SetEDEN2Diesel’s main objective is to develop an electrochemical technology at TRL 5, based on the knowledge obtained in the development of the recently completed Explora EDEN project (at TRL 3), that allows the intelligent and sustainable regulation of solar energy in the heavy road transport sector, reducing the carbon footprint of this sector, making it more environmentally sustainable and contributing to improving the transition to electric and hybrid engines, enhancing their differentiation and therefore their competitiveness.
The overall objective can be divided into three specific objectives, which define the scientific-technical work packages (WP) arrangement of the project:
Objetive 1. Adaptation of EDEN® to sustainable energy regulation in the road transport sector. The aim is to adapt and optimize the EDEN® technology made for WWTP to trucks, allowing the intelligent regulation of renewable energies to guarantee the energy supply in the transport of goods, minimizing its dependence on fossil fuels and, at the same time, reducing its carbon footprint, capturing the CO2 generated during the gaseous emissions emitted in the combustion of diesel. As a product, a solid will be obtained that contains all this carbon dioxide in the form of carbonates and bicarbonates. Depending on its characteristics, its deep burial in salt mines or its use as raw material necessary for the manufacture of glass for truck windows will be assessed, thus increasing the development of the circular economy.
Objective 2. Process engineering and scale-up. The aim is to gain a thorough understanding of the processes involved in all experimentally evaluated technologies through process integration& modelling. This understanding is expected to be used for better process scale-up. Thus, a proof of concept of the best technologies developed in TRL4 (Built in a laboratory environment) will be tested in TRL 5 (Tested in the intended environment) in the case of real emissions. A small model truck will be constructed integrating electric and diesel engines in different driving wheels and the technology developed with the adaptation of EDEN® technology made in SetEDEN2Diesel. It is not yet the stage of implementation of technology in a small real truck (TRL 6), because integration is not very simple and needs for the collaboration of very different partners with very different specialities (from chemical to mechanical including electrical and automation engineering) but a proof-of-concept model truck at scale 1:1-1:20 will help to verify the feasibility of going further in this work.
Objective 3. Assessment and optimisation of sustainability. The powering of the different processes with power sources, renewable energies and optimised energy management software will be assessed. Furthermore, each technology will undergo life cycle assessment (LCA) to provide relevant parameters not only related to environmental impact, such as carbon and water footprint, but also to the use of raw materials, toxicity, economic and social impacts. In summary, this proposal is a novel, pioneering and cutting-edge project, which aims to develop sustainable energy regulation in the road transport sector and with the vision of approaching “zero emissions” during the engine combustion stage by processing gaseous streams to obtain a solid. In addition, it considers the integration & modelling to better understand the mechanisms of the complex processes involved and applies this knowledge to scale up to the TRL needed to start industrial transfer