Periodic Reporting for period 2 - EMB3Rs (User-driven Energy-Matching & Business prospection tool for industrial Excess heat/cold Reduction, Recovery and Redistribution)
Reporting period: 2021-03-02 to 2023-06-01
The research project EMB3Rs (User-driven Energy-Matching & Business Prospection Tool for Industrial Excess Heat/Cold Reduction, Recovery and Redistribution) is coordinated by INEGI and started in September 2019. The project aimed at developing a planning tool – the EMB3Rs platform – to allow energy-intensive industries and other sources to explore ways of recovering and reusing their excess thermal energy. The EMB3Rs platform promotes the valorisation and utilization of excess thermal energy by enabling the simulation of alternative paths towards recovering, transferring, transporting and selling the energy to different compatible final users including: other processes within a given industrial plant, other industries (intra-sectorial) or other sectors (inter-sectorial).
The EMB3Rs platform encompasses five analysis modules allowing users to estimate available excess thermal energy and map sources and sinks through a user-friendly interface and industrial thermal process optimization models (Core Functionalities), link excess heat supply and demand nodes within least cost distribution routes (GIS). Alternative technological scenarios for excess heat recovery and matching with compatible demand are identified by estimating their cost-benefit (Techno-economic Optimization Module). Users are also able to estimate the benefits of selling the excess heat in centralized and decentralized market structures via the Market Module. Finally, users may explore different business models considering financial and regulatory constraints (Business Module). These different analysis modules are supported by a simulation manager system and have access to a common data repository on default parameters (Knowledge Base).
The EMB3Rs tool has been tested in 7 case studies, and allowed assessing different options for recovery and redistribution of the excess thermal energy in a diversity of contexts to validate the full set of platform functionalities. These included three industry-centric case studies (two energy intensive industries in the UK and Portugal, and one industrial park in Greece). For the network-centric cases (two existing networks in Portugal and Sweden), the EMB3Rs platform was used to assess expansion possibilities. The danish case considered the impacts of innovative market configurations based on P2P networks on the feasibility of integrating excess heat onto an existing DH network, whereas the super-user case deployed the tool to analyse local synergies among a large number of sources and sinks in an area in the centre-region of Portugal.
Both the overall and specific objectives of the project have been reached through the successful deployment of the EMB3Rs platform and of all of its components (modules, and platform infrastructure).
The platform is open, free and user-friendly and doesn't require professional or specialized training (even though training materials have also been produced and made available). Further to this, accompanying documentation is also available for each of the modules and for the platform as a whole. It benefits from an embedded database to overcome eventual data availability limitations from users. The EMB3Rs platform has been successfully tested and validated in all case studies. The development of the tool has been carried out collaboratively with the industrial partners to make sure that their needs and requirements were incorporated into the functionalities of the platform, and of each of its modules.
The platform delivered most of the analysis from the EMB3Rs case studies within a time window ranging from a few minutes to a few hours, depending on the respective level of complexity, and which otherwise, would have taken longer, and / or would likely have returned less accurate results. Furthermore, the implementation of the gamification features allows users to engage into challenges and have different stakeholders work/compete to find a common solution to a problem.
The EMB3Rs platform encompasses five analysis modules allowing users to estimate available excess thermal energy and map sources and sinks through a user-friendly interface and industrial thermal process optimization models (Core Functionalities), link excess heat supply and demand nodes within least cost distribution routes (GIS). Alternative technological scenarios for excess heat recovery and matching with compatible demand are identified by estimating their cost-benefit (Techno-economic Optimization Module). Users are also able to estimate the benefits of selling the excess heat in centralized and decentralized market structures via the Market Module. Finally, users may explore different business models considering financial and regulatory constraints (Business Module). These different analysis modules are supported by a simulation manager system and have access to a common data repository on default parameters (Knowledge Base).
The EMB3Rs tool has been tested in 7 case studies, and allowed assessing different options for recovery and redistribution of the excess thermal energy in a diversity of contexts to validate the full set of platform functionalities. These included three industry-centric case studies (two energy intensive industries in the UK and Portugal, and one industrial park in Greece). For the network-centric cases (two existing networks in Portugal and Sweden), the EMB3Rs platform was used to assess expansion possibilities. The danish case considered the impacts of innovative market configurations based on P2P networks on the feasibility of integrating excess heat onto an existing DH network, whereas the super-user case deployed the tool to analyse local synergies among a large number of sources and sinks in an area in the centre-region of Portugal.
Both the overall and specific objectives of the project have been reached through the successful deployment of the EMB3Rs platform and of all of its components (modules, and platform infrastructure).
The platform is open, free and user-friendly and doesn't require professional or specialized training (even though training materials have also been produced and made available). Further to this, accompanying documentation is also available for each of the modules and for the platform as a whole. It benefits from an embedded database to overcome eventual data availability limitations from users. The EMB3Rs platform has been successfully tested and validated in all case studies. The development of the tool has been carried out collaboratively with the industrial partners to make sure that their needs and requirements were incorporated into the functionalities of the platform, and of each of its modules.
The platform delivered most of the analysis from the EMB3Rs case studies within a time window ranging from a few minutes to a few hours, depending on the respective level of complexity, and which otherwise, would have taken longer, and / or would likely have returned less accurate results. Furthermore, the implementation of the gamification features allows users to engage into challenges and have different stakeholders work/compete to find a common solution to a problem.
In earlier stages, the project focused on defining the base specifications, requirements and validation protocols for each of the different modules and for the platform as a whole. The development of the prototypes of the different modules have also been initiated along with the user engagement strategy. Data collection and initial case study characterization has also taken place. The second reporting period, continued and concluded the activities in WP2 regarding the base specifications of the platform modules. In WP3 the work was geared towards the individual modules and Knowledge Base development, as well of the platform infrastructure, which was followed by the integration efforts of the five calculation modules on the platform itself. The remaining time was dedicated to testing the platform in the seven case studies, to identifying and implementing further improvement opportunities, to simulating the case study scenarios and corresponding reporting (WP4); as well, to perform a subsequent scalability and replicability analysis, and exploring relevant financing mechanisms for the deployment of waste heat recovery and reuse projects.
WP1 and WP6 were conducted in parallel during the whole project.
In particular, the main outputs and results can be summarised as follows:
The individual modules’ prototypes were finalized (M26) and code and documentation were made available on GitHub (M30);
The user and system manuals of the individual modules and of the platform as a whole (D3.3.-D3.7) have been finalized (M41).
The final integrated and validated platform has been made available online (M43);
One internal and two external stakeholder workshops have been conducted and Training materials produced and published (M43)
Platform testing, validation and demonstration in seven different case study has been concluded and documented (D4.1.-D4.8) (M44)
The scalability and replicability analysis of the EMB3Rs platform has been concluded (D5.1) along with the identification and assessment of the financing options available for waste heat recovery and reuse (M45).
The open digital research data (ORDP) pilot has been published on Zenodo with a DOI (M45).
The exploitation and business plan of the EMB3Rs platform has been agreed upon and finalized (D 6.7) (M45)
WP1 and WP6 were conducted in parallel during the whole project.
In particular, the main outputs and results can be summarised as follows:
The individual modules’ prototypes were finalized (M26) and code and documentation were made available on GitHub (M30);
The user and system manuals of the individual modules and of the platform as a whole (D3.3.-D3.7) have been finalized (M41).
The final integrated and validated platform has been made available online (M43);
One internal and two external stakeholder workshops have been conducted and Training materials produced and published (M43)
Platform testing, validation and demonstration in seven different case study has been concluded and documented (D4.1.-D4.8) (M44)
The scalability and replicability analysis of the EMB3Rs platform has been concluded (D5.1) along with the identification and assessment of the financing options available for waste heat recovery and reuse (M45).
The open digital research data (ORDP) pilot has been published on Zenodo with a DOI (M45).
The exploitation and business plan of the EMB3Rs platform has been agreed upon and finalized (D 6.7) (M45)
The holistic approach to excess thermal energy potential assessment used by the EMB3Rs platform represents the main innovation and a genuine advancement in scope covered by a platform involving several flexible and interoperable tools.
A live instance of the platform has been linked on EMB3Rs website, and made available in the final domain (https://platform.emb3rs.eu) for at least 5 years. Similarly, all code and relevant documentation is available on an open-source basis at GitHub and Zenodo, allowing users to further work on it and tailor it to their needs. Users have the possibility to install a functioning instance of the platform on their own servers. The platform is hence, available to be used across the EU and beyond contributing to the implementation of waste heat recovery projects (with proven usability as evidenced by contacts received by the consortium).
As for the scenarios explored (EMB3Rs case studies) three are considered to be of particular interest and feasibility. Altogether, all of the main case study scenarios represent an investment of 155 M€, leading to primary energy savings around 143 GWh. This would translate into 16 GWh of energy saved per year per million € invested.
A live instance of the platform has been linked on EMB3Rs website, and made available in the final domain (https://platform.emb3rs.eu) for at least 5 years. Similarly, all code and relevant documentation is available on an open-source basis at GitHub and Zenodo, allowing users to further work on it and tailor it to their needs. Users have the possibility to install a functioning instance of the platform on their own servers. The platform is hence, available to be used across the EU and beyond contributing to the implementation of waste heat recovery projects (with proven usability as evidenced by contacts received by the consortium).
As for the scenarios explored (EMB3Rs case studies) three are considered to be of particular interest and feasibility. Altogether, all of the main case study scenarios represent an investment of 155 M€, leading to primary energy savings around 143 GWh. This would translate into 16 GWh of energy saved per year per million € invested.