Nuestra NEBRIJA 31 - octubre 2019

42 Nebrija Research This new University Chair for Energy Recovery in Surface Transportation wishes to delve into, reinforce and expand the current research, training and awareness activities for an efficient and responsible use of energy. Specifically, its research will focus on the energy we need in order to make our current comfortable first-world life sustainable, which is possible because the merchandise and goods we consume physically reach an accessible place. This involves surface and large-scale transportation. From small last-mile delivery vans to large vessels full of containers with industrial products furrowing the seas to trailers that cross continents. Much has been done in recent years to promote the replacement of the traditional vehicle with a hybrid or full-electric vehicle. The irruption of electric technology for passenger and freight transportation is still in its infancy and there are many issues to be resolved, such as the recycling of batteries, the validity of the current electrical infrastructure and the future availability of some critical materials for state-of- the-art batteries and electric motors. As long as the reality of these vehicles is symbolic, those inconveniences will also be nominal. By this we do not mean that we are opposed to the electrification of transportation, far from it. The performance of the electric motor is spectacular, but in the immediate and medium- term future, the coexistence with a majority of combustion vehicles —hybrids also have a classic explosion engine, as do those that use biofuels— will continue to be a reality, and that is where the current abilities of our University and its research group want to lead. As was already published in the July issue, in the article Recovering Energy, only a small part of the chemical energy that is introduced into the combustion engine is used for the movement of the vehicle. The rest is, fundamentally, heat. A lot of heat. And this is the most “wasted” energy and, many times, the most expensive to recover. We are talking about hundreds of kW.h per vehicle. As an example, a vehicle of 200kW of power (not a large one), and assuming a generous performance of 20%, turns out to be wasting, essentially 160kW.h for every hour of operation in the form of heat. A new university chair to avoid wasting energy The new Global Nebrija-Santander Chair for Energy Recovery in Surface Trans- portation was created to research the possibilities of reusing energy lost in combustion vehicles and to favor coexistence with electric vehicles. C oexistence of electric vehicles with a majority of combustion vehicles will continue to be a reality Javier Aranceta Aguirre. Director of the Nebrija-Santander Chair for Energy Recovery in Surface Transportation.