Hydrogen from wind curtailment for a cleaner European road transport system

Wind power is currently curtailed in order to stabilise power systems and due to economic considerations. Using curtailed wind energy to produce hydrogen could fuel hundreds of thousands of new cars. Producing hydrogen from wind curtailment is however still more expensive than buying it at market price.JRC.C.7-Knowledge for the Energy Unio

Fermer les « Campi Nomadi » d’Italie et d’Europe

Depuis 2007, le collectif d’artistes et de chercheurs Stalker - Osservatorio Nomade, mène, en collaboration avec le Dipartimento di Studi Urbani de l’Università di Roma Tre, un travail de recherche avec les communautés Rom installées dans la périphérie romaine, en recourant à des actions de terrain, des cours universitaires et des actions d’art civique. Les Rom sont le plus grand peuple européen sans état (environs 15 millions d’individus). En Italie, ils sont confinés dans des camps nommés « Villages de la Solidarité », où leur culture et leur mode de vie sont gravement menacés. Hors de tout dispositif légal, leurs droits y sont suspendus. Le travail de recherche présenté ici, intitulé « Nomadisme et ville. Habitats informels, camps nomades, abris occasionnels, lus à travers des pratiques et des expériences d’art public », a commencé par une marche exploratoire le long des berges du Tibre où l’on rencontre plus de cinquante bidonvilles (Sui letti del fiume, 2007). Il s’est poursuivi par un séminaire international itinérant, prenant la forme d’un voyage à la rencontre des habitats marginaux, à travers dépôts de containers, zones barbelées équipées d’un réseau de vidéosurveillance, constructions spontanées (Campus Rom 2008). Ce projet s’est achevé par la mise en place, à l’intérieur du Campo Rom Casilino 900, d’un chantier ouvert à l’auto-construction en bois et à la multiculturalité (Savorengo Ker – la casa di tutti, brûlé en décembre 2008).Voir :www.osservatorionomade.netSince 2007, Stalker/Osservatorio Nomade, a network of artists and researchers, in collaboration with the Urban Studies department at the Università di Roma TRE, has undertaken a research project on Romani communities in Rome through field investigations, university courses, and civic art actions. Romanis are regarded, more than any other community, as “the Other”, and make up the largest homeless, stateless population in Europe (approximately 15 million people). They are severely discriminated against in Italy through the “Campi Nomadi,” now referred to as “solidarity villages” - police-patrolled, segregated areas to which the Romains are confined and in which their legal rights are suspended. This study, entitled “Nomadism and the City: Living on the Edge; Nomad Camps and Temporary Shelters Seen through Practices and Experiments in Public Art,” began with an exploratory walk along the banks of the river, where participants encountered more than fifty shantytowns (Sui letti del fiume, 2007). It continued with a travelling, international seminar in the form of nine camping cars visiting various habitats. These habitats included temporary settlements from past generations, with containers, barbed wire and 24-hour surveillance cameras; authorized sites that have developed spontaneously; abusive shantytowns (Campus Rom, 2008); and, finally, an experimental project integrating several ethnic communities on an open building site at the Campo Rom Casilino 900, a building cooperative that worked to erect an actual wooden house (Savorengo Ker – the house for everyone, 2008), which burned down in December 2008. See: www.osservatorionomade.ne

Systematic mapping of power system models: Expert survey

The power system is one of the main subsystems of larger energy systems. It is a complex system in itself, consisting of an ever-changing infrastructure used by a large number of actors of very different sizes. The boundaries of the power system are characterised by ever-evolving interfaces with equally complex subsystems such as gas transport and distribution, heating and cooling, and, increasingly, transport. The situation is further complicated by the fact that electricity is only a carrier, able to fulfil demand for such things as lighting, heat or mobility. One specific and fundamental feature of the electricity system is that demand and generation must match at any time, while satisfying technical and economic constraints. In most of the world’s power systems, only relatively small quantities of electricity can be stored, and only for limited periods of time. A detailed analysis of supply and demand is thus needed for short time intervals. Mathematical models facilitate power system planning, operation, transmission and distribution, demonstrating problems that need to be solved over different timescales and horizons. The use of modelling to understand these processes is not only vital for the system’s direct actors, i.e. the companies involved in the generation, trade, transmission, distribution and use of electricity, but also for policy-makers and regulators. Power system models can provide evidence to support policy-making at European Union, Member State and Regional level. As a consequence of the growth in computing power, mathematical models for power systems have become more accessible. The number of models available worldwide, and the degree of detail they provide, is growing fast. A proper mapping of power system models is therefore essential in order to: - provide an overview of power system models and their applications available in, or used by, European organisations; - analyse their modelling features; - identify modelling gaps. Few reviews have been conducted to date of the power system modelling landscape. The mission of the Knowledge for the Energy Union Unit of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) is to support policies related to the Energy Union by anticipating, mapping, collating, analysing, quality checking and communicating all relevant data/knowledge, including knowledge gaps, in a systematic and digestible way. This report therefore constitutes: - From the energy modelling perspective, a useful mapping exercise that could help promote knowledge-sharing and thus increase efficiency and transparency in the modelling community. It could trigger new, unexplored avenues of research. It also represents an ideal starting point for systematic review activities in the context of the power system. - From the knowledge management perspective, a useful blueprint to be adopted for similar mapping exercises in other thematic areas. Finally, this report is aligned with the objectives of the European Commission's Competence Centre on Modelling, (1) launched on 26 October 2017 and hosted by the JRC, which aims to promote a responsible, coherent and transparent use of modelling to support the evidence base for European Union policies. In order to meet the objectives of this report, an online survey was used to collect detailed and relevant information about power system models. The participants’ answers were processed to categorise and describe the modelling tools identified. The survey, conducted by the Knowledge for the Energy Union Unit of the JRC, comprised a set of questions for each model to ascertain its basic information, its users, software characteristics, modelling properties, mathematical description, policy-making applications, selected references, and more. The survey campaign was organised in two rounds between April and July 2017. 228 surveys were sent to power system experts and organisations, and 82 questionnaires were completed. The answers were processed to map the knowledge objectively. (2) The main results of the survey can be summarised as follows: - Software-related features: about two thirds of the models require third-party software such as commercial optimisation solvers or off-the-shelf software. Only 14% of the models are open source, while 11% are free to download. - Modelling-related features: models are mostly defined as optimisation problems (78%) rather than simulation (33%) or equilibrium problems (13%). 71% of the models solve a deterministic problem while 41% solve probabilistic or stochastic problems. - Modelled power system problems: the economic dispatch problem is the most commonly modelled problem with a share of approximately 70%, followed by generation expansion planning, unit commitment, and transmission expansion planning, with around 40‒43% each. Most of the models (57%) have non-public input data while 31% of models use open input data. - Modelled technologies: hydro, wind, thermal, storage and nuclear technologies are widely taken into account, featuring in around 83‒94% of models. However, HVDC, wave tidal, PSTs, and FACTS (3) are not often found unless the analysis is specifically performed for those technologies. - Applicability in the context of European energy policy: more than half of the mapped models (56%) were used to answer a specific policy question. Of the five Energy Union strategic dimensions, integration of the European Union internal energy market was addressed the most often (27%), followed by climate action (23%), research, innovation and competitiveness (21%), and energy efficiency (15%). This report includes JRC recommendations based on the results of the survey, on future research avenues for power system modelling and its applicability within the Energy Union strategic dimensions. More attention should be paid, for example, to model uncertainty features, and collaboration among researchers and practitioners should be promoted to intensify research into specific power system problems such as AC (4) optimal power flow. The report includes factsheets for each model analysed, summarising relevant characteristics based on the participants’ answers. While this report represents a scientific result per se, one of the expected (and welcomed) outcomes of this mapping exercise is to raise awareness of power system modelling activities among European policy makers.JRC.C.7-Knowledge for the Energy Unio

Taller participativo: recorrido sonoro y multisensorial

Realizar un recorrido sonoro y sensorial coordinados entre Francesc Daumal, Cristina Palmese y Francesco Careri, era algo excepcional. El primero por su interés por la acústica arquitectónica, la segunda por su contribución sobre la arquitectura sonora y sensorial, y el tercero por la transgresión del usual “dominio” espacial que siempre impulsa. Estamos convencidos de que todos los que realizamos este recorrido dentro y fuera del campus lo recordaremos con verdadera ilusión. Para nosotros, contribuyó a entender que la enseñanza en cualquier ámbito, debe continuar rompiendo los antiguos moldes.Postprint (published version

The Bacterial DNA Profiling of Chorionic Villi and Amniotic Fluids Reveals Overlaps with Maternal Oral, Vaginal, and Gut Microbiomes

The in utero microbiome hypothesis has been long debated. This hypothesis will change our comprehension of the pioneer human microbiome if proved correct. In 60 uncomplicated pregnancies, we profiled the microbiome of chorionic villi (CV) and amniotic fluids (AF) in relation to maternal saliva, rectum, and vagina and the soluble cytokines cascade in the vagina, CV and AF. In our series, 12/37 (32%) AF and 10/23 (44%) CV tested positive for bacterial DNA. CV and AF harbored bacterial DNA of Streptococcus and Lactobacillus, overlapping that of the matched oral and vaginal niches, which showed a dysbiotic microbiome. In these pregnant women, the immune profiling revealed an immune hyporesponsiveness in the vagina and a high intraamniotic concentration of inflammatory cytokines. To understand the eventual role of bacterial colonization of the CV and AF and the associated immune response in the pregnancy outcome, further appropriate studies are needed. In this context, further studies should highlight if the hematogenous route could justify the spread of bacterial DNA from the oral microbiome to the placenta and if vaginal dysbiosis could favor the likelihood of identifying CV and AF positive for bacterial DNA

Machining and heat treatment as post-processing strategies for Ni-superalloys structures fabricated using direct energy deposition

The aim of this study is to determine the most suitable post-processing routines to enhance the surface integrity of components produced with Inconel 718 superalloy by additive manufacturing. The components were fabri­cated by Direct Energy Deposition (DED) followed by two typical post-processing methods: machining and heat treatment. The effect of the post-processing sequence (machining + heat treatment or heat treat­ment + machining) and the corresponding effects on the surface integrity of these components were investigated in terms of surface finishing, microstructure, micro-hardness and residual stresses. Finally, suitable solutions in terms of additive manufacturing - post-process operations have been reported

The operation of the European Power System in 2016

The present report summarises the creation of “current contexts” to simulate with METIS the European power system as closely as possible to today’s (“current”) configuration. The simulated operation is compared to the actual operation based on factsheets and data published by ENTSO-E. The version of METIS used in this exercise was v1.4 (developed by the contractor Artelys).JRC.C.7-Knowledge for the Energy Unio