Energy Conservation

Advanced Combustion and Energy Savings
Traditional internal combustion engines burn fossil fuels and cause noise and air pollution. Advanced combustion technologies are being researched and developed at the Technion to improve the efficiency of traditional motors, lowering their energy consumption and lowering contaminating engine emissions through the development of new techniques and alternative non-fossil-fuel additives (such as ethanol and methanol additives to gasoline, biodiesel and liquefied petroleum gas). The hybrid vehicle combines the internal combustion engine with electric motors running on secondary rechargeable batteries – the ultimate goal is the adoption of an all-electric vehicle that uses both fuel cells and improved batteries. Advanced combustion technologies can also be applied to systems such as industrial furnaces, boilers and gas turbines, and possibly industrial waste management.

Efficient Buildings
The building sector is the largest consumer of electrical power, and therefore a major research goal is to provide the knowhow for designing zero energy buildings that consume minimal power and can produce as much power as they use. Significant reductions in energy demands, which do not adversely affect the standard of living and are well controlled to provide the required levels of thermal and visual comfort and air quality in the building sector, also have major potential to contribute to sustainable growth. Technion researchers will focus on combining innovative building materials, such as transparent insulation, dynamic shading and phase change materials to greatly reduce cooling and heating energy needs, as well as building integrated hybrid photovoltaic systems to achieve efficient, comfortable buildings.

Power Systems and Smart Grids

GTEP researchers in the Energy and Power Systems program are working on modern energy conversion systems, combining practical research in power electronics with theoretical research in power networks and power systems.

They are investigating new methods for power systems analysis, including applications that are suitable to the smart-grid paradigm, such as optimal design and control of distributed generation networks, the topological design and management of energy storage devices, the dispatch of distributed generators, the use of sparse sensing and estimation, and the dynamics and control of distributed and renewable energy sources.