Development Strategy for POB Energy Conversion and Storage for years 2022-2026

The modern social contract is built on the basis of the availability of cheap energy, among other things. The development of technology for obtaining this energy and its transformation into useful forms is critical for the development of our civilisation and for fostering peaceful attitudes. And as we are now trying to electrify an increasing number of links in the energy generation, distribution, and consumption chain, let us use the electric vehicle as an illustration. With energy consumption at the level of 20 kWh per 100 km and the cost of this energy at the level of PLN 1 per kWh, four people can conveniently travel from the geographical centre of Poland by car to any part of the country for about PLN 100. With a minimum hourly wage of PLN 25, these four people will obtain this energy after one hour of work. And now let us imagine that these four people are pushing this car, for example, from Łódź to Szczecin. Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? We currently base our operations on the availability of such "absurdly" cheap energy – of course, not everyone and not in all regions of the world, but let it remain with us as a kind of illustration of the current state of affairs. Probably a large part of the inhabitants of our planet would not want to give it up, and an equally large part of it completely understandably aspires to join this energy-rich family. A similar comparison is used by Piotr Plebaniak in his book "The Rules of the Geopolitical Game of Survival", in which he shows that energy is everything.

It should not be expected that the energy consumption per capita on the Earth will begin to diminish. Therefore, the role of engineers is to provide ways of obtaining this energy using transformation chains that are as environmentally friendly as possible. The use of fossil fuels obviously prolongs this chain of change, which begins with nuclear fusion on the Sun. So, we develop branches of this chain that bypass photosynthesis. We reach directly for the energy of solar radiation, or this energy is converted into kinetic energy of the wind or potential energy of water. We release the atom's energy in the process of fission. We use geothermal energy stored in the interior of our planet after its initial formation. We are also making efforts to replicate the fusion process taking place in/on the Sun on a large scale. Let us keep our fingers crossed for the ITER project, among others!

The transition away from fossil fuels is now a crucial element of the ongoing energy transition. The two energy carriers that stand out in these strategies are electricity and hydrogen. We select the former because it is extremely practical in the processes of converting it into useful energy, the latter we appreciate due to its high energy density, but also for the possibility of directly weaving it into the electrical chain (electrolysers and fuel cells). The transition to renewable energy sources requires efficient energy storage during periods when we produce more energy than we currently need so that we can use it during periods when the restless source provides too little energy to fulfil our temporary needs. For the sake of accuracy, it should be noted that we do not produce energy in any process (considering the equivalence of mass and energy), but only transform it from one form to another. For the sake of simplicity of communication, however, we speak of the production of energy of a given type as the conversion of the energy of one type into another, more useful to us. It should be emphasised that this transformation also takes place within one type of energy. Currently, in the case of electricity, this growing role is played by power electronic converters. In principle, the current energy transformation would not be possible without power electronics. Photovoltaic farms, wind farms, smart grids, and electrification of transport are just examples of branches of the economy whose development is inseparable from the development of power semiconductors, but also electronics itself, including micro-controllers, facilitating effective control of energy conversion and storage processes.

Providing the forms of energy necessary for the further far-sighted development of our civilisation is a key undertaking for our well-being – it is also a multidisciplinary undertaking. In order to meet this challenge, energy conversion and storage have been identified as one of the priority research areas. The scientific council appointed in this area combines the forces of as many as six faculties: Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Building Services, Hydro and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Chemistry, Faculty of Power and Aeronautical Engineering, Faculty of Automotive and Construction Machinery Engineering, and Faculty of Physics. Of course, we do not withdraw from the desire to support the entire academic community focused on the issues of energy conversion and storage, regardless of the faculty. This support is precisely the basic task that we set ourselves as a scientific council, and the key strategic action is to promote the emergence of interdisciplinary research teams in which synergy effects will appear. We do not forget that no one becomes an efficient researcher overnight simply by, for example, joining a selected team – this is a process that often begins even before joining the academic community. Therefore, our strategy to support research activity also includes teaching laboratories joined by potential future researchers as soon as they enter the academic community. We also support independent researchers to enable them to share their experiences in the research teams they form. It should be remembered that the most experienced ones should obtain external research funding. Nevertheless, even here we can increase our chances by pre-financing the first stage of research internally, so that the grant application prepared as a result can be supported, for example, by publications in the highest-scoring and cited journals. Our strategy assumes providing this support primarily by means of competitions, through the organisation or co-organisation of programmes addressed, among others, to:

1. teachers who want to equip laboratories with stations designed by them to provide education at the highest level;
2. young researchers who want to conduct research and prepare publications that increase the chances of their grant applications submitted to external institutions;
3. researchers who want to build interdisciplinary teams, at least inter-faculty, and achieve excellence as a result of emerging synergy;
4. doctoral students who want to gain startup experience;
5. scientists who want to invite postdocs, especially those from abroad, to their teams;
6. teams wishing to develop technology demonstrations to ensure visibility at fairs and exhibitions and support all forms of cooperation with the economic environment.

At the same time, we will actively participate in the work of European associations shaping the directions of energy development in this part of the world and having a real impact on financing these directions of development. We will also try to contribute financially as required for some major European projects.

We perceive the variety of possible topics that fit into the subject of this research area as our strength and field for innovative activities. The issues we deal with include, among others:

1. energy acquisition (conversion of energy into usable) – at any scale, i.e. from energy harvesting for sensors and wearables, through photovoltaics and water and wind turbines, to nuclear power plants;
2. energy conversion for efficient use or storage, including power electronic converters, electronics, and control algorithms;
3. energy storage, including Li-ion cells, Li-S, supercapacitors, CAES and other gases, fuel cells, hydrogen generation and storage, flow cells, energy storage management systems including BMS;
4. energy saving, including building insulation, energy management in buildings – smart buildings, heating systems, reducing the energy consumption of processes;
5. power systems – from wearables to power grids;
6. stability of power systems with a large share of RES;
7. electric drives;
8. electromobility, from powertrain to charging infrastructure, on land, in the air and on water;
9. electromagnetic compatibility;
10. power-to-gas technologies, including electrolysis and co-electrolysis;
11. hydrogen gas turbines;
12. small modular reactors (SMR);
13. eFuels (production of synthetic fuels).

Among the trending topics for the next decade, we focus on, among other things:

1. photovoltaic cells – how to make them more efficient and expand their areas of application, e.g. transparent photovoltaic glass;
2. hydrogen as an energy carrier – creating a new hydrogen economy;
3. electrochemical cells without rare earth elements and other costly materials (REE-free batteries), post-lithium era;
4. REE-free electric machines, post-neodymium era;
5. cognitive power electronics – converters that think, infer, and remember;
6. electrified and autonomous transport – accelerating the transformation;
7. energy savings through smart, near-zero-energy buildings and entire smart cities;
8. circular economy – recycle, reuse, refurbish in re-factories;
9. semiconductors as the new gold.

Physicists remind us that everything is energy. Geopoliticians, on the other hand, additionally tell us that energy is everything. If it is not clear what is going on, it is most likely about cheap energy sources (money) and semiconductors (technologies).