The overall objective of this project is to develop a new advanced solar cooling and heating product, using advanced heat exchanger technology and integrating a heat pump for covering peak demand. This new product is based on the further improvement and integration of the products already commercialized by Fahren and Akotec. It uses synergies between the technologies of thermal chillers (heat to cooling technology) and heat pump (electricity to cooling technology) and combines know-how on design and manufacturing of adsorption chillers and solar thermal collectors in Germany, with the know-how in heat pump and dry cooling systems of CNR and NTUA. The main innovation of the project is the adsorption chiller unit based on Fahren’s patented zeolite coating technology, reducing the unit’s volume and cost by about two times. This new product is expected to become cost-effective and with high flexibility for providing both cooling (during summer) and heating (during winter) from the same compact product, being more competitive than existing mainstream solution, reducing energy costs of the end-users and leading to short ROI. The main target market is the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) market, with the ambition to become front-runners and provide the first cost-effective product, with low maintenance requirements. The target cost is to reach just 2000 €/kW (with solar field and cooling, heating and thermal storage included) and secure a short return on investment. The new product will be commercialized by a new joint venture established between Fahren and Akotec with Diadikasia being a strategic partner for promotion and sales in south Europe. The initial target markets are in Greece, Italy and Germany, while further expansion steps will follow once sales increase.

The main aim of project Demo4Grid is the commercial setup and demonstration of a technical solution utilizing “above state of the art” Pressurized Alkaline Electrolyser (PAE) technology for providing grid balancing services in real operational and market conditions. In order to validate existing significant differences in local market and grid requirements Demo4Grid has chosen to setup a demonstration site in Austria to demonstrate a viable business case for the operation of a large scale electrolyser adapted to specific local conditions that will be found throughout Europe. To achieve that, Demo4Grid will demonstrate at this demo site with particular needs for hydrogen as a means of harvesting RE production: I. a technical solution to meet all core requirements for providing grid balancing services with a large scale PAE in direct cooperation with grid operators, II. a market based solution to provide value added services and revenues for the operation strategy to achieve commercial success providing grid services and those profits obtained also from the hydrogen application. III. Aiming at the exploitation of the results after the project ends, Demo4Grid will assess the replicability and viability of various business cases Demo4Grid will be the decisive demonstration stage of previous FCH-JU projects related to the PAE addressed in this proposal. The first project ELYGRID (finished) and the following one ELYntegration (still ongoing) have provided promising results on the development of PAE to provide grid services operating under dynamic profiles (significant results will be shown in this proposal).

ALFIE project encompasses the EthiTech Dialogue Hub (ETD-Hub) and AutoML platform. ETD-Hub is as a multi-disciplinary discussion forum where citizens, policymakers, AI professionals, and legal entities come together to engage in robust conversations surrounding the legal and ethical dimensions of AI and related technologies. The ETD-Hub serves as a collaborative space, shaping policy recommendations that influence the European Legal framework on AI, ensuring its adaptability to evolving societal and technological landscapes. Complementing the ETD-Hub is AutoML, an advanced implementation platform that seamlessly translates these deliberative outcomes into actionable AI tools and solutions. There is a bi-directional feedback loop between ETD-Hub and the AutoML platform helping to refine the policy recommendations. The AutoML platform combines two layers: Interaction layer relying on generative AI and an AutoML engine. The interaction layer contributes to the democratisation of AI by enabling the creation of advanced AI tools through interaction in natural language and speech with focus on multilinguality, while the AutoML platform finds the solutions based on the input of the user given through the first layer. The AutoML not only generates AI models and solutions that respect the EU legal framework, but also serves as a data broker providing access to a wide range of datasets contained in different platforms, with special focus on promoting unbiased and balanced AI datasets. With integrated features such as natural language processing, speech recognition, multilingual capabilities, and explainable AI, AutoML represents a widely accessible AI platform that seamlessly connects with AI-ethics through ALFIE ecosystem, and is ready to bridge legal discourse with technological implementation fostering responsible and transparent AI practices.

FlexGeo aims to develop innovative geothermal energy system designs for maximized systems performance and flexibility. Pathing the way for the market entry of commercial modular reversible ORC systems will be, together with advanced smart control strategies and operational tools, the backbone of our concept. The proposed key-innovations will make geothermal systems more flexible, more efficient, more economically viable and adaptable for an implementation and market update across Europe and beyond. A modular rev. 200 kWel ORC unit with advanced control strategies and operational tool will be installed and demonstrated at a real district heating system at the TUM Campus in Garching, Germany. The first-time demonstration of this innovative technology on a TRL 7 level will directly path the way to its market entry after the project, since due to the attractive modular approach, the demonstrator already has the same capacity as the future commercial product. Furthermore, innovative geothermal system designs considering high- and low-temperature Underground Thermal Energy Storage (UTES) systems, advanced closed-loop systems (AGS) and enhanced flexibility of district heating (DH) and district cooling (DC) networks (DHCN), are pathing the way to a broad spread of the FlexGeo solutions across Europe and the world, resulting in largescale CO2 emission reductions.