Team member Sara Gonella shares, “The REMOTE (Remote area Energy supply with Multiple Options for integrated hydrogen-based Technologies) project is an EU-funded project developed in the H2020 context. It aims to guarantee the self-sustainability of isolated micro-grid and off-grid sites such as islands, without the need for fossil fuels, by using locally available RES and hydrogen storage technology. REMOTE is currently implementing four demos in four different European locations. Our goal is to replicate this model on Kökar island. Kökar has around 235 inhabitants, but also 18,000 tourists visiting during the summer which creates a highly volatile energy demand.” The team hopes to meet the energy needs by backing up their existing wind/solar resources with a new hydrogen storage system (for excesses) backed by battery banks (for stability) and a diesel generator (to kick in when the load is not met) – making the island totally energy independent.

We asked team member Vamsi Krishna Dokka to share his experiences studying at EIT InnoEnergy Master School in Europe: “Studying at the best universities in Europe certainly offers us resources that would not have been available elsewhere. The importance given to the concepts of sustainability in Europe has been refreshing to be a part of. The industry is open to our ideas and eager to help us develop them. This makes it easier to find good projects for collaborations so we can learn by doing.” Another team member, Roberto Di Molfetta, adds: ‘The MSc programme offers a blend of sustainability, engineering, innovation and business attitudes – which perfectly matches our project objectives. We can apply what we’ve learned (the latest trends in energy storage, distributed generation and smart grids) to a real case study and think in terms of business models. This is particularly valuable for the second part of our project, the scaling up and the business model definition.”

With the COVID-19 crisis, the team was forced to adjust their project schedule. “Our field trip to the island in March was cancelled, but we are moving forward with the objectives and handling them remotely. Right now, we are optimising our model so that we guarantee the high energy demand yet minimise the emissions and Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE). We are on track to reach our end of May goal. Then we present our final results to stakeholders in the projects, such as Flexens Oy Ab (who is helping us collect and integrate data into the proposed model) and the local authorities on Kökar. If all goes well, we can reach our ultimate goal to demonstrate that a RES+H2 system is a feasible solution for Kökar and that RES can deliver the comfort levels we require as a society (reliable energy) and also make environomical sense, while reducing our impact on the environment.”

The team shares some final thoughts and how their time at EIT InnoEnergy Master School is preparing them to work effectively on projects such as this one. “The programme offers us several opportunities to get involved in real challenges, to be in contact with companies, and to live an intense international experience. All of us have very different backgrounds and past experiences so cooperation is sometimes challenging, but it’s always enriching. We are continuously challenged with real problems – so we never stop learning and improving our skills and competences, especially teamwork. More and more in the coming years, jobs will involve teams on an international scale. We feel fortunate to have the experiences gained in the programme to prepare us for this environment!”

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