU: 2 modified Nvidia RTX 6000 (48 GB) visualisation nodes
  • RAM post: 3 To
  • Storage: 15 Po

• Supercalculateur HPE CNRS IDRIS Jean-Zay
  • GPU: 7 accelerated partitions, Nvidia V100 (16-32 Go), Nvidia A100 (40-80 Go), max 1024 GPUs/job
  • RAM post: 3 To
  • Storage: 30 Po

The hydrogen test bench of the SYSPACREVERS project is also available for experimentations:

Partenariats

Scientific partners

• CIRAD
  • Pierre Todoroff (pierre.todoroff@cirad.fr)
  • Lionel Le Mézo (lionel.le_mezo@cirad.fr)
  • Mickaël Mezino (mickael.mezino@cirad.fr)
  • Bertrand pitollat (bertrand.pitollat@cirad.fr)

• CNRS IDRIS (advanced support)
  • Maxime Song (maxime.song@idris.fr)
  • Pierre Cornette (pierre.cornette@idris.fr)

Financial partners

The DeepRun postdoctoral project is co-financed by the EU, the Réunion Region and the University of La Réunion, with the support of the DRARI.

Valorisation

Scientific articles

• Christophe Lin-Kwong-Chon, Cedric Damour, Michel Benne, Jean-Jacques Amangoua Kadjo, et Brigitte Grondin-Pérez, « Adaptive neural control of PEMFC system based on data-driven and reinforcement learning approaches », Control Engineering Practice, vol. 120, p. 105022, mars 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.conengprac.2021.105022.
• Christophe Lin-Kwong-Chon, Pierre Todoroff, Lionel Le Mezo, Michel Benne et Jean-Jacques Amangoua Kadjo, « Multi-level deep-based classification of land use and land cover: A case study on Réunion Island », Proceedings of the International Society of Sugar Cane Technologists, volume 31, xx–xx, 2023 (à paraitre)

Congregational acts

• Christophe Lin-Kwong-Chon, Kenza Benlamlih, Pierre Todoroff, Jean-Jacques Amangoua Kadjo, « Deep learning et imagerie satellitaire pour cartographier l’occupation du sol : performances et perspectives », RGR2021, 17 novembre 2021, sciencesconf.org:rgr2021:374451.
• Idriss Sinapan, Christophe Lin-Kwong-Chon, Cédric Damour, Michel Benne, Jean-Jacques Amangoua Kadjo, Optimisation des interfaces fluidiques dans un système de production d’hydrogène par électrolyse à partir des outils de reconnaissance d’images Deep Learning, CNRS Aussois FRH2, 2 juin 2022
• Christophe Lin-Kwong-Chon, Idriss Sinapan, Dominique Grondin, Michel Benne, Segmentation d’images pour la classification de données massives, TEMERGIE ValoREn, 1^er decembre 2022
• Christophe Lin-Kwong-Chon, Pierre Todoroff, Lionel Le Mezo, Michel Benne et Jean-Jacques Amangoua Kadjo, « Multi-level deep-based classification of land use and land cover: A case study on Réunion Island », ISSCT2023, Hyderabad, 2023

Posters

• Pierre Todoroff, Christophe Lin-Kwong-Chon, Kenza Benlamlih, Deep Learning et imagerie satellitaire pour cartographier l’occupation du sol : performances et perspectives, CST SIAAM, 15 novembre 2021
• Pierre Todoroff, Christophe Lin-Kwong-Chon et Kenza Benlamlih, Modèle d’apprentissage profond pour cartographier l’occupation du sol en zone tropicale à partir d’images THRS, SEAS-OI, 13 juin 2022
• Christophe Lin-Kwong-Chon, Pierre Todoroff, Mickaël Mezino, Lionel Le Mezo, Cartographie de l’occupation du sol par imagerie satellitaire et apprentissage profond : Premiers résultats, CST CapTerre, 24 novembre 2022

Land Usage and Land Cover mapping

• Reunion 2018 A2 300dpi
• Reunion 2020 A2 300dpi

Tools and interfaces

• DeepRun-GUI : A GUI application for deep learning model generation, model training and images inference. Source code.

Outreach activity

• Fête de la Sciences, 17 novembre 2022, 30ème édition, Université de La Réunion

Team

Laboratory Director and Scientific Director

Pr. Michel Benne (michel.benne@univ-reunion.fr )

DeepRun project leader

MCF HDR Jean-Jacques Amangoua Kadjo (amangoua.kadjo@univ-reunion.fr)

Scientific partner

Dr HDR Pierre Todoroff (pierre.todoroff@cirad.fr)

Postdoctoral student

Dr Christophe Lin-Kwong-Chon (christophe.lin-kwong-chon@univ-reunion.fr)

Contact

Contact : 

Laboratoire ENERGY-lab
Jean-Jacques Amangoua Kadjo
amangoua.kadjo@univ-reunion.fr
Tel : +262(0)262 938216

15, Avenue
René Cassin
CS 92003
97744 Saint-Denis Cedex 9
La Réunion

Objective 1

Objective 1: Monitoring of the Mafate micro-grid (from May 2019 to May 2021):
In this work, we propose to carry out a technical monitoring of the electrification project of the SAGES station located in Mafate “La Nouvelle”. The evaluation criteria will mainly be based on electrochemical and electrical performance criteria of the installation (KPI, Key Performance Indicators). The main objective will be to subsequently propose a control and diagnostic strategy based on fuel cells and alkaline electrolysers, but also to put forward a techno-economic strategy regarding the deployment of micro-grid systems across Réunion Island.
Results and deliverables:

• Industrial monitoring reports

Objective 2

Objective 2 — Development of a diagnostic strategy for low-pressure PEM electrolysers (May 2020 to May 2021):
The work carried out by Aubras et al. (IJHE 2017[1]) led to the development of a numerical and analytical model capable of characterising the operating ranges specific to low-pressure PEM electrolysers. This work was carried out in partnership with University College London (UCL) and Université Grenoble Alpes (LEPMI). Building on this physical approach, the next step is to develop a control strategy similar to the one developed in fuel-cell mode in the work of Lebreton et al.[2] and Damour et al.[3], this time focused on PEM electrolyser technology.
Deliverables and results:

• Journal article: Aubras, F., Damour, C., Benne, M., Bessafi, M., Grondin-Perez, B., Kadjo, A. J. J., & Deseure, J. (2021). A Non-Intrusive Signal-Based Fault Diagnosis Method for Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyzer Using Empirical Mode Decomposition. Energies, 14(15), 4458.

• International conference: Aubras, F., Lin-Kwong-Chon, C., Damour, C., Benne, M., Bessafi, M., Grondin-Perez, B., Deseure, J., & Kadjo, J. J. A. (2020, November). Empirical Mode Decomposition Applied to Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolyzer for Non-Intrusive Diagnosis. In ECS Meeting Abstracts (No. 53, p. 3762). IOP Publishing.

• National conference (FRH2): Farid Aubras, Cedric Damour, Michel Benne, Christophe Lin-Kwong-Chon, Jonathan Deseure, Amangoua J-J Kadjo, “Non-intrusive diagnostic method applied to proton exchange membrane electrolysers: Multi-scale entropic analysis”, FRH2 2021

[1] Aubras, F., Deseure, J., Kadjo, J. J., Dedigama, I., Majasan, J., Grondin-Perez, B., … & Brett, D. J. L. (2017). Two-dimensional model of low-pressure PEM electrolyser: Two-phase flow regime, electrochemical modelling and experimental validation. International journal of hydrogen energy, 42(42), 26203-26216.

[2] Lebreton, C., Benne, M., Damour, C., Yousfi-Steiner, N., Grondin-Perez, B., Hissel, D., & Chabriat, J. P. (2015). Fault Tolerant Control Strategy applied to PEMFC water management. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 40(33), 10636-10646.

[3] Damour, C., Benne, M., Grondin-Perez, B., Bessafi, M., Hissel, D., & Chabriat, J. P. (2015). Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell fault diagnosis based on empirical mode decomposition. Journal of Power Sources, 299, 596-603.

Objective 3

Objective 3 — Contribution to the understanding of PEM electrolysers under two-phase flow conditions (May 2019 to May 2020):
 
In their work, Dedigama et al.[1] visualised the mechanism of oxygen bubble formation using a spectroscopy technique. They were able to observe:

• A single-phase regime occurring at low current densities (before the water-splitting reaction takes place), characterised by a laminar Reynolds number and a uniform presence of water in the channels.
• A two-phase regime in which the water-splitting reaction produces a mixture of oxygen bubbles and water in the channel.

In particular, the experimental campaigns carried out in London with Prof. Dan Brett during Dr Aubras’ PhD highlighted that slug-flow regimes affect the electrochemical performance of the cell. This issue is all the more important given that the next stationary applications of low-pressure electrolyser cells are moving towards operating points at which obstruction regimes appear (very high current densities).
The literature review revealed that this phenomenon has received very little attention. One of the main objectives will therefore be to study the electrochemical behaviour (in collaboration with UCL London) of a PEM electrolyser cell during the onset of the slug-flow regime, by means of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and analytical modelling.



Deliverables:

• Journal article: Aubras, F., Rhandi, M., Deseure, J., Kadjo, A. J. J., Bessafi, M., Majasan, J., … & Chabriat, J. P. (2021). Dimensionless approach of a polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolysis: Advanced analytical modelling. Journal of Power Sources, 481, 228858.
• International conference: Rhandi, M., Aubras, F., Kadjo, A. J. J., Druart, F., Grondin-Perez, B., & Deseure, J. (2019, September). Dimensionless approach of a pressurized proton exchange membrane water electrolysis. In 12th European Congress of Chemical Engineering, ECCE12 (pp. pp-1903).

[1] Dedigama, I., Angeli, P., van Dijk, N., Millichamp, J., Tsaoulidis, D., Shearing, P. R., & Brett, D. J. (2014). Current density mapping and optical flow visualisation of a polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolyser. Journal of Power Sources, 265, 97-103.

Partners

Academic partners

LEPMI Laboratory (Grenoble)

UCL Laboratory (London)

Local stakeholders

The project is co-funded by Sidélec

EDF-SEI

Funding partners

The SPACE project is co-funded by the EU and the Réunion Region.

Contacts

Pr Brigitte Perez

brigitte.grondin@univ-reunion.fr

Dr Jean Jacques Kadjo

amangoua.kadjo@univ-reunion.fr

Dr Farid Aubras

farid.aubras@univ-reunion.fr

Dissemination and communications

Peer-reviewed journal publications:

1. Aubras, F., Rhandi, M., Deseure, J., Kadjo, A. J. J., Bessafi, M., Majasan, J., … & Chabriat, J. P. (2021). Dimensionless approach of a polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolysis: Advanced analytical modelling. Journal of Power Sources, 481, 228858.
2. Aubras, F., Damour, C., Benne, M., Bessafi, M., Grondin-Perez, B., Kadjo, A. J. J., & Deseure, J. (2021). A Non-Intrusive Signal-Based Fault Diagnosis Method for Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyzer Using Empirical Mode Decomposition. Energies, 14(15), 4458.

National and international conferences:
 

1. Rhandi, M., Aubras, F., Kadjo, A. J. J., Druart, F., Grondin-Perez, B., & Deseure, J. (2019, September). Dimensionless approach of a pressurized proton exchange membrane water electrolysis. In 12th European Congress of Chemical Engineering, ECCE12(pp. pp-1903).
2. Aubras F Lin-Kwong-Chon, C., Damour, C., Benne, M., Bessafi, M., Grondin-Perez, B., Deseure, J., & Kadjo, J. J. A. (2020, November). Empirical Mode Decomposition Applied to Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolyzer for Non-Intrusive Diagnosis. In ECS Meeting Abstracts(No. 53, p. 3762). IOP Publishing.
3. Non-intrusive diagnostic method applied to proton exchange membrane electrolysers: Multi-scale entropic analysis, GDR HYSPAC.

Présentation

Over the last two decades we have witnessed a constant development of wireless communication technologies.

Mobile telephony networks, Internet access points, point-to-point communications are all sources of wireless networks based on communication standards defined by different organizations (ETSI, CEPT, IEEE, FCC). Each of these standards is allocated a frequency band associated with several channels each having a maximum amount of energy.

In order to obtain a frequency and temporal image of these wireless networks, the CARERC project proposes a software and hardware infrastructure creation for measurement,  in order to carry out a dynamic 3D electromagnetic mapping of a given space based on the exploitation of sensor networks.

In order to be able to operate in any type of environment, this network must be autonomous in energy. This autonomy passes by softwares (optimization of communications and the activity of network elements) and hardwares (energy harvesting from different sources : electromagnetic waves, solar…).

Objectives

CARERC project has three objectives, divided into three actions:

• Energy autonomy of the grid
• Realization of an electromagnetic sensor of power levels
• Storage and visualization of measured data on a 3D visualization tool.

Equipments

Helical Antenna

Waspmote node

Advanced analyzer

Hand-portable spectrum analyzer

Patch antennas

3GHz signal generator – SM300

Digital multimeter

Mechanical engraver

Test Bench

Anechoic foam

PNA-X

Anechoic chamber

R & D

Action 1 : Network Energy Autonomy.

A sensor network consists /is composed of a set of elements called”nodes”.

These nodes are composed of :

• Wireless communication interfaces to communicate either between them or with the base station, which retrieves the information transmitted by the nodes to the database
• Sensors, that can be of different natures (temperature, movement, light, wind, etc…). These sensors will provide the information that will be fed back into the database.

Enable the network to be autonomous

For this, the CARERC team is working on :

• Network software optimization : various methods relating to the transmission of information in the network are the subject of doctoral work at the LE²P laboratory , in order to optimize the energy consumed by a node through time.
• Low power protocols are used by the nodes in order to minimize the energy consumption; then some additionnal wake-up mechanism can be implemented using external signals .

Energy recovery for on-board batteries

Energy recovery solutions will be installed on the nodes to recharge the on-board batteries. In addition to the solar resource, the team is working, as part of LE²P’s research activities, on a particular source : wireless energy transmission.

The principle is to recover energy from the electromagnetic waves around the laboratory, transform it into direct voltage and store it in a battery. To do this, the CARERC team use rectifier antennas called “rectena” as well as charge pump circuits to accumulate the low voltage levels recovered.

Action 2 : Electromagnetic power level sensor implementation

In order to perform electromagnetic mapping, an electromagnetic power measurement tool in a given space will be implemented. For this, several solutions have been studied, developed and under development.

The first one consists in measuring the RSSI level (Received Signal Strength Indication) at each sensor network’s node.  This measurement is made through the antenna used by the node for its communications and provides information on the power level of the electromagnetic waves received by the node in its communication band.

The second is the use of commercial integrated circuits such as logarithmic sensors (coupled with low noise amplifiers and possibly a mixer) that produce a proportional voltage to the input power level. After calibration of these circuits it is possible, from the measured voltage level, to return to the electromagnetic power level.

An integrated circuit embodying these various functions is to be realized in an leading-edge technology. That will allow to free itself from losses due to the adaptations of the various circuits used in the previous solution.

Action 3 : 3d storage and visualization of measured data

All the measured data will then be stored in a Big data tool. This database will be able to adapt to the different types of data that will be uploaded via the network.

Once this data stored correctly, the CARERC team will be able to visualize it, first of all in order  to monitorate the quality of measurement and the proper functioning of the network ; Then to visualize the electromagnetic power level measured in the sensor network deployment space.

It is intended for this visualization to use 3D web tools.

Manipulations

WiFi signal in anechoic space measurement

First objective : Measure the received power on the sensor developed by CARERC of a signal from a WiFi router as a function of the distance and transmission power of the router. Second objective : In a second step, measure what the rectenna collects as energy in the same condition. The aim is to be able to quantify the energy available at the output of the rectenna when using a “non-dedicated” diffuse source.

Brazing of components

This technique allows the components to be positioned by capillary action between the solder and the soldering notches. In addition, it also allows for repairs or modifications to be made to a printed circuit board.

Integration of an environmental sensor

Integration of high-precision environmental sensors for measuring temperature, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure and VOC (volatile organic compounds) gases.
The objective is to collect different physical quantities using the wireless sensor network.

LORA network test

Tests carried out in urban areas with the LORA network

LORA network test at Mafate-1

The first Lora node placed at the top of the ” Roche Vert Bouteille” site

Mapping of the measured power of electromagnetic waves

Sensor network(*) Data Visualization  for the CARERC project

(*) Set up within LE2P Lab

LORA network test in Mafate-2

Long-distance communication test of the Lora network in the Mafate circus.

The red point is the GATEWAY (information receiver), the white points, the nodes (transmitters).

From Grand Bénard (1st Gateway) to Dos d’Ane, the range is 15 km (minimum).

Valorization

Communications

• Rochefeuille E., Alicalapa F., Douyère A., Vuong T. (2017). Rectenna Design for RF Energy Harvesting using CMOS 350nm and FDSOI 28nm, IEEE Radio and Antenna Days of the Indian Ocean (RADIO), 25-28 septembre 2017, Le Cap (Afrique du Sud). 2017 IEEE Radio and Antenna Days of the Indian Ocean (RADIO),. doi: https://doi.org/10.23919/RADIO.2017.8242246. Réf. HAL: hal-01696046
• Douyère A., Rivière J., Rochefeuille E., Dubard J.-L., Lan Sun Luk J.-D. (2017). Etude du couplage et analyse des performances d’une rectenna PIFA à faibles niveaux de puissance, Assemblée Générale GDR Ondes, 23-25 octobre 2017, Sophia Antipolis (France).. Réf. HAL: hal-01630705
• Rochefeuille E., Alicalapa F., Douyère A., Vuong T. (2017) FDSOI 28nm performances study for RF energy scavenging , IEEE Radio and Antenna Days of the Indian Ocean (IEEE RADIO 2017), Sep 2017, Cape Town, South Africa. IOP, IOP Conference S
  eries: Materials Science and Engineering, pp.012009, 2018, DOI : https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/321/1/012009〉

Media

The CARERC project is featured in :

• The weekly magazine “Regard’Ensemble”, which covers the island’s economic activities: from 2’35 of the video : http://www.antennereunion.fr/info-et-magazines/regard-ensemble/replay/replay-regard-ensemble-vendredi-07-juin-2019
• News Report on the TV news FranceTvinfo La 1ère : https://la1ere.francetvinfo.fr/reunion/emissions/journal-de-12h30  from 3’30
• Zinfo974 website : https://www.zinfos974.com/%E2%96%B6%EF%B8%8F-Wifi-4G-Bluetooth-Des-scientifiques-de-l-universite-parviennent-a-cartographier-des-ondes-electromagnetiques_a142400.html

Events

• CARERC special participation in the Sustainable Energy Forum organized by IOC, 04/ 9-11/2019
• Participation in the GdR RSD (CNRS); LPWAN thematic days, Lyon, 07/11-12/2019 and Scientific Poster presentation

Posters

Staff

Project Manager : Pierre-Olivier pierre Lucas de Peslouan

• Ariste Boutchama, Project Engineer  circuits and systems
• Marie-Laure Pérony-Charton, Valorization Project Engineer
• Jérôme Rivière, Project Engineer  High Frequency Sensor
• Pierre-Olivier pierre Lucas de Peslouan, Research Engineer Circuit Design and Development

Contact

Scientific Director : Alexandre DOUYERE (alexandre.douyere@univ-reunion.fr

Project Manager  :  Pierre-Olivier Lucas de Peslouan (pierre-olivier.lucas-de-peslouan@univ-reunion.fr)

carerc-le2p@univ-reunion.fr

Présentation

Areas with little or no interconnection to the major electricity grids, and in particular islands, rely in most cases on fossil fuels for their electricity production, which implies high levels of emissions and pollution, but also higher costs than those found on the continents. In order to reduce their energy dependence while contributing to the achievement of carbon neutrality, the use of renewable energies is favored, but they need to be coupled with storage means to cope with their variability and intermittency.

The HyLES project studies the roles and impacts that hydrogen can have to accompany a transition towards energy independence.

Objectives

The HyLES project, funded by the French National Research Agency, aims to study the role and impact of hydrogen in supporting a transition to energy independence and carbon neutrality for electricity production and transport in areas with little or no interconnection.

It will focus on three case studies with different locations, needs, resources, economies and cultures :

• Corsica,
• Reunion Island,
• French Polynesia.

R&D

The project focuses on three case studies with different locations, needs, resources, economies and cultures : Corsica, Reunion Island and two islands of French Polynesia.

An interdisciplinary approach between engineering sciences, climate sciences and human and social sciences being particularly necessary on this subject, the project relies on contributions from partners (FEMTO-ST, GEPASUD, ENERGY-lab and SPE) of the three fields and the three studied areas.

The project has three phases :

• Study of local contexts in terms of production and consumption potential and socio-economic barriers to the integration of hydrogen technologies
  Use of these results for an integration at the local scale (building, district) and at the scale of the islands’ networks.
• This integration will be based on electrical needs, on the potential of decarbonization of transport (land and sea) and on the production of heat and cold.
• A study of the socio-economic impact of the integration of hydrogen technologies on the studied territories will be carried out. A white paper of recommendations on the integration of hydrogen in insular territories.

Equipements

Partenariats

• FEMTO-ST
• GEPASUD
• SPE

Valorisation

• https://www.corsematin.com/articles/lhydrogene-vert-une-solution-davenir-possible-pour-les-iles-123915
• https://letrois.info/actualites/hyles-la-technologie-de-lhydrogene-au-chevet-de-lautonomie-des-iles/
• https://www.lejournaldesarchipels.com/2021/03/18/experimentation-dans-lile-du-projet-hyles-sur-lhydrogene/

Equipe

Project Coordinator : Robin Roche –  robin .roche@femto-st.fr

Scientific Manager for ENERGY-lab : Michel Benne – michel.benne@univ-reunion.fr

Scientific Manager for GEPASUD : Pascal Ortega – pascal.ortega@upf.pf

Scientific Manager for SPE : Christian Cristofari – cristofari_c@univ-corse.fr

Contact

Project Coordinator : robin .roche@femto-st.fr

Scientific Manager for ENERGY-Lab : michel.benne@univ-reunion.fr

Presentation

In non-interconnected areas and island environments, energy flexibility is based on  the penetration rate increase of renewable energy resources (RES) in the electricity mix, without altering the stability of the grid and the reliability of generation.

In Reunion Island, this objective is based on the development of photovoltaic (PV) conversion of solar energy. The intermittency, stochastic variability and low predictability of the solar resource encourage the development of geographically distributed production and storage units at the building (smart-building) and neighbourhood (smart-grid) scales.

This  microgrids deployment is a key objective of the Intelligent Specialisation Strategy (S3) program.

The intermittency, variability and low predictability of the solar resource, as well as the distributed nature of these units, requires the development of intelligent, decentralized control strategies at the level of the various “agents” (conversion sources, storage systems and consumers).

GYSOMATE (Gestion dYnamique Supervision et Optimisation de Microréseaux urbains pour l’Autonomie du Territoire en énergie Electrique), is working on the development of an intelligent energy management system.

The project relies on the coupling of resource forecasting tools,  model-based control strategies and/or multi-agent systems and ICTs.

Objectives

R & D

ACTIONS

Action 1: Microgrid simulator

A real-time (RT) simulation platform is deployed at LE2P to emulate microgrids composed of energy conversion units (PV), storage and consumption units. This platform will enable real-time testing of energy management strategies applied to various microgrid architectures under real operating conditions.

Action 2: Connected and controllable production and storage units

Physical data made available by GYSOMATE partners will be aggregated into the LE2P data warehouse, connected to the RT simulation platform. These units will also be made controllable through a set of sensors and actuators.

Action 3: Aggregation platform

Energy data provided by partners will be aggregated with meteorological data from LE2P.

Action 4: Energy Management System

The Energy Management System currently under development is based on Multi-Agent Systems. Balancing scenarios will be generated to test energy management strategies in real time for the real-time supervision of the emulated microgrid.

Deliverables

Two deliverables are expected. They will be carried out by service providers.

Deliverable 1: Standard hardware configuration enabling the supervision, optimal management of microgrids and analysis of their energy behaviour as well as their demand response potential.

Deliverable 2: Human-Machine Interface for supervision and management, enabling remote control of the Energy Management System for urban microgrids and connected EV fleets.

Equipments

OPAL R-T

Real Time Simulation Platform

Partnerships

Partnerships with academics

Partnerships with local stakeholders

Valorization

The GYSOMATE project has a pretty good coverage in local media, as well as on specialized sites.

Staff

Project Manager : Dominique Grondin

• Chao Tang, IGR, Data management and analysis
• Nicolas Coquillas, Project Engineer, Real-Time  Simulation Platform
• Taher Issoufaly, IGE, Multi Agent System
• Marie-Laure Perony-Charton, Valorization Engineer

Contact

Scientific Manager : Michel Benne (michel.benne@univ-reunion.fr)

Project Manager : Dominique Grondin (dominique.grondin@univ-reunion.fr)

Presentation

The SysPàCRever project (Innovations and proof of concept for the conversion and production of stored solar electric energy via the hydrogen vector: Reversible Fuel Cell System) proposes the design, optimization and real-time testing of a new 3-chamber reversible PàC concept that can perform electrolyzer or fuel cell functions.

The Reunion Island region is no exception to the energy problem. As an island region, it is characterized by a situation of high energy dependence. Even if the use of local and renewable energy resources is higher than that used in metropolitan France, it is nevertheless insufficient in relation to the objectives set in terms of energy autonomy.

As the share of renewable energies is to be increased in the coming years, the question of their storage appears to be a key factor, essential to this development. Indeed, the production of renewable electricity, whatever its source: hydropower, wind power, solar power, has to varying degrees the major disadvantage of its intermittency.

The question then becomes: how to store the electricity produced during production peaks in order to consume it during consumption peaks?

One of the solutions currently recommended is to store energy via an electrolyser, which converts electricity into hydrogen and oxygen during low consumption hours. This energy is then returned via a fuel cell, which converts hydrogen and oxygen back into electricity on the grid during high consumption hours.

Objectives

The SysPàCRever project aims to design and optimize the electro-fluidic performance of a new reversible PàC-R concept that converts electrical energy into hydrogen and oxygen (electrolyzer mode) and converts hydrogen into electrical energy (fuel cell mode).

The SysPacRevers project will be carried out in 2 phases and 4 steps composed of 2 actions each.

R & D

Step  1 : Modeling and installation of an experimental equipment

• Action 1: Dimensioning and installation of a test bench for PàC-R

  • Implementation of a specific experimental system for characterizing the performance of PàC-R. This experimental device will be fully automated, including diagnosis, data logging, settings, alarm and security functions.

• Action 2 : Semi-transparent PàC-R cell designs

  • For the understanding and characterization of PàC-R, Physico-chemical phenomena multiphysical and multi-scale modelling  under the COMSOL Multiphysics software environment.
  • Design of functional PàC-R cells guided by modelling performed in the COMSOL Multiphysics environment.

Step 2 : Assembling and instrumentation

• Action 1: PàC-R assembly

  • Optimization of tightening, tightness and preliminary tests of electrical performances.

• Action 2: Semi-transparent PàC-R cells Instrumentation

  • Fast camera imaging system Implementation
  • Image acquisition and processing system Implementation

Step  3 : PàC-R Experiments

• Action 1: Real-time testing of a PàC-R in electrolyser mode.

  •  The influence of sunlight and PàC-R operating parameters study

• Action 2: Real-time test of the PàC-R in PàC mode

  • Study of the influence of the operating parameters of PàC-R in humid tropical environments

Step 4 :  PàC-R Optimization

• Action 1: PàC-R demonstrator optimal design Conception

  • Exchanges Modelisation and  Exchange surfaces optimization

• Action 2: Optimized PàC-R Demonstrator  Assembly and tests

  • Optimization of tightening, tightness and preliminary tests of the electrical performance of the optimized demonstrator.

EQUIPMENT

Test bench for electrolyzer

(Manufacturer : Matériel Mate)

Système de caméra haute densité haute fréquence

(FR) (Constructeur : R&D Vision)

Semi-transparent electrolyser cell

(Manufacturer : Matériel Mate)

PARTNERSHIPS

Partnerships with academics

Laboratoire LEPMI

Partnerships with Local stakeholders

Temergie

Funding partners

The SYSPACREVERS project is co-funded by the EU and the Réunion Region.

Valorization

This project valorization will be mainly addressed to the General Public.

Staff

Scientific Staff

Scientific Supervisors :

• Brigitte GRONDIN PEREZ
• Jean-Jacques KADJO

Project staff

Project manager : Loïc Deva HERMETTE

Contact

Scientific Managers :

Brigitte GRONDIN PEREZ (brigitte.grondin@univ-reunion.fr)

Jean-Jacques KADJO (akadjo@univ-reunion.fr)

Project Manager:

Loïc Deva HERMETTE (loic-deva.hermette@univ-reunion.fr)

Presentation

The IOS-net project is a  regional cooperation project that is part of the current collective effort in the intelligent management of the renewable energy resource of solar energy.

The ENERGY-Lab Laboratory, with its expertise in solar metrology and massive data management, is the leader in the implementation of cooperation between Indian Oceanian countries

R & D

In this project, the ENERGY-Lab research team and its partners have defined a dual goal:

1. Expansion of the actual network to the IOC territories (Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles). All partners will be equipped with identical stations.
2. All data collected will be freely available in a TDS server within a special file size designed for mapping. Data quality control will be ensured by ENERGY-Lab.

In terms of promotion, the project will enable :

• The development of a smartphone application that displayed all data2 collected in a nearly ”real-time”.
• Innovators, scientists and populations to take over the developed tools through workshops and knowledge sharing.

The IOS-net project is divided in three actions :

• Action 1: Network expansion to the IOC territories.
• Action 2: The opening of a database and TDS server.
• Action 3: Promotion, communication and knowledge transfer.

OBJECTIVES

The Reunion Island research team  (LE2P) and its partner, the IOC, have set up three project objectives :

1. The solar radiation ground-based measurements existing network in Reunion Island extension to the IOC territories (Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles) – and other standard meteorological parameters. In concrete terms, the 4 partners will be equipped with identical stations to those that LE2P has been developing for more than 7 years now in and around  Reunion Island.
2. The accessibility of the data collected in open data on a TDS server (offering a file format specifically designed for mapping), the quality of this data being controlled by the LE2P research laboratory.
3. Training of local populations through knowledge transfer workshops on solar resource management : a mini-series describing the project and a smartphone application allowing to consult in real time the data of the stations will be realized.

Equipments

Pyranometer  SPN1

Weather transmitter WXT530

UV radiometer

Central acquisition unit

Wind turbine

Solar Panel

Solar Charge controller

Lead battery 20 AH

Galvanized steel frame

Deploiement des stations

Weather Station Mounting Tests

La Réunion

Weather Station Mounting Test in La Reunion

Comoros

Weather Station Mounting Tests in Comorros

Mauritius

Weather Station Mounting Test in Mauritius

Madagascar

Weather Station Mounting Test in Madagascar

Seychelles

Weather Station Mounting Test in Seychelles

Partnerships

Scientific partners

The meteorological services of the different territories are today owners of the IOS-net weather stations and partners of the project :

● The Mauritius Meteorological Services (MMS) pour Maurice
● The Seychelles Meteorological Authority (SMA) pour Les Seychelles
● L’Agence Nationale de l’Aviation Civile et de la Météorologie (ANACM) pour les Comores
● La Direction Générale de la Météorologie (DGM) pour Madagascar

Financial partners

The IOS-net project is financed by two types of European fundings :
– EDF funds via the Indian Ocean Commission
– ERDF/Interreg funds: co-financing by Europe, the State and the Réunion Region

VALORIZATION

In terms of valorization, the project will allow:

• Information to the population: the data collected will be public, through a free smartphone application (near real-time display of sunshine and weather on a territory map).
• The transfer of skills, by training business owners and scientists in the tools developed areas.

Events

Several events have punctuated the project life :

Medias

Communication Tools

Project Presentation Video

For Web serie Click here

Presentation of the Web serie :

Brochure

Plaquette_fr_v2

Staff

Scientific Team

Scientific Supervisor : Jean-Pierre Chabriat

Scientific Assistants : Patrick Jeanty et Mathieu Delsaut

Team Project

Project  manager : Morgane Goulain, Technical and Scientific Coordinator Design Engineer

• Nicolas Hassambay, Métrology Design Engineer
• Alexandre Graillet, Database and TDS server IT Design Engineer
• Patrick Jeanty, Research Engineer
• Mathieu Delsaut, Scientific computation Engineer
• Christian Brouat, Research and Training Technician
• Yannis Hoarau, Research and Training Technician

Contact

Project Manager : Morgane Goulain  (morgane.goulain@univ-reunion.fr)

Technical Manager : Patrick Jeanty (patrick.jeanty@univ-reunion.fr)

Présentation

The SWIO-Energy project (Solar and Wind Energy in the  Indian Ocean) is an innovative regional cooperation project that is part of the current collective effort to adapt to climate change and mitigate its effects in the energy sector.

It involves three structures:

• The ENERGY-lab / LE2P laboratory, University of La Réunion
• The Department of Physics, University of Mauritius
• The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Laboratory, University of Mascareignes, Mauritius.

This 36-month project, unique to Reunion Island and the South-West Indian Ocean (SOOI), proposes to implement an innovative analytical approach to carry out climate analyses on solar and wind energy variability in the SOOI area, in particular on the islands of Reunion and Mauritius at different time scales: intraday, intra-seasonal, interannual.

The specificities of this project lie in the elaboration and analysis of climate simulations for the future (middle and end of the century) and on a fine spatial scale, which is of great interest especially for the actors working on the energy independence of La Réunion and Mauritius.

Objectives

The objective of the project is to estimate the impact of climate change on solar and wind energy resources in the SOOI area, using regional climate simulations at very high spatial resolution (~ 1 km) from the WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting) regional climate model, with a particular focus on the two islands of Reunion and Mauritius.

This research would provide numerical simulation tools that would help to better specify the solar and wind potential of the region’s territories.  This information could be used to better evaluate the evolution of the resource and its management in time and space. It could also be used to develop tools for the management of renewable energy risks (periods of shortage, for example).

The local projections produced by this model are of great interest, in particular for decision-makers and for the actors of the solar and wind energy sectors who are working on the energy independence of Reunion and Mauritius.

R & D

The innovative analytical approach is based on the combined analysis of in-situ data, satellite data and and regional climate simulations at very high spatial resolution (~ 1 km) from regional climate model WRF(*).

The WRF model is an essential component of the SWIO-Energy project in partnership with the two Mauritian universities:

• University of Mauritius
• University of Mascarene, Mauritius.

(*) WRF: Weather research and Forecast model :   numerical model for weather and climate prediction used by meteorological services and in the fields of atmospheric research.

Actions:

• Processing and analysis of all observation data (ground-based, satellite) for the study of scale interactions and climate variability of solar radiation and wind:
  • Deployment of new sensors for the measurement of solar radiation and wind in Reunion and Mauritius as part of the radiometric network IOS-net of the laboratory ENERGYlab/LE2P
  • Validation of satellite data by comparison with ground data

• Processing and analysis of global and regional climate model outputs:
  • Dynamic approach: regional simulations of recent and future climate of Reunion and Mauritius using the WRF model
  • Statistical approach: use of machine-learning techniques.

EQUIPMENT

INTERNAL PYRANOMETER CALIBRATION BENCH

REFERENCE WEATHER STATION

PYRANOMETER

Other Instrumentation: pyranometer, UV radiometer, and weather transmitter

PARTNERSHIPS

Partnerships with academics

The SWIO-Energy project is part of an international cooperation dynamic aiming at structuring the regional scientific community and reinforcing cooperation around energy management issue.

It is based on a strong partnership dynamic with a network of internationally renowned partners :

• The Department of Physics, University of Mauritius and the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency laboratory of the University of Mascareignes, Mauritius
• Several laboratories and universities in France and South Africa: LACy and OIES (University of La Réunion), CRC-Biogéosciences (University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France), CSAG (University of Cape Town, South Africa)
• The meteorological services of La Réunion (Météo-France), Mauritius (MMS) and South Africa (SAWS)
• Observation networks (Reunion: IOS-net, SEAS-OI, OPAR-OSUR; international: BSRN)
• Companies locally established in Reunion ( EDF renewable,..).

Partnerships with Local stakeholders

The SWIO project is co-financed by  EU and  Réunion Region.

Valorization

• Scientific communications,
• The organization of a scientific seminar,
• Communications towards the general public, …

will be part of the valorization of this project, co-financed by the Reunion Region and Europe.

Events

Medias

Communication tools

Staff

Scientific Leaders

• Béatrice Morel, Dr HDR, beatrice.morel@univ-reunion.fr
• Patrick Jeanty, IGR, Project Technical Manager,  patrick.jeanty@univ-reunion.fr

Project staff

Project manager :

• Chao Tang, Research Engineer, Senior Regional Climate Modeling, chao.tang@univ-reunion.fr

Staff :

• Swati Singh, Research Engineer Regional climate simulations, swati.singh@univ-reunion.fr
• Remy Ineza Mugenga,Research Engineer Regional climate simulations, ineza.mugenga@univ-reunion.fr 
• Tina Herimino Andriantsalama, Study Engineer Database, tina.andriantsalama@univ-reunion.fr
• Elodie Marpinard, Study Engineer Project Management Assistance, elodie.marpinard@univ-reunion.fr
• Marie-Laure Pérony-Charton, Study Engineer Communication and Valorization, mperony@univ-reunion.fr 

Videos

Episode 1 : climatic stations on top of Indianocéany :

Contact

Contact :

Laboratoire ENERGY-lab / LE2P
Béatrice MOREL, Scientific Manager
beatrice.morel@univ-reunion.fr
Tel : +262 262 93 86 71

15, Avenue
René Cassin
CS 92003
97744 Saint-Denis Cedex 9
La Réunion

Presentation

The islands, heavily dependent on the continental energy market, suffer from several obstacles in the traditional power grid model, including an over-reliance on fossil fuels and imported energy.

In addition, islands, due to their tourism activities, have highly variable seasonal load profiles.

Predicting, monitoring and managing variable load profiles is essential.

If combined with energy storage technology and a greater share of renewable energy, islands could benefit from greener, more stable and resilient power grids.

Objectives

REACT is a 4-year research project funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 Programme.

Its objective is to achieve island energy independence through renewable energy generation and storage, a demand response platform, and promoting user engagement in a local energy community.

R&D

Equipments

Equipments are deployed on pilot islands

Partnerships

To demonstrate and replicate the REACT solution, the project gathers island community representatives, regional authorities, DSO/ESCO, technology providers, academia and RTO’s from 11 countries: Spain, Ireland, Italy, Austria, Germany, Sweden, Netherlands, Greece, United Kingdom, France, and Serbia. They have assembled as clusters of partners around the pilot sites and follower islands to cover different climatic and socio-economic regions and with the necessary expertise for its technological deployment and integration.

Valorization

Interview with Pr. Jean-Pierre Chabriat – REACT 2020

Team

Scientific Team :

• Michel Benne,  michel.benne@univ-reunion.fr
• Béatrice Morel, beatrice.morel@univ-reunion.fr
• Cédric Damour, cedric.damour@univ-reunion.fr
• Miloud Bessafi, miloud.bessafi@univ-reunion.fr
• Dominique Grondin, dominique.grondin@univ-reunion.fr

Contact

Contact :

Laboratoire ENERGY-lab
Dominique GRONDIN
dominique.grondin@univ-reunion.fr
Tel : +262 262 93 86 71

15, Avenue
René Cassin
CS 92003
97744 Saint-Denis Cedex 9
La Réunion

Présentation

In Reunion Island, the objective of a decarbonized energy mix by 2030 is largely based on the massive integration of intermittent energies into the electricity grid. The growth of photovoltaic (PV) capacity, a direction encouraged by regional policy, relies on the swarming of hybrid conversion and storage systems on a domestic scale. With the proliferation of systems and the aging of the fleet, the risk of failures increases, which can lead to performance losses and profitability.

This project aims to implement innovative technical solutions to detect, isolate and identify defects that could lead to these failures. These solutions should improve the energy efficiency of PV systems by anticipating maintenance operations to limit the risk of failure.

Several barriers limit the large-scale deployment of hybrid production and storage systems, in particular their reliability and durability. Many faults may occur on one, or more, of the system components. If these faults are not quickly detected and identified, this can result in a loss of performance, instability or permanent degradation of the system.

Project duration : 2 years.

Objectives

The objective of this project  is to develop distributed technical solutions to analyze the hybrid systems health status –  in particular PV systems installed in humid tropical environments. The developed solutions should allow to anticipate maintenance operations and to limit failure risks, taking into account weather and climate conditions simulated by a regional climate model at very high spatial resolution (< 1 km).

This objective will:

• Improve the adaptation of equipment to improve RUE (Rational Use of Energy)
• Participate in efforts to reduce energy dependency
• Promote the integration of intermittent energies into the electrical mix.

R & D

The innovative nature of the project lies in the use of regional geographical and climatic variables through a regional climate model with very high spatial resolution (< 1 km) to complement the electrical measurements available in situ. The validation of the developed modules will be carried out in the laboratory on emulated systems, driven by power signals, prior to tests on actual installations.

DETECT provides several answers for improved energy efficiency:

• Quantify and locate local energy resources (regionalisation of the solar resource using a high spatial resolution regional climate model)
• Develop equipment instrumentation to improve rational energy use (PV system diagnostics)
• Use ICT for the development of smart energy devices (real-time distributed diagnostics)
• Improve the mastery of a key technology by local stakeholders (decision support for PV system maintenance planning)
• Promote the integration of solar energy (PV system reliability)
• Strengthen knowledge in the field of renewable energies (aggregation of electrical and climatic data into a database).

EQUIPMENT

PHIL Test Bench (Power Hardware In the Loop)

Test bench aimed at emulating micro-grids, energy production and storage

		OPAL-RT: real-time simulator OP4510
		Programmable power supply usable for generator emulation
		4-quadrant power amplifier enabling DC/AC electrical grid simulation as well as motor and converter simulation: DC/DC, DC/AC, AC/AC, and power supplies
		Electronic board enabling the implementation of a control algorithm.

PARTNERSHIPS

Partnerships with academics

• FEMTO-ST de la fédération FCLAB
• CRC de l’Université de Bourgogne Franche Comté
• Météo France Réunion – DIROI.

Financial Partners

The DETECT project is co-financed by the EU and the Réunion Region.

Valorization

• Scientific communications,
• The organization of a scientific seminar,
• Communications towards the general public, …

will be part of the valorization of this project, co-financed by the Reunion Region and Europe.

Events

Closing seminar of the project

The DETECT project team had the pleasure to participate to the 30th Fête de la Science (Science Festival), Thursday, November 18, 2021 :

Medias

TV (Reunion 1ere) Interview on DETECT project

https://la1ere.francetvinfo.fr/reunion/l-universite-de-la-reunion-developpe-un-outil-pour-verifier-le-rendement-des-panneaux-photovoltaiques-1382290.html?fbclid=IwAR2D6Iu_u04H0fOEVqfLzI7StowPY64R00bYs4lVJPCFP-JelTRBs48Y_Bo

1st media campaign for the DETECT project: an interesting KPI for a research topic:

2 TV stories you can see here:

• Le journal de 19h du samedi 20 novembre 2021, présenté par Gaëlle Malet [RE (francetvinfo.fr) (from 19:09)
•  https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=432815908234691

Press articles :

Communication Tools

Presentation video :

Brochure :

Kakemono :

Team

Scientific Team

Scientific Leaders :

• Cédric Damour, cedric.damour@univ-reunion.fr
• Michel Benne,  michel.benne@univ-reunion.fr
• Béatrice Morel, beatrice.morel@univ-reunion.fr
• Patrick Jeanty, patrick.jeanty@univ-reunion.fr
• Frédéric Alicalapa, frederic.alicalapa@univ-reunion.fr
• Pierre-Olivier Lucas-de-Peslouan,  pierre-olivier.lucas-de-peslouan@univ-reunion.fr
• Dominique Grondin, dominique.grondin@univ-reunion.fr

Project Team

Project Manager :

• Fabrice K/BIDI, Research Engineer, Emulation & Implementation,  fabrice.kbidi@univ-reunion.fr

Team :

• Alexandre GRAILLET, Research Engineer, Database,  alexandre.graillet@univ-reunion.fr 
• Carole Lebreton, Research Engineer, Diagnosis, Carole.lebreton@univ-reunion.fr
• Elodie Marpinard, Study Engineer Project Management Assistance,  elodie.marpinard@univ-reunion.fr
• Marie-Laure Pérony-Charton, Study Engineer, Communication and Valorization, mperony@univ-reunion.fr
• Chandra Shekhar Azad Kashyap, Research Engineer Regional Climate Modeling, chandra.kashyap@univ-reunion.fr
• Chao Tang, Senior Regional Climate Modeling chao.tang@univ-reunion.fr

Vidéos

Episode 1 : Diagnosis of electric systems

Contact

CONTACT:

Laboratoire ENERGY-lab / LE2P
Fabrice K/BIDI, Team leader
fabrice.kbidi@univ-reunion.fr
Tel : +262 262 93 86 71

15, Avenue
René Cassin
CS 92003
97744 Saint-Denis Cedex 9
La Réunion