The Conference of Researchers of Castilla y León that starts at the University of León (ULE) will have a high number of young people from the Vegazana Campus.
One of them is Sofia Pelaez, who at 12:30 pm will present at the School of Engineering her ‘Feasibility study of a renewable cogeneration system and zero emissions for applications in isolated areas based on photovoltaic systems, fuel cells and hydrogen’.
His research offers solutions to the problems of obtaining energy in off-grid areas. This is especially useful in rural areas in provinces such as León and is based on “mixing” a photovoltaic system with a hydrogen system, which consists of an electrolyzer and a fuel cell. “A photovoltaic system has certain limitations, since it needs to be in a usable area and depends on the climate. The one I propose uses hydrogen cells, which store three times more energy than fossil fuels such as oil or natural gas,” explains Sofía Peláez.
Some studies have already been carried out in this sense, in Castellón de la Plana, and the research of this young woman of 25 years focuses on studying the feasibility of this system to provide energy to isolated areas using hydrogen batteries. Due to its capacity to generate electrical and thermal energy, the proposal of Sofía Peláez would be profitable for this type of territories, such as some located in rural areas. However, according to the analysis carried out in the work to be presented this morning at the ULE, it would not be economically interesting yet due to its “high cost”.
The feasibility of this energy
However, Sofía Peláez’s research has not stopped there and she has analyzed variables related to the maturity of the technology she is proposing. Specifically, by studying the efficiency and useful life of these hydrogen fuel cells “it is seen that the cost is reduced”. “One of the main conclusions I have drawn is that in a few years, with the advances in these electrolyzer and fuel cell technologies, it will be much cheaper and then they will be economically viable,” says this researcher from the Vegazana Campus.
Sofía Peláez emphasizes her “enthusiasm for participating in these initiatives”, in which she will also be able to learn from the lectures given by other researchers from other universities in Castilla y León. She, like the other 21 participants in the event who do research at the University of León, will speak this Thursday at the School of Engineering. On Friday the protagonism will move to the researchers from Valladolid and Salamanca.
