Indiacool - UK-India Solar Cooling Innovation (Energy Catalyst Mid-stage Programme)

7090fab6-f3e6-4ad1-8646-189f1a299ef2

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EPSRC
EPSRC
EPSRC
EPSRC
EPSRC

£500,295

March 6, 2017

July 5, 2018

The India-UK Innovative Solar Cooling (Indiacool) project is an industrial R&D collaboration between UK and India corporate and academic partners, Imperial College, Solar Polar Limited, Mamata Energy and Anna University, Chennai. It aims to investigate and advance the development of an innovative UK solar-cooling technology for its use and further commercialisation for two applications: 1) provision of low-cost solar cooling of crops and food in rural communities in developing countries as part of the food 'cold-chain'; and 2) low-cost solar air-conditioning of dwellings and small retail and industrial buildings.

The first application has potential for commercialisation in India and throughout the developing world, where wastage of crops and food due to the lack of an adequate cold-chain can be as high as 50%. The second application has significant commercialisation potential in India and worldwide as it can potentially provide a viable alternative to compressor based air-conditioning which is responsible for substantial consumption of electricity and very significant carbon emissions.

Imperial College's main contribution is to: 1) lead the computational modelling of Solar Polar's cooling technology for thermodynamic and thermal performance analysis that takes into account the varying climatic conditions in India; 2) investigate the optimisation of the technology for operating in the Indian climate and for the two different cooling applications, with particular focus on working fluid selection, working pressures, system design and key component modifications; 3) support the design and development of prototype systems incorporating the results of the optimisation work; and 4) support the testing and monitoring of the performance of the prototypes within field trials (within both applications) in India.

Within the computational modelling task, thermodynamic and thermal performance analysis will be assisted by harnessing existing modelling tools for this technology which have been developed at Imperial College, based on a laboratory absorption-cooling system. Imperial College will provide expertise on thermodynamics, thermofluids, thermal modelling and absorption-cooling systems. Using this expertise, Imperial College will also assist in extending the complexity of these modelling tools to include (and allow) component and fluid design for the Solar Polar system and to extend the predictive capabilities of these tools to include dynamic modelling of the system within India's varying climatic conditions. This activity will allow optimised Solar Polar cooling units to be designed for the two specific applications and for the climatic conditions in India.

Optimised Solar Polar's systems, suggested by the models, will be confirmed by laboratory testing on a Solar Polar cooling system. Specifically, the effect on system performance of different working pressures and working fluids will be investigated and results from these experiments will be used to feed into the modelling work. Imperial College will also investigate the impact on performance optimisation that may be achieved by modifications to system components.

Based on the results from the research undertaken in relation to 1) and 2) above, Imperial College will support Solar Polar in the development of optimised design specifications and drawings for prototypes (that will be constructed for use in field trials).

Imperial College will also provide expertise in the design, testing and monitoring specification for use within the field trial phase of the project. This will include definition of test protocols, assessment and selections of monitoring equipment and formulation of specifications for data collection, transmission and analysis. Imperial College will support Solar Polar in its procurement of the required monitoring equipment and in the installation and commissioning of the equipment within field trial prototype systems.

Potential Impact:
The initial direct beneficiaries of the Imperial College contribution will be Imperial College and Solar Polar, as the project will advance the development and commercial prospects of Solar Polar's solar absorption-cooling system, while also advancing the computational modelling and design-tool capabilities of this technology at Imperial College.

The Indian corporate partner, Mamata Energy, will also benefit from the project as it will provide a platform for commercialisation of solar cold-chain storage facilities and air-conditioning technologies in India, throughout Asia and globally, responding to a 'growth sector of tomorrow', providing very substantial job creation potential.

The project responds to real and significant market needs in India. The research and critical investigation within the project's work programme will advance the development of two applications of a highly innovative UK solar cooling technology (currently at TRL 3 to 4), with the potential to deliver cost effective solar cooling of produce (without any requirement for mains electricity) and low cost, zero carbon solar air-conditioning.

This project will forge a new partnership between UK and Indian industrial and academic partners which will foster increasing collaborative research and development and incorporates knowledge transfer that will contribute to the development of India's knowledge based economy.

Once the solar cooling cold storage application reaches the commercialisation stage, rural communities in India and other developing countries will benefit from a cost effective means of keeping their food and produce cool, this reducing wastage, improving incomes within the communities and lowering food prices.

Commercialisation of the solar air-conditioning application will provide a benefit to occupants of dwellings requiring air-conditioning by reducing electricity bills. For housing developers within countries in which there is a demand for air-conditioning, Solar Polar's solar cooling system will help meet low or zero energy building standards.

Uptake of Solar Polar's solar cooling system at scale will be of benefit to municipal and national government by lowering carbon emissions and by alleviation of the electrical loads on electricity grids (conventional compressor-based air-conditioning technology can in some countries place significant strains on their electrical infrastructure and result in 'brown outs').

The research findings will be integrated into the teaching materials for undergraduate and master's level students to inspire the next generation of research engineers, and will lead to follow-on research projects, PhD and otherwise. The Imperial College team has a range of parallel, connected research activities that will benefit from this work; vice versa, some of these resources (personnel and hardware) will be harnessed for the delivery of the present project. This project proposal will also act as a direct output of the on-going early-stage research activities at Imperial College and our collaborators on the development of these advanced modelling methodologies for the assessment of the performance and operation, as well as the optimisation, of next-generation affordable solar cooling systems.