Sector
Energy

Energy systems

This sector covers renewable energies (electric, gas-based and thermal), storage, energy efficiency and energy grids.

Marine renewable energies are included under the “Marine industry”.

Examples of partnerships with companies in the sector

Boilers are using less carbon for combustion thanks to hydrogen produced locally from water and electricity

Partnership Carnot ISIFoR - Bulane

Bulane’s Plug’In Hybrid dyomix® is a compact electrolyser that produces hydrogen using relatively little water and electricity. Thanks to Carnot ISIFoR’s Fluid Mechanics Institute (IMFT), this hydrogen can be used to make gas boilers greener.

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Partnership Carnot ISIFoR - Bulane

Boilers are using less carbon for combustion thanks to hydrogen produced locally from water and electricity

Bulane’s Plug’In Hybrid dyomix® is a compact electrolyser that produces hydrogen using relatively little water and electricity. Thanks to Carnot ISIFoR’s Fluid Mechanics Institute (IMFT), this hydrogen can be used to make gas boilers greener.

Supporting Innovation

Bulane is recognised as a pioneer in clean energy. Its Dyomix® system, which provides a cost-effective, safe and efficient heat source for welding or soldering without using acetylene, has already sold approximately 1 to harness000 units. The key ingredient in this success story is a miniaturised mobile electrolyser that supplies hydrogen and oxygen using just electricity and a few litres of water. The company has harnessed its technology to fossil gas boilers (using natural gas or propane): the hydrogen produced is blended with the gas to make the fossil gases greener.
IMFT (Toulouse Fluid Mechanics Institute) – part of Carnot ISIFoR – and Bulane have shown that at least 20% of natural gas can be replaced in standard burners. Using clean electricity can therefore make gas heating greener and hooking up to a smart grid will allow electricity to be consumed on a timely basis and take another step towards providing low-carbon heating for buildings.
 

The client needs

Bulane is a dynamic start-up created in 2009 which has become an expert in the continuous production of hydrogen and oxygen. It has adopted a sustained innovation policy to boost the attractiveness of its ethical products and pursue its international growth.
Bulane is beginning to diversify by looking into how its "plug and play" system could be adapted to standard gas boilers. Heating housing complexes could become a low-carbon activity by converting millions of existing gas boilers into instruments that serve the energy transition, without actually having to change the equipment. The heat produced on site by the electrolyser that supplies the hydrogen will also be harnessed for even greater efficiency.
To successfully deploy this project, it is necessary to carefully control the introduction of hydrogen into the standard boiler burner and know to what level the “hybridization rate” (i.e., the rate of substitution of hydrogen for natural gas) may be stretched, while continuing to harness the benefits of the existing boilers, which combine optimal performance driven by R&D and mass production at acceptable cost.
 

Partnership

IMFT, which is part of Carnot ISIFoR, is specialised in combustion physics and equipped with special dedicated equipment (UV cameras, thermal resistance testers, etc.) to perform combustion diagnostic testing. Research focused on the feasibility of introducing hydrogen into existing natural gas boiler burners. First, it was necessary to carefully control the mix of the two gases (one very light and the other heavy) with very different diffusion properties. A homogeneous mixture is essential for avoiding unstable combustion (phenomena of self-extinguished flame, flame flashback, etc.) and pollutant emissions linked to the presence of very high temperature zones generating nitrogen oxides.
Once the feasibility had been ascertained, the partnership attacked the development phase. Combining the solution with Dyomix® technology needs to be carefully managed in order to supply hydrogen correctly and obtain a high hybridization rate, while maintaining optimal output from the standard boiler.
IMFT has enabled Bulane to unlock a new market and consolidate its status as an energy transition pioneer by hybridising fossil gas. Several million European gas boilers (which may or may not be connected to "town gas") represent a huge potential target.

January 2022

R-CUE harnesses residual heat from a district heating network to a high-performance system for drying wood.

Carnot Institute MICA - R-CUE

R-CUE is helping to meet increasing demand for firewood by reusing the unavoidable heat from its district heating network. The hot air driven through specially-adapted containers – designed in partnership with Carnot MICA Institute – dries the logs in just a few hours instead of in a couple of years !

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Carnot Institute MICA - R-CUE

R-CUE harnesses residual heat from a district heating network to a high-performance system for drying wood.

R-CUE is helping to meet increasing demand for firewood by reusing the unavoidable heat from its district heating network. The hot air driven through specially-adapted containers – designed in partnership with Carnot MICA Institute – dries the logs in just a few hours instead of in a couple of years !

Supporting Innovation

In 2013, R-CUE (a French acronym for Eastern district heating network) inaugurated a biomass cogeneration plant and heating network that serves the equivalent of 3500 dwellings in the town of Saint-Louis. The plant uses local wood chips and corn cobs to heat over 300 m3 of water flowing through the networks’ 12 km of pipes. Thanks to the energy recovered from the smoke using a condenser, a water circuit heated to nearly 50°C projects hot air into specially-designed containers, each containing 20 cubic meters of 25 cm wood blocks. The contribution of Carnot MICA Institute has helped to optimise end-of-process humidity content, giving the fuel excellent heating properties while minimizing pollution. Thence, the plant gets improved energy efficiency and meets a growing societal demand.

The client needs

Since 2014, power plants must recover their sources of residual heat and R-CUE and R-CUA were created in that year as “carbon-light” heat producers. The subsidiaries of R-GDS and Primeo Energie (formerly EBM), along with R-CUA (Alsace district heating network), quickly gained a dominant foothold in the virtuous heating network sector. As part of its quest for a solution that would enable it to re-use the unavoidable heat from the Saint-Louis plant, the SME contacted Carnot MICA Institute. It only took a few brief exchanges to pinpoint an opportunity to apply the Institute’s expertise in material behaviour to the private wood fuel market. Demand is increasing, however timber needs to be dried for one to two years before the humidity content can be reduced from an average of 75% to under 20%, thus providing satisfactory heating properties. R-CUE gave Carnot MICA Institute a free hand to come up with a solution while also boosting its energy efficiency by designing an easy-to-use process with a big local impact. The two partners are working together to come up with a rapid drying system for wood blocks that harnesses waste heat from the network. The results of this green innovation have been highly satisfactory for the company, which has boosted its energy efficiency by 10% and created 10 direct and indirect jobs. In 2018, R-CUE began operating a second drying plant in the town of Sarre-Union capable of drying 10 000 cubic meters of wood a year.

Partnership

Carnot MICA Institute harnesses its expertise in functional materials, surfaces, interfaces and related processes to devise solutions for diverse business sectors, including luxury goods, the environment, sports, automobiles and energy. The insides of the container provide optimal drying conditions by pulsing hot air from one end and they have been designed using researcher expertise in materials and their transformation. Their command of interactions and behaviour within a divided and heterogeneous mix of materials was used to develop a model that provides the drying time required based on a simple humidity rate reading taken when the timber arrives. This first partnership between R-CUE and Carnot MICA has helped the French National Forestry Office (ONF) to improve productivity through more effective rotation and more enlightened forestry management practices.
It has been so successful that the two entities are planning to continue their strategic innovation collaboration on a long-term basis. For example, R-CUA, the other subsidiary, is set to reap the benefits of Carnot’s research into materials capable of storing heat over long periods. This low heat loss stored energy may be recovered at a later stage, either to reduce fuel consumption or to meet a specific demand outside of the domestic heating season, such as heating swimming pools.

April 2020

Enogia can convert even low-temperature heat into clean electricity

Partnership Carnot IFPEN TE - Enogia

Enogia and Carnot IFPEN TE are using enhanced Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) modules to move beyond industrial uses and target the mobility sector.

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Partnership Carnot IFPEN TE - Enogia

Enogia can convert even low-temperature heat into clean electricity

Enogia and Carnot IFPEN TE are using enhanced Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) modules to move beyond industrial uses and target the mobility sector.

Supporting Innovation

Enogia is a Marseille-based SME that harnesses ORC (Organic Rankine Cycle) technology to convert heat into electricity. This technology uses a Rankine thermodynamic cycle – most famously illustrated by the steam generator – together with an organic component. ORC has huge potential in the current energy policy environment but it needs to be green, affordable and as widely available as possible to have a real impact. With a helping hand from Carnot IFPEN Transports Energie, Enogia has already made its  device technically and financially accessible for numerous SMEs. It is now possible to convert even low-temperature heat into electricity. The organic heat transfer fluid does not negatively impact the environment and the ORC micro-turbine is a big step towards making boat, truck and car engines cleaner and more energy efficient.

The client needs

Enogia has been designing and manufacturing stationary ORC applications since 2012. It quickly realised that it wanted to make these systems accessible to companies of all sizes.
An initial partnership with the Carnot institute enabled Enogia to develop a range of devices capable of producing between 5 and 200 kW of electric power. The heat transfer fluid – crucial for the project – was selected using simulators and test stands designed specifically by Enogia and IFPEN Transports Energie.
This joint initiative pinpointed a specific market need and culminated in an increase in Enogia’s workforce from 10 to over 35 people.
The Company is absolutely convinced of this technology’s potential for harnessing low-temperature heat and is now looking to incorporate it into boat, train and car engines. It is continuing to work with Carnot institute IFPEN Transports Energie towards a first industrial demo.

Partnership

Carnot IFPEN Transports Energie has been partnering the sustainable mobility challenges of big and small operators since 2006. Thanks to positive results in terms of innovation, tech transfer and industry partnerships it has become an internationally recognised expert. Carnot initially provided Enogia with computational and experimental resources. The two structures worked hand-in-hand to design a micro-turbo pump adapted to motor vehicle engine power that would be compact, eco-friendly and relatively cheap to produce.
A number of patents already filed – jointly owned by Enogia and IFPEN – are a testimony to a fruitful partnership between teams with common interests. Carnot’s commitment to this project is helping to grow an SME that is itself driving innovation in a market with high potential.

May 2019

The design of a comfortable and reliable stand-alone climb assist system allows FIXATOR to target the world wind energy market

Partnership ARTS Carnot Institute - FIXATOR

Exolift helps reduce arduous maintenance occupations. The culmination of three years' research, including two year research collaboration with ARTS Carnot Institute, has led to its market uptake.

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Partnership ARTS Carnot Institute - FIXATOR

The design of a comfortable and reliable stand-alone climb assist system allows FIXATOR to target the world wind energy market

Exolift helps reduce arduous maintenance occupations. The culmination of three years' research, including two year research collaboration with ARTS Carnot Institute, has led to its market uptake.

Supporting Innovation

The climbing of vertical access ladders by workers to reach elevated surfaces, such as pylons or wind turbines, for inspection requires intense muscular efforts. French SME FIXATOR, a specialist in the manufacturing of suspended platforms and lifting winch for hoisting and lowering persons and equipment, have underscored the intent of their design around the technician’s morphology. While the latter’s weight is being taken into account, continued assistance is provided and adjusted based on the technician’s speed. The climb assist system taking about 80% off the user weight, he is therefore able to adapt his speed of ascent / descent accordingly without tiredness and in better safety conditions. Indeed, the transportable system’s strap is fixed to a rigid part of the ladder. With an autonomy averaging between 8 to 10 return trips over an 80 m-distance, Exolift shows an  ascend / descend time divided by 3 and physical effort required divided by 5.

The client needs

Based in the Loire region (Angers, Western France) FIXATOR started 90 years ago with the development of permanent / temporary suspended working platform and lifting winch design. The SME’s solutions are distributed worldwide through and extensive network of distributors. FIXATOR R&D teams took the chance to innovate while meeting burgeoning demands notably for  installation activities and maintenance of wind turbines. The argument put forward was that swift action was needed to respond to such demand at international level, as it was outgrowing the French orders. This new idea entailed to work out an adequate and reliable climb assist systems. Its integration into existing installations has been facilitated through new technologies. The great benefits with such system are: autonomy of use, drudgery reduction, cost-efficiency, enhanced productivity.
Assistance by AMVALOR over 2 years, a subsidiary of Arts et Métiers Paris Tech and a part of the ARTS Carnot Institute, has brought forward the development of Exolift.

Partnership

The ARTS Carnot institute focus on the design, industrialisation and production of innovative and complex manufactured goods with multiple technologies. To meet FIXATOR’s expectations effectively, the Arts et Métiers Paris Tech researchers have worked for optimising the demands on weight, performance and costs. They also designed the measuring chain to control the speed of travel using a dynamometric axis while adjusting the electronic parameter settings of the control system developed with company SEIA*. The ARTS Carnot Institute’s support combined with FIXATOR’s associated internal resources were decisive for marketing the system. Exolift is not only a technological breakthrough but also a QWL** strong determinant.
Exolift has received the regional Trophy for Innovation in 2014, before its marketing launch in 2015.
*A French-based SME specialised in industrial electronic repair
**Quality of working life

January 2018

2 Carnot Institutes work together on consumer-oriented product development

Partnership Energies du futur - Leti Carnot Institutes- Bubendorff

Industry leader of built-in motorised blinds Bubendorff markets devices designed to automate with no auxiliary voltage supply, even when installed north!

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Partnership Energies du futur - Leti Carnot Institutes- Bubendorff

2 Carnot Institutes work together on consumer-oriented product development

Industry leader of built-in motorised blinds Bubendorff markets devices designed to automate with no auxiliary voltage supply, even when installed north!

Supporting Innovation

The ‘ID2 Autonome’ controlled blind automated system comes complete with a blind, batteries and remote control pack offering outstanding energy savings thanks to a 100% solar return.
To ensure consistent system performance even with poor solar insolation a systematic methodology for efficient-energy use was approached so as to optimise a specified set of energy expenses (stand-by mode, radio contact between the blind and the remote control, the blind motor system…). The selection of the appropriate battery type has been decisive to meeting the French manufacturer’s Seal of Approval and 7-year warranty. The products have been available to consumers since 2012 and help the company keep its number one position in the French market.

The client needs

The small, family-run Alsace-based Bubendorff enterprise has been specialising in the manufacture of roller shutters since 1959. While constantly striving to improve competitiveness, the manufacturer keeps investing substantially in research and development through logistical proficiency and innovative solutions to help each of their clients reduce their environmental impact. It is on this basis that Bubendorff approached and started discussions with LITEN, a section of the “Energies du futur” Carnot Institute , prompting the idea of a useable solar powered blind motorised system to suit one’s new or soon-to-be-renovated building/house whatever the light exposure. This requirement means increased efficiency, and optimisation of the entire energy system.

Partnership

The “Energies du futur” Carnot Institute has determined  the high-performance battery complying with optimized charging and discharging parameter assessment. The CEA LETI*, Carnot Institute, enables significant gains in energy efficiency by dividing total radio communication consumption by 100, compared to the earlier generations of radio system. Such co-operation with Bubendorff has resulted in the launching of a comprehensive range of sustainable blinds whose energy-efficiency is enhanced when they are controlled according the ratio  amount of sunshine / temperature.

* Research institute for electronics and information technologies

January 2017