Search - Sciences de base pour l’énergie - 2023

The similarity between faulted geothermal reservoirs and hydrothermal ore deposits which exhibit similar features of behavior and fault activation suggests that a fundamental knowledge and better insight into the natural processes underlying the heat and mineral resources availability can be reached

Halide perovskite based solar cells (PSCs) mark a critical turning point for emerging photovoltaic technologies. The French-German project ALSATIAN aims at enhancing the reliability of PSCs by developing new functional thin-film coatings that will improve stability of high efficiency cells. Rapid e

Refrigeration systems worldwide greenhouse gas emissions in 2015 were equivalent to the whole EU emissions. Long-term sustainability requires improvements in energy efficiency, with a huge return on investment obtained from even slight improvements. The mechanocaloric effect, which refers to adiabat

The development of proton exchange membrane fuel cells, which aim to convert hydrogen into electricity, is essential in the context of the energy transition. The advantage of this electrochemical process is that it is non-polluting, generating mainly water. In such a cell, the gas separating and pro

Using hydrogen produced by electrolysis from renewable energies will support the climate-neutrality objective in many sectors. In particular, hydrogen combustion is bound to replace fossil fuel in many industrial systems involved with electrical power, steam, or heat generation. However, hydrogen co

The lifetime and reliability of batteries are mainly governed by Electrode-Electrolyte Interfaces (EEI) that are sheltering crucial processes. These interfaces evolve with time and during battery operation, hence a supplementary challenge deals with the monitoring of the EEI’s dynamic nature; a hot

The destabilization of a liquid jet into droplets by a fast gas stream is at the heart of many applications, in particular related to propulsion (turboreactors, rocket engines). However, existing models and numerical simulations used to dimension these systems have been validated far from the condit

Realizing photovoltaic devices that achieve the full potential of the active materials will require a better knowledge of their working mechanism, in particular it is of paramount importance to understand which physical and chemical process govern not only their power conversion efficiency (PCE) but

Solar fuels such as H2 are promising alternatives to fossil energy. The exploration of new absorbers and catalysts is essential to step forward the research on photoelectrochemical cells. The present project deals with the use of a new family of abundant catalysts that exhibit a remarkable activity

The portable, on-demand, and point-of-use synthesis of nanoparticles (NP) can improve the feasability of portable applications requiring such materials. Currently, many synthesis techniques require fixed-site, complex facilities, hence prohibiting on-demand NP production at a remote location. As a r

Innovative processes for the fabrication of silicon (Si) ingots for photovoltaic (PV) cells are presently implemented in industrial plants. The recent demand for larger wafer dimensions generates new issues regarding the crystal defects and mechanical stress. To answer to these scientific key-issues

The emerging applications of nanomaterials in electrochemical energy conversion and storage call for reliable evaluation of their reactivity. Traditional electrochemical measurements at macroscale encounter difficulties in differentiating the intrinsic reactivity of materials from geometric effect,

The large-scale use of renewable energy, in particular solar energy, requires the development of energy storage technologies to compensate for the intermittent availability of solar radiation. Among all storage methods, the thermochemical storage of energy appears to be particularly interesting due

Efficient energy storage of liquid energy vectors over long periods of time is at the heart of todays’ energy saving and of the coming energy transition (ground cryogenic H2 storage, cryogenic LNG tankers). It is also one of the main challenges for deep space missions (H2 tanks). Nevertheless, the b

Halide perovskites have attracted a strong interest in the photovoltaic community as a result of their high power conversion efficiency and the solid opportunity to realize low-cost and industry-scalable technology. One of the main drawbacks preventing the commercialisation of such technologies is t

Hydrogenases are the enzymes that oxidize or produce H2 at a NiFe or FeFe active site. The principles of their active site mechanisms have been understood by combining a number of techniques over decades of investigations by the international scientific community, including the partners of this proj

MOFUEL ambitions to develop a new generation of sustainable mixed matrix membranes for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells, based on acidic durable MOFs with enhanced proton conducting properties. The MOFs will be dispersed in bio-sourced polymers to shape highly conductive membranes. The main g

In order to produce hydrogen from completely de-carbonized sources, several solutions exist. The electrolysis of water using electricity produced by renewable means or the photolysis of water using a photocatalyst and light. It is also necessary that the light is produced by a de-carbonized source.

The PLASINTER project main objective is to expand the knowledge on catalysts behavior, both in structure and chemical nature, under non-thermal plasma CO2 hydrogenation. There is consensus, in the plasma community, that upgrading of this process can be achieved by untangling plasma-chemical processe

Despite the tremendous interest of the scientific community in the dissymmetrization of metal oxide semiconducting nanoparticles (NPs), very few methods can produce efficiently highly dissymmetric systems at the nanoscale, especially metal oxide nanocatalysts for photocatalytic water splitting. The

Thermoelectric (TE) materials are widely studied, for waste energy conversion or refrigerating applications. Many ways have been explored to enhance the TE figure of merit zT. Nanostructuring of matter is one of the major current strategies that enable to manipulate selectively in energy the electro

The goal of this project is to create the first water-soluble molecular system capable to perform singlet fission-mediated multi-electronic photocatalysis. Currently, solar-driven chemical synthesis involving multi-electronic processes faces two major challenges: i) the possibility of competitive ch

PROMENADE project is devoted to the study of the physical properties of innovative phase change materials composites (C-PCMs) for thermal storage applications. Multiscale approaches will be used to characterize the thermal and the rheological properties of fluids incorporated in porous matrices, and

The large-scale needs for Li-ion batteries to achieve the energy transition in the transport sector and the need to bypass the use of cobalt-based materials, which are both environmentally and economically problematic, still require many efforts. Composed of non-critical transition metals, spinel ma

The energy transition towards renewable resources requires the development of safe, efficient and low-cost energy storage methods. To this end, solid-state hydrogen storage appears to be an ideal solution. Complex hydrides of the borohydride type allow for the secure storage of large quantities of h

Finding solutions that respect the environment and whose development would open up new fields of less energy-intensive uses is vital in the ever-increasing effort to regulate polluting emissions and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The LEDVAN project, whose major goal is to establish the viability o

One way to significantly improve the sustainability of our energy base and reduce our CO2 emissions is through the scavenging of waste heat with thermoelectric generators. The BIsCOTTES project aims at developing cost-effective TE sulfide systems. The scientific approach is based on the investigatio

The use of silicon as a negative electrode material for lithium-ion batteries is a promising way to improve their capacity. However, this raises several challenges due to the large volume change, stresses and mechanical disintegration that silicon experiences during lithiation. Amorphous methylated

In the present environmental situation, hydrogen (H2) has received significant consideration as a promising energy vector. Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers (LOHC) are recognized as one of the optimal options for H2 production in terms of cost, safety and manageability. Formic acid (FA) is among the

Over the past few years, it has become clear that the mandatory reduction of energy consumption, the desire to rely less on fossil fuels and environmental pollution necessitate the development of sustainable and alternative energy sources. Technologies based on nanomaterials have proven to be promis