RISE – Research Institutes of Sweden
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Comparing flexibility-based measures during different disruptions : evidence from maritime supply chains
No full textPurpose: Severe disruptions to maritime supply chains, including port closures, congestion and shortages in shipping capacity, have occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper’s purpose is to explore flexibility-based countermeasures that enable actors in maritime supply chains to mitigate the effects of disruptions with different characteristics. Design/methodology/approach: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with shipping lines, shippers, forwarders and ports. Data on the COVID-19 pandemic's effects and countermeasures were collected and compared with data regarding the 2016–2017 Gothenburg port conflict. Findings: Spatial, capacity, service and temporal flexibility emerged as the primary countermeasures, whilst important characteristics of disruptions were geographical spread, duration, uncertainty, criticality, the element of surprise and intensity. Spatial flexibility was exercised in both disruptions by switching to alternative ports. During the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring capacity flexibility included first removing and then adding vessels. Shipping lines exercising service flexibility prioritised certain cargo, which made the spot market uncertain and reduced flexibility for forwarders, importers and exporters that changed carriers or traffic modes. Experience with disruptions meant less surprise and better preparation for spatial flexibility. Practical implications: Understanding how actors in maritime supply chains exercise flexibility-based countermeasures amid disruptions with different characteristics can support preparedness for coming disruptions. Originality/value: Comparing flexibility-based measures in a pandemic versus port conflict provides insights into the important characteristics of disruptions and the relevance of mitigation strategies. The resilience of maritime supply chains, although underexamined compared with manufacturing supply chains, is essential for maintaining global supply chain flows.This research is funded by the Swedish Transport Administration through the project “The role of liner shipping for robust supply chains” and by the maritime collaboration platform Lighthouse through the pre-study projects “Shipping post-covid-19” and “Regionalised supply chains and the effects on shipping”. In addition, the University of Gothenburg and Chalmers University of Technology have funded parts of the work through the joint Strategic Research Area Transport. </p
Förstudie för forsknings- och demonstrationsanläggning för tillverkning via pressgjutning
No full textPre-study for research and demo facility for smart die casting This report summarizes a preliminary study carried out with the aim of investigating how a center for applied industrial research should be built to ensure that this benefits the Swedish manufacturing industry in the best way possible. The work has been carried out in collaboration between RISE, Jönköping University, Chalmers, Husqvarna, Comptech and Volvo Cars. The work originates in discussions, study visits, state-of-the-art and collective experiences from the group
2035 Joint Impact Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Reducing Pathways for EU Road Transport
No full textThis study assesses the potential for decarbonizing EU road transport through several pathways, focusing on the feasibility of achieving impact by 2035. Through comprehensive literature review, we compare the distance-levelized cost, lifecycle GHG emissions, and scalability of combustion engine vehicles (three fuels), battery-electric vehicles (BEVs, three charging methods), and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. We consider projected transport growth and the current age composition and use of vehicles in Europe, segmented into four regions. Biofuels, hydrogen, and e-fuels are not found to have potential to significantly contribute to further GHG emissions before 2035 due to scalability and technological limitations. BEVs emerge as the only viable strategy for achieving zero tailpipe emissions at scale, with effective lifecycle GHG reductions constrained by the rate of decarbonization of steel production, battery production and EU electricity production. By 2035, embodied battery emissions are expected to be the dominant source of lifecycle emissions from electric vehicles. The environmental benefits of a BEV transition are primarily limited by the rate at which the vehicle stock can be electrified, with new electric vehicle sales contributing primarily to decarbonization in Northen and Western Europe. Combining the expected buildout of static charging infrastructure with a proposed pan-European Electric Road System (ERS) network is found to greatly accelerate the transition to electrified road transport, including in otherwise late-to-decarbonize segments, by removing cost, weight, and supply barriers to retrofitting older combustion engine cars with new electric powertrains. Other effects of an ERS network are found to be substantially reduced embodied emissions from BEV production, resulting from reduced battery capacity per vehicle, and reduced levelized freight costs. However, possibly insurmountable political and bureaucratic barriers must be overcome ERS to play any meaningful part in decarbonization of road transport within the coming decade. If the barriers can be overcome, the economic and ecological rewards are substantial. Despite identifying pathways for substantial emissions reductions, the study does not identify any technical pathway through which the EU road transport sector will not greatly exceed its fair share of global GHG emissions. In addition, our review of strategies to achieve modal shift and road transport demand reductions also fails to find indications that interventions in these areas will have GHG reduction effects of desired magnitude within the required timeframe, unless costs of vehicle ownership and use are raised substantially. Further policy research is urgently needed to find repeatable and socially just interventions through which total transport work, the size of the vehicle stock and embodied GHG emissions per vehicle can be reduced substantially across the entire EU before 2035.The authors would especially like to thank the Swedish Traffic Administration for allowing the EVolution Road project to fund this independent study.</p
Termografisk mätning av fuktkvotsspridningen i en kanaltork
No full textThermographic measurement of lumber moisture content in a progressive kiln This report presents the results of the work carried out in the project "Development of industrial thermal camera measurement for energy-efficient control of wood drying", a project funded by the Kamprad Family Foundation. The project developed, implemented, and evaluated an industrial measurement system for real-time determination of moisture content and moisture distribution in wood during an ongoing drying process. The work included the technical development of a measurement setup for feedback-type progressive kilns, the development of prediction models for wood moisture content, and the development of associated software. The measurement technology was based on thermographic images collected with a thermal camera mounted in the attic space above the passing lumber stacks, as well as information on the properties of the drying air. With knowledge of the wood's temperature state in combination with air temperature and humidity, the drying process could be monitored and evaluated in real time. The software for processing thermographic data, including an operator interface, was installed on a regular desktop computer in the operator room. During the project period, the measurement system was in continuous operation for about one year with only a few short interruptions for maintenance, system updates, and unplanned power outages. Relatively simple instrument maintenance was carried out about two to three times per year. The software's operator interface presented real-time thermographic images of the passing wood and diagrams of the wood's moisture content and distribution. Data collected was continuously and saved to enable long-term analysis. The conclusion is that the measurement system is a useful tool to estimate the moisture content, moisture distribution and inspect the kiln. This information can be used by the drying operator to assess the progress of the drying process and to manually correct the process. Since the measurements were carried out continuously and without either disturbing the production or requiring any extra manual handling by personnel, the measurement system can be considered to meet the requirements of being both non-contact and automatic. The measurement system offered a new way to control the drying process in a progressive lumber kiln with the goal of less over-drying, lower energy consumption, better quality and yield. The method has the potential to replace manual measurements, thus improving worker safety.I följande rapport presenteras resultaten av det arbetet som genomförts i projektet ”Utveckling av industriell värmekameramätning för energieffektiv styrning av virkestorkning”, ett projekt finansierat av Familjen Kamprads Stiftelse.</p
Mechanisms and performance of different fixed fire fighting systems in tunnels – summary of laboratory and tunnel fire tests
No full textThis report presents both small scale laboratory tests and tunnel fire tests carried out in a FORMAS project. Four series of small scale laboratory tests were conducted to obtain the material properties, burning properties, water spray distributions, and spray droplet size distributions. The main efforts were, by adopting the Froude scaling, seven series of tests conducted in a about 50 m long container tunnel with a scale of 1 to 3. This report presents results on the influence of low pressure, medium pressure and high pressure water-based fixed fire fighting systems (FFFSs) on fire development, fire spread to adjacent vehicles, structural protection, tenability, smoke control, spray deflection and spray resistances. The focus is to compare the performance of three default FFFSs and to evaluate the efficiency of each of the FFFS. The results show that the default low pressure FFFS performs well in term of suppressing the fire development, preventing the fire spread to nearby vehicles, providing tenable conditions for evacuation and rescue service, protecting tunnel structure and easing the problem with spray deflection due to tunnel ventilation. The default high pressure FFFS is usually on the opposite side while the default medium pressure FFFS usually lie in between
KAJT Projektkatalog 2024-03-31 : BRANSCHPROGRAMKAPACITET I JÄRNVÄGSTRAFIKEN
No full textSammanställning av aktuella projekt inom Branschprogram Kapacitet i järnvägstrafiken (KAJT)
Preventing E. coli Biofilm Formation with Antimicrobial Peptide-Functionalized Surface Coatings : Recognizing the Dependence on the Bacterial Binding Mode Using Live-Cell Microscopy
No full textAntimicrobial peptides (AMPs) can kill bacteria by destabilizing their membranes, yet translating these molecules’ properties into a covalently attached antibacterial coating is challenging. Rational design efforts are obstructed by the fact that standard microbiology methods are ill-designed for the evaluation of coatings, disclosing few details about why grafted AMPs function or do not function. It is particularly difficult to distinguish the influence of the AMP’s molecular structure from other factors controlling the total exposure, including which type of bonds are formed between bacteria and the coating and how persistent these contacts are. Here, we combine label-free live-cell microscopy, microfluidics, and automated image analysis to study the response of surface-bound Escherichia coli challenged by the same small AMP either in solution or grafted to the surface through click chemistry. Initially after binding, the grafted AMPs inhibited bacterial growth more efficiently than did AMPs in solution. Yet, after 1 h, E. coli on the coated surfaces increased their expression of type-1 fimbriae, leading to a change in their binding mode, which diminished the coating’s impact. The wealth of information obtained from continuously monitoring the growth, shape, and movements of single bacterial cells allowed us to elucidate and quantify the different factors determining the antibacterial efficacy of the grafted AMPs. We expect this approach to aid the design of elaborate antibacterial material coatings working by specific and selective actions, not limited to contact-killing. This technology is needed to support health care and food production in the postantibiotic era. This research was financed by the Swedish Research Council (grant no. 2019-05215), the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (grant no. FID22-0053), Amicoat AS, and the Research Council of Norway (grant no. 283272).</p
Bioflex - Synergies with electrolytical hydrogen
No full textThe Bioflex project investigate the compatibility of operation between a two-stage bioprocess and an electrolyser to produce Hydrogen and Methane. Process water from Nordic Sugar in Örtofta, a sugar industry is utilized in the bioreactors. AP2 investigates energy balances and upscaling of the bioprocess, technical compatibility and synergistic effects between electrolysis and the two-step bioprocess. This assignment examines how waste heat from electrolysis can be used to pre-heat process water before entering the bioprocess reactors. This study analyses three possible configurations of scaled up installation, with a 5MW Alkaline electrolyser and 20m3 bio-Hydrogen reactor and 100m3 bio-Methane reactor. The overall efficiency in combined operation mode and stand-alone operation of electrolyser when connection with a high temperature District Heating Network (DHN) are comparable 86-88%. However, under both these cases come with an installation of heat pump which is cost intensive. For electrolyser sizes less than 5MW, water treatment of the seasonal effluent from bioreactors is less energy efficient. Based on pilot study in AP1, the 20m3 bio-Hydrogen reactor can produce similar amount of Hydrogen as the 5MW electrolyser. The purities of these two methods are different, hence the overall dimensioning of the system would depend on demand and end user for these products. In the present scenario, with seasonal availability of process water for the bioprocess, the percentage of overlapping working hours of electrolyser and bioreactors varies between 25% to a maximum of 40%. Higher operating hours for bioreactor is recommended to achieve maximum efficiency and consistency of supply
An inter-laboratory comparison between 13 international laboratories for eight components relevant for hydrogen fuel quality assessment
No full textThe quality of the hydrogen delivered by refuelling stations is critical for end-users and society. The purity of the hydrogen dispensed at hydrogen refuelling points should comply with the technical specifications included in the ISO 14687:2019 and EN 17124:2022 standards. Once laboratories have set up methods, they need to verify their performances, for example through participation in interlaboratory comparisons. Due to the challenge associated with the production of stable reference materials and transport of these which are produced in hydrogen at high pressure (>10 bar), interlaboratory comparisons have been organized in different steps, with increasing extent. This study describes an inter-laboratory comparison exercise for hydrogen fuel involving a large number of participants (13 laboratories), completed in less than a year and included eight key contaminants of hydrogen fuel at level close to the ISO14687 threshold. These compounds were selected based on their high probability of occurrence or because they have been found in hydrogen fuel samples. For the results of the intercomparison, it appeared that fully complying with ISO 21087:2019 is still challenging for many participants and highlighted the importance of organising these types of exercises. Many laboratories performed corrective actions based on their results, which in turn significantly improved their performances. © 2024 The Author(s)The Joint Research Project «Metrology for hydrogen vehicles 2» is supported the European Metrology Programme for Innovation and Research (EMPIR). The EMPIR initiative is co-funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and the EMPIR Participating States.</p
Capturing flexibility gains by price models for district heating
No full textFlexibility can support the energy transition and improve the efficiency of heat supply to buildings. This study tests price models for the inclusion of heat pumps (HPs) in district heating network (DHN). Various price models were tested in two cases in Sweden. In Sweden, DH companies are increasingly confronted with instances where building owners invest in a HP and only use DH when it is too cold for the HP to function efficiently. This poses challenges for DH companies due to the high costs associated with peak load production. Potential gains in HP-DHN flexibility and the investment and operational risks of HP-DHN integration are therefore important topics to understand and investigate. Our results show that HPs can increase the flexibility of DHNs, reduce costs and environmental impact. We also identify that the lowest risk exposure to DH companies, in HP-DHN arrangements, is when the building owner invests in the HP and the DH company operates it. © 2024 The AuthorsThe research was funded by the Flexi-Sync Project, ERA-NET Smart Energy Systems Initiative, under grant agreement 775970. </p