The role of flexibility in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond:Contributing to a sustainable and resilient energy future in Europe

The energy sector provides fuel for much of everyday life, particularly economically and socially. Fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic, a well-functioning and resilient energy sector is vital for maintaining the operation of critical infrastructures, including, most importantly, the health sector, and timely economic recovery. Notwithstanding its importance in everyday life and crises, the energy sector itself is currently in a complex and far-reaching transformation to combat climate change whilst supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy and society, mainly through the development of variable renewable energy sources (RES) such as wind and solar photovoltaics. This paper highlights the need for energy resilience as countries face the triple challenge of the COVID-19 health crisis, the consequent economic crisis, and the climate crisis. Focusing on Europe, it is advanced here that with the ability to balance fluctuating electricity generation and demand, flexibility allows the energy sector to utilise low-carbon RES reliably, ensuring a more resilient and sustainable energy future. This paper derives five urgent policy recommendations for Europe that address possible impacts of COVID-19 on the economic and societal prerequisites for flexibility in energy systems

Sources and sinks separating domains of left- and right-traveling waves: Experiment versus amplitude equations

In many pattern forming systems that exhibit traveling waves, sources and sinks occur which separate patches of oppositely traveling waves. We show that simple qualitative features of their dynamics can be compared to predictions from coupled amplitude equations. In heated wire convection experiments, we find a discrepancy between the observed multiplicity of sources and theoretical predictions. The expression for the observed motion of sinks is incompatible with any amplitude equation description.Comment: 4 pages, RevTeX, 3 figur

Судно с электроприводом от солнечной батареи

Объектом исследования является: Маломерное судно. Цель работы: Проект солнечной электростанции с накопителями электрической энергии, способной обеспечивать бесперебойное электроснабжение электромотора за счет преобразования энергии солнца. В процессе исследования проводились: расчет и выработки электрической энергии солнечными модулями, расчет и выбор емкости накопителей, разработка схемы солнечной электростанции, выбор оборудования солнечной электростанции, исследование динамических характеристик электропривода работающего от солнечной электростанции.The object of research is: a Small ship. The purpose of the research is to design a solar power plant with electric energy storage devices capable of providing uninterruptedly power supply to an electric motor by converting the solar energy. In the course of the research, the following activities were carried out: the calculation of electrical energy generation by solar modules, the calculation and selection of storage capacities, the development of a solar power plant scheme, selection of solar power plant equipment, study of the dynamic characteristics of an electric drive powered by a solar power plant

Voltammetric microsensor using PEDOT-modified gold electrode for the simultaneous assay of ascorbic and uric acids

A voltammetric microsensor has been developed for the simultaneous assay of ascorbic (AA) and uric (UA) acids in aqueous solution. The electrode surface has been modified by means of electropolymerized conductive poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) PEDOT organic films. The electrocatalytic activity of the interface was dependent on the electropolymerization parameters inducing change in the structure and the morphology of the resulting polymer. The PEDOT thickness was optimized in order to maximize the peak potential separation between both acids oxidation to more than 400 mV. By using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), the sensitivity of the microsensor was 0.87 µA µM-1 cm-2 and 4.05 µA µM-1 cm-2 for AA and UA respectively. The later was sensible to the presence of AA in the mixture, making evidence of the catalytic mechanism of UA regeneration. The calibration curves were linear in the concentration range 5.0– 300 µmol L-1 for AA and 2.0–600 µmol L-1 for UA. The detection limits were 2.5 µmol L-1 and 1.5 µmol L-1 respectively. The sensor response was unmodified in the presence of the major electroactive biomarkers. The application of the PEDOT modified microsensor to the analysis of human blood serum was evaluated

Влияние диаметра центрального отверстия горизонтальных ребер емкости объемом 60 литров на ее среднюю производительность

В данной работе представлена математическая модель нестационарного процесса заполнения вертикальных погружных емкостей газообразным UF6. Приведены результаты расчетов средней производительности, степени и времени заполнения емкости объемом 6·10-2 м3 с горизонтальным оребрением при изменении диаметра центрального отверстия ребер. Показано, что емкость объемом 6·10-2 м3 имеет максимальную среднюю производительность и минимальное время заполнения при диаметре центрального отверстия горизонтальных ребер 6,4·10-2 м.The mathematical model of non-stationary filling of vertical submerged tanks with gaseous uranium hexafluoride is presented in the paper. There are calculations of the average productivity, heat exchange area, filling time of horizontal ribbing tank with volume 6·10-2 m3 with change central hole diameter of the ribs. We have demonstrated that maximum average productivity and a minimum filling time are reached for the tank with volume 6·10-2 m3 having central hole diameter of horizontal ribs 6,4·10-2 m

Discovery of the Lanthipeptide Curvocidin and Structural Insights into its Trifunctional Synthetase CuvL

Lanthipeptides are ribosomally-synthesized natural products from bacteria featuring stable thioether-crosslinks and various bioactivities. Herein, we report on a new clade of tricyclic class-IV lanthipeptides with curvocidin from Thermomonospora curvata as its first representative. We obtained crystal structures of the corresponding lanthipeptide synthetase CuvL that showed a circular arrangement of its kinase, lyase and cyclase domains, forming a central reaction chamber for the iterative substrate processing involving nine catalytic steps. The combination of experimental data and artificial intelligence-based structural models identified the N-terminal subdomain of the kinase domain as the primary site of substrate recruitment. The ribosomal precursor peptide of curvocidin employs an amphipathic α-helix in its leader region as an anchor to CuvL, while its substrate core shuttles within the central reaction chamber. Our study thus reveals general principles of domain organization and substrate recruitment of class-IV and class-III lanthipeptide synthetases.Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659Research Training Group RTG 2473 "Bioactive Peptides"RTG 2473 "Bioactive Peptides"Peer Reviewe

Electricity Market Design 2030-2050: Moving Towards Implementation

Climate change and ambitious emission-reduction targets call for an extensive decarbonization of electricity systems, with increasing levels of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and demand flexibility to balance the variable and intermittent electricity supply. A successful energy transition will lead to an economically and ecologically sustainable future with an affordable, reliable, and carbon-neutral supply of electricity. In order to achieve these objectives, a consistent and enabling market design is required. The Kopernikus Project SynErgie investigates how demand flexibility of the German industry can be leveraged and how a future-proof electricity market design should be organized, with more than 80 project partners from academia, industry, governmental and non-governmental organizations, energy suppliers, and network operators. In our SynErgie Whitepaper Electricity Spot Market Design 2030-2050 [1], we argued for a transition towards Locational Marginal Prices (LMPs) (aka. nodal prices) in Germany in a single step as a core element of a sustainable German energy policy. We motivated a well-designed transition towards LMPs, discussed various challenges, and provided a new perspective on electricity market design in terms of technological opportunities, bid languages, and strategic implications. This second SynErgie Whitepaper Electricity Market Design 2030-2050: Moving Towards Implementation aims at further concretizing the future German market design and provides first guidelines for an implementation of LMPs in Germany. Numerical studies –while not being free of abstractions –give evidence that LMPs generate efficient locational price signals and contribute to manage the complex coordination challenge in (long-term) electricity markets, ultimately reducing price differences between nodes. Spot and derivatives markets require adjustments in order to enable an efficient dispatch and price discovery, while maintaining high liquidity and low transaction costs. Moreover, a successful LMP implementation requires an integration into European market coupling and appropriate interfaces for distribution grids as well as sector coupling. Strategic implications with regard to long-term investments need to be considered, along with mechanisms to support RES investments. As a facilitator for an LMP system, digital technologies should be considered jointly with the market design transition under an enabling regulatory framework. Additional policies can address distributional effects of an LMP system and further prevent market power abuse. Overall, we argue for a well-designed electricity spot market with LMPs, composed of various auctions at different time frames, delivering an efficient market clearing, considering grid constraints, co-optimizing ancillary services, and providing locational prices according to a carefully designed pricing scheme. The spot market is tightly integrated with liquid and accessible derivatives markets, embedded into European market coupling mechanisms, and allows for functional interfaces to distribution systems and other energy sectors. Long-term resource adequacy is ensured and existing RES policies transition properly to the new market design. Mechanisms to mitigate market power and distributional effects are in place and the market design leverages the potential of modern information technologies. Arapid expansion of wind andsolar capacity will be needed to decarbonize the integrated energy system but will most likely also increase the scarcity of the infrastructure. Therefore, an efficient use of the resource "grid" will be a key factor of a successful energy transition. The implementation of an LMPs system of prices with finer space and time granularity promises many upsides and can be a cornerstone for a futureproof electricity system, economic competitiveness, and a decarbonized economy and society. Among the upsides, demand response (and other market participants with opportunity costs) can be efficiently and coherently incentivized to address network constraints, a task zonal systems with redispatch fail at. The transition to LMPs requires a thorough consideration of all the details and specifications involved in the new market design. With this whitepaper, we provide relevant perspectives and first practical guidelines for this crucial milestone of the energy transition

Electricity Spot Market Design 2030-2050

Driven by the climate conference in Paris in December 2015 countries worldwide are confronted with the question of how to shape their power system and how to establish alternative technologies to reduce harmful CO2 emissions. The German government plans that even before the year 2050, all electricity generated and consumed in Germany should be greenhouse gas neutral [1]. To successfully integrate renewable energies, a future energy system must be able to handle the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. One important means to address such electricity production variability is demand-side flexibility. Here, industry plays a major role in responding to variable electricity supply with adequate flexibility. This is where the Kopernikus project SynErgie comes in with more than 80 project partners from academia, industry, governmental, and non-governmental organizations as well as energy suppliers and network operators. The Kopernikus project SynErgie investigates how to best leverage demand-side flexibility in the German industry. The current electricity market design in Germany is not well suited to deal with increasing levels of renewable energy, and it does not embrace demand-side flexibility. Almost 6GW of curtailed power in 2019 provide evidence that changes are needed with respect to the rules governing electricity markets. These rules were designed at a time when electricity generation was concentrated on a few large and dispatchable conventional power plants and demand was considered inelastic. The SynErgie Cluster IV investigates how a future-proof electricity market design should be organized. The corresponding Work Package IV.3.1 more specifically deals with analyzing and designing allocation and pricing rules on electricity spot markets. The resulting design must be well suited to accommodate demand-side flexibility and address the intermittent nature of important renewable energy sources. This whitepaper is the result of a fruitful collaboration among the partners involved in SynErgie Cluster IV which include Germany’s leading research organizations and practitioners in the field. The collaboration led to an expert workshop in October 2020 with participation from a number of international energy market experts such as Mette Bjørndal (NHH), Endre Bjørndal (NHH), Peter Cramton (University of Maryland and University of Cologne), and Raphael Heffron (University of Dundee). The whitepaper details the key recommendations from this workshop. In particular, the whitepaper recommends a move to a locational, marginal price-based system together with new bidding formats allowing to better express flexibility. We argue in favor of a one-step introduction of locational, marginal prices instead of repeatedly splitting existing zones. Frequent zone splitting involves recurring political debates as well as short- and long-run instabilities affecting the basis for financial contracts, for example. Importantly, the definition of stable prize zones is very challenging with increasing levels of distributed and renewable energy sources. The recommendation is the outcome of an intense debate about advantages and downsides of different policy alternatives. However, such a transition to locational, marginal prices is not without challenges, and it is a call to arms for the research community, policymakers, and practitioners to develop concepts on how to best facilitate the transition and ensure a reliable and efficient electricity market of the future