UK-Finland Sustainability Knowledge Exchange 19-21 October 2020

1. Clean energy at the
University of Hull
Dr. Simon Waldman
Prof. Xudong Zhao

3. • 2 of UK’s 6 oil refineries
• Five power stations
• World’s largest offshore wind
farm
• 25% of UK primary energy
flows through the Humber
Hull and the Humber

5. Vision and Aim

7. 75
Aura CDT in Offshore Wind Energy
and The Environment
75
Focus on specific
stakeholder
challenges
Years’ PHD research
3
Further
Industry Partner
Scholarships
Opportunities for
student placements
in industry
Core Scholarships
over 5 cohorts
Taught year in Hull, in the
heart of the Energy Estuary
1
Led by: In partnership with: Funded by:

8. Led by: In partnership with: Funded by:
Big data, sensors
and digitalisation
Offshore
wind energy
integration
Operations,
maintenance and
human factors
Next generation
materials and
manufacturing
Environmental
impact, marine
biology and
aquaculture
Physics and
Engineering of
the offshore
environment
Aura CDT Research Themes
Unique dual focus on engineering and environmental challenges
Developed with stakeholders to serve industry needs:

9. Cohort 1: 6 students joined Sept 2019
Cohort 2: 18 students joined Sept 2020
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI)
principles embedded throughout
recruitment, selection, training
A diverse community
of academically
excellent researchers
Led by: In partnership with: Funded by:

10. Current work on offshore wind

11. Current work on offshore wind
Change in natural
frequency due to
larger turbines,
deeper waters, scour
Larger accumulated
fatigue,
reduced remaining
useful lifetime
Large amplifications in
structural response
due to nonlinear wave-
induced resonance

12. The Centre for Sustainable Energy Technologies has a focus on clean energy, through our established
research excellence in energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainable heating and cooling, energy
management, and green/low-energy buildings.
We work within 6 themes at the interface between sustainable energy and environmental resilience:

13. Low Carbon Heating System Using Advanced
Solar Heat Pump Technologies
Multiple through flow solar panel array with 8~15%
higher solar efficiency, 50~60% lower flow resistance and
10~25% higher energy efficiency
Doubled-source heat pump using vapour injection and
enthalpy increasing compressor, leading to a significant
(30%+) improvement in Coefficient of Performance (COP).
A fast response heat storage/exchanger unit leading to faster
response to heating demand (20 min vs. 3 hours)
Internet-based monitoring and control enabling
optimised electrical demand

14. Heat Pump
Exhaust Air
AmbientAir
Reject Air
Thermal
Store
Split-mode heat pump
Utilising building
ventilation heat.
Optimised for UK
climatic conditions
Novel solar thermal
collector
Low pressure drop / high
thermal efficiency
Fast response
thermal store
Minimises startup
time of heating
Smart Controls
Model based, predictive
controls to optimise system
operation with carbon
intensity and weather
predictions.
Low Carbon Heating System for Hull City Council Housing
2021: 2 live lab house; 2022: over 100 council houses

15. High performance dew point air cooling technologies and its application
COP = 52.5; Wet Bulb Efficiency = 115% - world highest standard
(1) A novel complex counter-flow HMX with
corrugated heat transfer sheets and without
channel support guides leads to 40%
increase in heat transfer rate and 50%
reduction in air flow resistance.
(2) A high water absorptive and diffusive wet-
material (i.e. Coolmax-2) creates an
enhanced water absorption, diffusion and
evaporation effect.
(3) An intermittent water supply scheme
prevents formation of water film on the wet
surface, thus maximising the evaporation
rate of the wet surface and minimising the
operational time of the water pump.
(4) Optimised fan structure
4kW cooling unit at AIC building, Hull 20kW cooling unit at Sino-green ltd, China
中华人民共和国科学技术部
Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China

16. Hull Data Centre

17. University of Hull Data Centre Cooling units
State-of-the-art dew point coolers

18. A novel PV/T heat and power system for buildings
中华人民共和国科学技术部
Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China
2019 UK Newton Prize Finalist Award
6kW system at University of Hull Newton Prize Award Ceremony

19. A novel PV/T heat and power system for buildings
中华人民共和国科学技术部
Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China
20kW system at Five Star Solar Co. Technology Ltd 10kW system at Lishi, Shanxi

20. A novel PV-TE-MCHP for enhanced power generation
5.5% increase in power output
compared to PV only
Air cooling
Water cooling

21. Micro-channel Flat-Plate Loop-Heat-Pipe for Data Centre Cooling

22. Energy Saving Potential of Dew Point Cooler in Data Centres
City Beijing
(humid continental)
Rome
(Mediterranean
climate)
Las Vegas
(subtropical hot
desert)
Riyadh
(hot desert)
Annual outdoor cooling capacity of DPC (kW) 600.03 447.71 628.09 920.27
Annual power consumption by DPCs (kW) 16.83 13.39 17.64 22.08
Annual power consumption by MVCs (kW) 150.00 111.92 157.02 230.06
Annual energy saving (%) 88.78 88.03 88.76 90.40

23. Advanced Carbon & Energy Management and Eco-design Platform for Urban Districts
1
Research of Existing
Evaluation System
2 3 4 5 6
Setup Simulation
Criteria
Design/Planning
Generate
Result Optimization
by Influence Factor
Result Optimization
by Machine
Learning
Carbon and Energy
Management and
Eco-design Platform
Eco-
Design/Planning
Generate
Simulation
and
Section Tool
Environmental
Criteria
Social
Criteria
Energy Assessment
Current Evaluation
And Criteria
Eco-design PlatformSimulation Scenario
Setup
Influence Factor
Seeking
Machine Learning
From
Existing Planning
• Fossil fuel energy consumption evaluation and saving approach model
• Carbon emission prediction and reducing strategy model
• Energy system design/optimisation and urban planning model

24. Potential areas for collaboration
Transition to a low
carbon economy
Energy saving
through new
technologies
Innovation in
offshore wind
& marine
renewables
Climate
Change and its
impacts on marine
life
In partnership with the academic excellence available in the University of Hull

25. Thank you.
Contacts:
Simon Waldman:
s.m.waldman@hull.ac.uk
Xudong Zhao:
xudong.zhao@hull.ac.uk
Further information:
www.hull.ac.uk/eei