News 2010

Danish industrial players have expressed a strong need for support in the process to push fuel cell and hydrogen technologies from the research and development stage into the commercial domain. Risø DTU has now with Danish Gas Technology Center (DGC) as partner received support from the Danish Programme for Energy Technology Development and Demonstration (EUPD) to initialize a center which will eventually support industry with test, development, analysis, approval, certification, consultation, and training in the areas of fuel cell and hydrogen technologies.

Der var stor interesse for at deltage i det netop afsluttede Afrika Carbon Forum i Nairobi. UNEP Risø Centret på Risø DTU var en af hovedarrangørerne.

The largest regional carbon trade fair in Africa so far is taking place in Kenya from 3 to 5 March 2010. The UNEP Risoe Centre at Risø DTU is responsible for a major part of the event at the UNEP headquarters on the outskirts of Nairobi.

For some years, the Wind Energy Division at Risø DTU has been working to develop a method for controlling the loads on large wind turbine blades using a flexible trailing edge made of an elastic material which can be controlled by means of compressed air or hydraulics. Now, the invention, which has been called CRTEF (Controllable Rubber Trailing Edge Flap), has been tested in a wind tunnel with promising results.

With new, advanced equipment, scientists at Risø DTU have shown that materials to produce micro-and nanocomponents react very differently depending on whether crystals are large or small. This research creates important knowledge that can be used to develop technologies aimed at the nanoproduction of micro-electro-mechanical systems such as digital microphones in mobile phones, miniature pressure sensors in water pumps and acceleration sensors in airbags.

Two years ago, Risø DTU had the opportunity to set up measurement masts on the small peninsula of Bolund at Roskilde Fjord. Within a few months unique data on wind flow in complex terrain was collected. The data can be used to check the different wind calculation programs around the world. In the autumn of 2009 users from Europe, the USA and Canada participated in a blind comparison and a workshop where the measurements were published.

Frederik C. Krebs heads Risø DTU's research into polymer solar cells. From 15 January he is appointed Professor at DTU in the field of ”Organic Photovoltaics”.

Smart Embedded Sensor Systems will allow operators of offshore wind farms to check ‘the health’ of the wind turbines, while the operator is sitting in a warm and dry place on land and while the turbine blades are spinning merrily, far away at sea.

This is made possible by incorporating sensors into the wind turbine blades to discover changes and damage in the blade structure at an early stage before the blade breaks. Remote monitoring of damage to off-shore wind turbines could save money, because the intervals between inspections can be increased. Moreover, operation becomes safer and more stable as it possible to check from a remote place whether a blade has been damaged after a heavy storm. The project is called SESS and stands for Smart Embedded Sensor Systems.

In the future, most wind turbines will not stand alone in a field, but together with other wind turbines as part of large wind farms on land or at sea. If yield and durability are to be perfect, the location of each wind turbine must be planned carefully. The Risø-led EU project TOPFARM provides the tools for a more rational design of wind farms.