Picture credits: Global Energy Association
2019 edition of Global Energy Association will reward 4 young researchers and innovators in the R&D energy sector for their technological innovations. The winning projects are pioneering ideas for air cooling and dehumidification services for rail-transit vehicles, energy efficiency in thermal power plants, non-traditional energy and new ways of energy application.
The Global Energy Association is a non-governmental organisation which aims to support the development of industry and energy research since 2002 – in partnership with three leading Russian energy companies: PJSC Gazprom, "Surgutneftegas" PJSC, and PJSC FGC UES.
Every year, the Russian organisation holds contests for researchers and innovators, to contribute to the development of advanced scientific and technological innovations. The 2019 edition opened the doors to international participants for the Youth Program; applications have been sent from Australia, Europe, Japan and the USA.
About the Youth Program
The Global Energy Youth Program aims to identify and promote the most promising engineers, researches and developers under the age of 40 who can provide innovative technological progress in the energy sector, exchanging expertise between Russian and other countries – creating a proper “talent pool of future engineers in the energy sector”.
Applicants have the possibility to submit their paper and project for one of the following categories: “Idea” and “Startup”. “Idea” comprises three areas: “Traditional energy”, “Non-traditional energy” and “New ways of energy application”. The “Startup” competition is open to international projects in the energy field, successfully introduced into production during the last 5 years.
Winners of 2019 Global Energy Youth Program
Winners of the current year’s edition are researchers from Russia and China. Each of them has received a monetary reward, which amounts to USD 16, 000. The Award ceremony will be held in Moscow on December 12, 2019.
- The first winner is Tianshu Ge, Associate Professor at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Her project “High-Efficient Dehumidification Air-conditioning Heat Pump System for Rail Transit Vehicles” accounts more than 1/6 of total energy consumption worldwide. The air conditioning system carries out two functions: air cooling and dehumidification. For the latter, the system must operate at a lower temperature (5-7°C); however, in order to maintain the efficiency level, Tianshu Ge proposes to apply a special desiccant to the metal surface of conventional refrigerant heat exchanger, which allows to run the evaporation temperature of the refrigerant to 15-18°C and doubling the COP of the system. The new air conditioning system can be implemented anywhere from private houses and office premises to supermarkets, public transportation, subway, and high-speed trains.
- Another winning project is developed by Roman Mishnev, Research Associate at the Belgorod National Research University. His project “Promising Steel for Energy Efficiency in Thermal Power Plants” won the “Idea” nomination, for “Traditional energy” category. The winning project allows generating energy in coal power plants in a sustainable way. According to Roman Mishnev, the economic profit from the use of new steel exceeds 5 million roubles per day at one power plant.
- Evgeniy Naranov, Research worker at A.V.Topchiev Institute of Petrochemical Synthesis, is the third winner for “Non-Traditional Energy” category; the winning project is “Production of High-Quality Products from Bio-Oil Using RU-Contained Catalysts”. Naranov’s pioneering technology hydrotreats bio-oils (which are formed during the pyrolysis phase) using noble metal catalysts – in particular, ruthenium, which is the most active material in removing oxygen. The project can potentially solve the problem of processing biomass waste and can reduce the negative environmental impact.
- The last winner is Evgeniy Titov, Associate Professor of the Department of “Electrification of Production and Life” of Polzunov Altai State Technical University. He has been chosen in the “Startup” category, for “New Ways of Energy Application”. His project allows providing multi-parameter monitoring of the electromagnetic environment in domestic and industrial environments. The technology gives an accurate picture of the danger of electromagnetic radiation and predicts a change in the electromagnetic environment at the facilities that are extremely important for ensuring human safety and the effective functioning of electrical equipment.
