The Open Gain project aims to offer a solution to cost optimal co-production of energy and water using renewable energy besides diesel generators. Cost optimization is achieved through a high level of automation, which is necessary to adapt the working conditions to the strongly varying renewable energy supply, and remote maintenance.
To combat water scarcity and desertification, intensive desalination activities have been carried out in remote arid regions. However, desalting is resources and energy intensive, which are limited and expensive. Thus, water production must be increased while keeping the consumption of resources affordable. For remote arid areas, de-centralised solutions for energy and water co-production offer advantages over large central production sites. Finally, skilled personnel are normally absent in such areas, what demands dependable systems. To implement all this, a highly qualified consortium complemented by experienced subcontracting companies was established.
The project is funded by the European Commission (Contract no: 032535) and spans a duration of 3 years (2006 - 2009).
Project Participants
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University of Mannheim (Germany)
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National Technical University of Athens (Greece)
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Université M’Hamed Bougara (Algeria)
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National Energy Research Centre (Jordan)
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American University of Beirut (Lebanon)
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Institute National de Recherche Scientifique et Technique (Tunisia)
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Universidad de Valladolid (Spain)