ASP projects

MICRA: Micro Combined Generation for Residential Applications

Operating in the energy sector and interested in the new market possibilities offered by the Micro Combined Heat and Power (µCHP) generation, the group AsjaGen S.r.l. has proposed a study of different technologies in order to understand which is the most promising for innovative production systems to be installed in single-family houses.
In an effort to explore the market for AsjaGen S.r.l., in the present work a multi-criteria analysis is performed.
The first step is the Stakeholder analysis, necessary to deeper investigate the problem and to identify needs and requirements.
Then with the study of state-of-the-art for each technology, a preliminary screening is obtained. Micro-CHP environment is analyzed firstly in general and then going deep into the technical and economic description of the most promising candidate machines (i.e. Stirling Engines, Internal Combustion Engines, Fuel Cells).
A systematic methodology is adopted to select the most promising technology. This methodology needs a list of criteria, defined by clustering of requirements and weighted depending on their relevance. Fuel flexibility, availability, partial load performance, efficiency are grouped under the usability category, pollutants emissions account for environmental safeguard and the techno-economic analysis contributes to the costs category.
Before evaluating them, these technologies are analyzed for small residential applications both in terms of their energetic and economic features (techno-economic analysis). This is done through a dynamic model in MATLAB that follows the operation of the machine in a nearly-minute-by-minute basis, thanks to the exceptionally detailed energy load data retrieved, which the model has access to [1].
Technologies get a score for each criterion, so that the one with the highest score is the best technology. The final ranking sees the Fuel Cells as the best candidate, followed by the IC Engines and the Stirling Engines.
In addition to the actual analysis of the proposed technologies, it is important to stress that the most important added value of the work is the creation of a coupled energy and economic simplified model that constitutes a tool for reliable comparisons of different technologies simply changing the data provided as input to the model. Furthermore it can help AsjaGen S.r.l. in decision-making issues related to the eventual extension of their share of the market into this new window of opportunities in the energy production scenario.

Principal Academic Tutor
Debora Fino, Department of Applied Sciences and Technology (DISAT), Politecnico di Torino

Academic Tutor
Massimo Santarelli, Department of Energy (DENERG), Politecnico di Torino

External institutions
AsjaGen S.r.l.

External tutor
Davide Mescia, AsjaGen S.r.l.

Team members
Oghenewogaga Akposibruke, Petroleum Engineering, Politecnico di Torino
Dario Gigliotti, Energy and Nuclear Engineering, Politecnico di Torino
Djordje Golic, Energy and Nuclear Engineering, Politecnico di Torino
Tanveer Hussain, Electrical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano
Valerio Mascolino, Energy and Nuclear Engineering, Politecnico di Torino [Team Controller and Communication Coordinator]
Alessandro Tassone, Chemical Engineering, Politecnico di Torino

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