Self-sustained surface cleaning of solar energy systems

The world is progressively transitioning to a distributed and renewable energy generation to overcome manmade climate change. One of the successful technologies is through the use of solar energy whether for direct conversion into electricity (photovoltaic) or thermal energy to enable storing with energy vectors such as water, oil or hydrogen. Regions of the world with high (>2,100 kWh/m2) annual global irradiation (e.g. Africa and Middle East), with great potential for having a boom in clean growth of energy generation and relating economy, are unfortunately arid climate with little rainfall where contaminants can quickly accumulate on surfaces and reduce the performance of deployed system of any scale. In these conditions, manual maintenance with "water and brush" are not a viable option from both economical and environmental viewpoints. Furthermore, building integrated PV applications in these regions, with cleaned glazing, can generate electricity combined with efficient reduction of heat within the building envelope, reducing the load on air conditioning units. The aim of this project is to develop an automated self-sustain, low energy cleaning system to enable continuous operation of solar energy systems. The project will be interdisciplinary in nature and will encompass areas such as environmental testing, CFD modelling, fabricating architectures using transparent earth abundant and low cost materials and designing the delivery of fluid and automation for continuous operation.

ReNU's enhanced doctoral training programme delivered by three uniquely co-located major UK universities, Northumbria (UNN), Durham (DU) and Newcastle (NU), addresses clear skills needs in small-to-medium scale renewable energy (RE) and sustainable distributed energy (DE). It was co-designed by a range of companies and is supported by a balanced portfolio of 27 industrial partners (e.g. Airbus, Siemens and Shell) of which 12 are small or medium size enterprises (SMEs) (e.g. Enocell, Equiwatt and Power Roll). A further 9 partners include Government, not-for-profit and key network organisations. Together these provide a powerful, direct and integrated pathway to a range of impacts that span whole energy systems.

Industrial partners will interact with ReNU in three main ways: (1) through the Strategic Advisory Board; (2) by providing external input to individual doctoral candidate's projects; and (3) by setting Industrial Challenge Mini-Projects. These interactions will directly benefit companies by enabling them to focus ReNU's training programme on particular needs, allowing transfer of best practice in training and state-of-the-art techniques, solution approaches to R&D challenges and generation of intellectual property. Access to ReNU for new industrial partners that may wish to benefit from ReNU is enabled by the involvement of key networks and organisations such as the North East Automotive Alliance, the Engineering Employer Federation, and Knowledge Transfer Network (Energy).

In addition to industrial partners, ReNU includes Government organisations and not for-profit-organisations. These partners provide pathways to create impact via policy and public engagement. Similarly, significant academic impact will be achieved through collaborations with project partners in Singapore, Canada and China. This impact will result in research excellence disseminated through prestigious academic journals and international conferences to the benefit of the global community working on advanced energy materials.