Intelligent systems

CoE ENER covers 53% of final energy use in Estonia as well as major energy saving measures with highest investment volumes. CoE aims to contribute to Estonian societal and economic challenge to transform 75% of existing building stock with poor energy performance to zero emission buildings (ZEB) with maximized co-benefits and improved life quality by 2050. The scientific aim is to extend the excellence in ZEB technologies to become the top research centre in equity-enhancing deep renovation, driving disruptive changes and initiating systemic reforms encompassing innovative technologies, novel governance models, novel participatory and collaborative approaches to engage citizens. Interdisciplinary CoE combines engineering, social, data sciences and economics with central focus on energy performance of buildings and districts, electrification and flexibility, renewable energy generation and storage, energy saving measures and business models with their socioeconomic and regional impacts.

CoE ENER covers 53% of final energy use in Estonia as well as major energy saving measures with highest investment volumes. CoE aims to contribute to Estonian societal and economic challenge to transform 75% of existing building stock with poor energy performance to zero emission buildings (ZEB) with maximized co-benefits and improved life quality by 2050. The scientific aim is to extend the excellence in ZEB technologies to become the top research centre in equity-enhancing deep renovation, driving disruptive changes and initiating systemic reforms encompassing innovative technologies, novel governance models, novel participatory and collaborative approaches to engage citizens. Interdisciplinary CoE combines engineering, social, data sciences and economics with central focus on energy performance of buildings and districts, electrification and flexibility, renewable energy generation and storage, energy saving measures and business models with their socioeconomic and regional impacts.

Reinforcing Skills in Chips Design for Europe (RESCHIP4EU) aims to support the excellence of EU higher education in the area of embedded systems design in a holistic way, from silicon via System-on-Chip design and manufacturing to smart and safety-critical platform and application software. The holistic nature of the program is essential for innovation and provides a unique competitive edge to program graduates to design, analyse and innovate smart, green and safety-critical embedded systems in Europe. RESCHIP4EU will achieve this goal by designing and delivering a double-degree master’s programme (ISCED Level 7, 120 ECTS) in Embedded Systems Design with several specialisations related to the holistic design of embedded platforms safer, greener, smarter, and more efficient and a minor in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The master’s programme will be designed and delivered by 9 higher education institutions from 5 different countries with the collaboration of Semi.org, the global industry association representing the electronics manufacturing and design supply chain, ST Microelectronics, a global semiconductor company, 1 innovative SME expert in delivering education program, communication and dissemination, 1 ASBL (Association internationale sans but lucrative), and EIT Digital, a pan-European organisation with experience in delivering education programmes in advanced digital skills across Europe.

Roughly half of the energy is consumed in buildings and therefore has high potential to reduce the climate impact and to increase the reliability of energy networks when smart solutions are used. The fastest effictive means to achieve this is the use of numerous energy meters and sensors for smart control of building service systems. In this project, we map smart energy-efficiency and flexibility technologies with the highest potentias, describe the meters and sensors required for the applications and develop guidelines for constructing and renovating buildings for technology readiness. This reduces the cost of integrating the smart services with buildings and increases the overall potential of market uptake. We create models to assess the impact of these smart services for more effective R&D and for reliable assessment of the impact of the services. We will develop new services in cooperation with the companies and students of TalTech to conquer the world.

Industrial production is responsible for roughly 30% of global energy use, with Energy Intensive Industries (EIIs) representing the largest share (54% of OECD’s total industrial energy consumption). The current energy crisis, originated by Russia’s war with Ukraine, Western sanctions against Moscow, and Russia’s cutoff of pipeline gas, has made the cost of natural gas soar and ignited a cascade resulting in the increased prices of other energy sources. As a learning for the future, it is crucial to strengthen the EU’s capacity to produce energy while reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. The solution lies in producing Renewable Synthetic Fuels (RSFs), including renewable hydrogen, from excess wind and solar power to decarbonise EIIs. Also, at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), it was unanimous that hydrogen can play a vital role in the way we bring fully decarbonised energy to our lives. However, a complete understanding of the impact of RSFs on EII systems remains unaddressed mainly due to a lack of comprehensive methods and specialised and multidisciplinary knowledge in RSFs’ combustion, which can be advanced through approaches bringing together data-driven methods and physics-based modelling for accurate simulation of combustion technologies through enhanced modelling, sensing and digital twins. The main aim of CYPHER is to propel the collaborations between European researchers and industrial stakeholders to foster the use of cyber-physical systems (self-updating digital twins) and ultimately promote a safe and sustainable adoption of RSFs as a critical path for EII decarbonisation.