SEAI research funding for businesses - presentation given by Dr Lucy Corcoran at the 2019 Energy Show.

1. Update from:
Fiona Smith (Marketing and Communications Manager
SEAI)
6th February 2019
1

2. SEAI Research Funding for Businesses
Wednesday the 27th March 2019
Dr Lucy Corcoran
Programme Executive, SEAI Research, Development & Demonstration
Programme

3. Research Funding for Businesses
3
WhenWhatWho

4. www.seai.ie4
1. SEAI RD&D Funding Programme Opportunities
• Dr Lucy Corcoran, SEAI RD&D Programme
3. RD&D Project 2: IES R&D
• Dr Ruth Kerrigan, Director & Head of R&D Division, IES
2. RD&D Project 1: SSE Airtricity
• David Noronha, Innovation Manager, SSE Airtricity
4. Questions for Speakers / Networking
Session overview

5. 5 www.seai.ie
SEAI’s Vision
Ireland’s energy will be sustainable, secure, affordable and clean
1. Use Less
2. Use Clean
3. Innovate

6. Energy RD&D Funding in Ireland
Ireland: historic (& current!) low public investment in energy RD&D
One of the lowest in the OECD
1. Root & branch review of SEAI R&I activities
2. Significant restructuring of SEAI RD&D Funding Programme
Widely acknowledges that R&I are crucial to address
Ireland and Europe’s economic and societal challenges
International &
National Public
Policy
Publicly funded
R&I is an excellent
investment
ROI to economy is 3x vs investing in S&P500 companies
7x vs investing in Euro-area 10-year Government bonds
What can you do?

7. SEAI Research & Innovation Activities
2. Ocean Energy Prototype Development Fund
3. SET Plan Steering Group
4. Horizon 2020 –Delegate for Energy
5. UNFCCC - Technology
6. International Energy Agency
• Funds innovative energy RD&D Projects
• Open to companies, RPOs, semi-state and public bodies
1. SEAI Research, Development & Demonstration Programme
Lead & coordinate energy research funding in Ireland

8. Overarching Programme Goals
Primary Policy Drivers: 2015 Energy White Paper; National Mitigation Plan;
National Energy & Climate Plan; NREAP and NEEAP;
1. Accelerate development &
deployment of competitive energy
products, processes & systems
2. Enable barriers to market uptake
to be overcome
3. Grow Ireland's capacity to
access, develop & apply
international class energy RD&D
4. Provide energy policy guidance
& support

9. SEAI RD&D Funding Programme – Main Changes
Coordinated approach to priority setting
• Top-down: cross-sectoral & cross-Government consultation prior to call launch
• Bottom up: provision of ‘open call’ aspect to which applicants can ‘pitch’
Multi-year funding – funding of projects up to 4-years in duration and up to €650k
Co-funding partnerships
• Tangible impacts meeting cross-sectoral
innovation, practice & policy needs
• Funding leverage for energy-sector
Improved guidance (webinars, budget
policy, templates, research database)
The go-to place for innovative energy RD&D project funding!

10. SEAI RD&D Funding Programme 2018 – Step Change
The outcome of all the improvements?
• Programme now attracts >€30M in applications vs <€1M just 2 years ago
• €10M funding & >50 projects awarded in 2018

11. SEAI RD&D Funding Programme 2018 – Awardees
70% of successful proposals involve companies as lead / partner
applicants or formal collaborators

12. Funding Levels & Rates Available
Project Category Typical Duration Typical Max SEAI Funding
Small Scale Up to 1 year Up to €100k
Medium Scale 1 to 3 years €100k - €350k
Large Scale 3 to 4 years €350k - €650k
Fellowships 1 to 3 years Up to €250k
Project category,
duration & funding
amount request
defined by applicant
Funding Rates ranging from 25% to 100% are available
Rate depends on project and organisation type (non-economic public good, fundamental,
industrial, experimental development, feasibility study)

13. Evaluation of proposals
Stage 1 – Eligibility Assessment
Assessment of administrative compliance (technical & financial) with
programme requirements & objectives
Stage 2 – Technical Evaluation: 3 criteria
1. Excellence and Innovation (40%)
2. Relevance and Impact (30%)
3. Quality and Efficiency of Implementation (30%)
…..more info available in Programme Call Document

14. National Energy Research Database
https://www.seai.ie/resources/seai-research/research-projects/

15. International Energy RD&D Opportunities
Horizon 2020
 Check out H2020 WP 2018-2020
 Contact - H2020 Energy Contact Point
Philip.Cheasty@enterprise-ireland.com
 Post 2020: Horizon Europe/FP9
International Energy Agency (IEA):
 Network and collaborate with world
experts in energy R&D.
 Regular calls for appointment to IEA
‘tasks’
Innovation Fund
 €10 bn EC investment programme
 low-carbon technologies
 First call for proposals expected in
2020
ERA-Nets
 Smart Energy Systems – 2018 Call
closed; 2020 Joint Call
 Ocean Era-Net Cofund – 2nd joint
call EOI closed

16. SEAI National Energy RD&D Funding Programme
Key Messages:
Who: Funds companies, academic institutions, semi-state & public bodies
Ireland’s national energy RD&D funding programme
When: 2020 Call opens in Q4 2019
Review 2019 call documentation and start planning now!
What: Funding of innovative energy RD&D projects, up to €650k per project

17. www.seai.ie17
1. SEAI RD&D Funding Programme Opportunities
• Dr Lucy Corcoran, SEAI RD&D Programme
3. RD&D Project 2: IES R&D
• Dr Ruth Kerrigan, Director & Head of R&D Division, IES
2. RD&D Project 1: SSE Airtricity
• David Noronha, Innovation Manager, SSE Airtricity
4. Questions for Speakers / Networking
Session overview

18. FREMI - Forecasting Renewable Energy with Machine Intelligence
SEAI Energy Show 2019
David Noronha
SSE Airtricity

19. Overview
• Brief SSE Overview
• Market Context
• FREMI Overview
• Expected Impact and Outcome
9 April 2019 Page 19
SEAI Energy Show 2019
SSE Airtricity - FREMI

20. 9 April 2019 Page 20
SEAI Energy Show 2019
SSE Airtricity - FREMI

21. 9 April 2019 Page 21
Market context.... Integrated Single Electricity Market (I-SEM) – 1st October 2018
Market changing to enable integration with European Internal Energy Market
20 countries
38 interconnectors
3,000 Terawatts
SEAI Energy Show 2019
SSE Airtricity - FREMI
Market participants are ‘balance responsible’

22. 9 April 2019 Page 22
Wind Power Forecast Ireland
SEAI Energy Show 2019
SSE Airtricity - FREMI
Wind Power Highest Recorded All Island Ireland 3.99 GW (12/12/2018)

23. 9 April 2019 Page 23
**midday 20/03/2019
SSE Wind Power and Radar

24. 9 April 2019 Page 24
Operating a large wind portfolio in I-SEM…
SEAI Energy Show 2019
SSE Airtricity - FREMI
• In the old SEM, wind farms were not financially penalised for non-delivery.
• I-SEM participants must manage forecast errors or get ‘cashed out’ at the imbalance price.
(participants will either pay, or be paid, the imbalance price for delivering less, or more, than forecasted)
• Typically wind farm forecast errors are largely in line with each other - they all tend to over/under
deliver at the same time.
• Wind forecast error is the largest variable on the system - it will typically always be on the ‘wrong’
side of the imbalance price; i.e. buying when the price is high or selling when the price is low.
…improving wind forecast accuracy

25. 9 April 2019 Page 25
I-SEM vs GB Market
SEAI Energy Show 2019
SSE Airtricity - FREMI
• It is clear that I-SEM imbalance price
spreads have been significantly greater
than those in GB
• This means that participants are faced
with greater price exposures on their
forecast errors.
• Balancing prices in I-SEM have out-
turned significantly lower than the day-
ahead prices, so simply selling all
generation to the Balancing Market is
very costly.
The chart shows the absolute spread between imbalance prices
and day-ahead prices, as a percentage of day-ahead price since the
launch of the I-SEM market.

26. 9 April 2019 Page 26
FREMI Overview: Forecasting Renewable Energy with Machine Intelligence
SEAI Energy Show 2019
SSE Airtricity - FREMI
Aim: increase the accuracy of the current wind turbine forecasting methods and develop and deploy
a tool capable of assisting energy traders under the new market rules posed by I-SEM.
Partners: SSE Airtricity is partnering with leading renowned centre for excellence in advanced data
analytics; UCD, CeADAR (National Technology Centre for Applied Data Analytics & AI).
Timeframe: 18mnts – commenced October 2018
Total Cost: €450k
SEAI contribution: €296k
SEAI support greatly accelerates this development and deployment of advanced modelling
techniques in the market by providing the necessary finance and collaboration opportunity for a
large energy utility and a research RPO

27. 9 April 2019 Page 27
FREMI Expected Impact and Outcomes
SEAI Energy Show 2019
SSE Airtricity - FREMI
• Enabling a more competitive market
• Reducing the cost of energy for customers
• Promoting security of supply: by maximising wind
resource and grid balancing
• Making efficient use of existing infrastructure
• Maximise the use of renewables
• Provide better investment signals
• Advancing state of the art forecasting AI and analytics
• Provide a strong evidence base to inform policy makers
Impact of wind direction on power output

28. 9 April 2019 Page 28
Thanks for listening
david.noronha@sse.com
www.facebook.com/sseairtricity
www.youtube.com/c/sseairtricity
www.twitter.com/sseairtricity
www.sseairtricity.com/ie/home/?url=/ie/home
SEAI Energy Show 2019
SSE Airtricity - FREMI

29. www.seai.ie29
1. SEAI RD&D Funding Programme Opportunities
• Dr Lucy Corcoran, SEAI RD&D Programme
3. RD&D Project 2: IES R&D
• Dr Ruth Kerrigan, Director & Head of R&D Division, IES
2. RD&D Project 1: SSE Airtricity
• David Noronha, Innovation Manager, SSE Airtricity
4. Questions for Speakers / Networking
Session overview

31. Who Are We?

32. Background and Objectives
• Reduce the performance gap in A-rated buildings
• Improve the design of A-rated buildings
• Produce recommendations to homeowners to
improve the thermal comfort of the building
• Examine the performance gap between the energy
consumption estimated by the BER and the actual
energy used by the occupants.
• Assess the indoor air quality and environmental
issues within the buildings
• Generate post-occupancy data for research

33. IES Intelligent Community Lifecycle (ICL)
and the Digital Twin
 Most communities have insufficient information
about their buildings to facilitate intelligent decisions
in terms of carbon reduction, capital and running cost
savings, energy efficiency and sustainability.
 The ICL solves this problem with a 1:1 digitised model
of your ‘community’. This is the Digital Twin of your
community i.e. a ‘Virtual’ Community
 The ICL replicates reality by simulating the
fundamental physics of energy and heat flow
throughout your Virtual Community. This involves
using millions of virtual sensors (vSensors), which
record what is happening in each room of each
building, as often as every minute. The ICL has its
own Virtual BMS (vBMS) to interact with the sensors
as would happen in reality.
 We can merge real-time data from the actual
buildings into the Virtual Community to create a more
accurate ‘hybrid’ model.
 The ICL allows you to then ‘operate’ your more
accurate hybrid Virtual Community model to provide
information to facilitate good decision making.
 The ICL Digital Twin capability addresses all the
problems defined before.

34. IES and the Digital Twin

35. O’Cualann Housing Development, Ballymun –
A2 rated dwellings Creating live digital twins of the dwellings

36. Sensor Deployment and Data Collection
(Elsys sensors and the Things Network)
Domestic
• The information is sent over a Lora Network which is a radio frequency and does not
require wifi.
• Individual houses will not be publicly identified
• 5 sensors will be placed in each home
• Sensors will be monitored for 6-12 months
• 2 Phases of installations

37. IES iSCAN Software
iSCAN-
ROBOT
BMS AMR

38. Create Digital Twin for Domestic Dwelling
combining Dynamic Simulation Modelling With Data Integration through iSCAN
Some Initial Results:
• DEAP; Total Consumption =
58kWh/m2/yr
• IES Digital Twin; Total
Consumption = 172kWh/m2/yr
• Actual; Total Consumption =
149kWh/m2/yr
Energy Consumption Data:
• Heating Energy
• Lighting and Appliances
• Renewable Energy (if applicable)
Environmental Conditions Monitored:
• Temperature
• Relative Humidity
• Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
• External Weather Conditions
Sensitivity Analysis of
Dynamic versus Static
Methodology

39. Examine the Indoor Environmental Quality of
an A-Rated Building
Environmental Conditions
Monitored:
• Temperature
• Relative Humidity
• Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
• External Weather
Conditions
Domestic: All sensors placed in
same rooms and positions in
each home in order to assess
differences against same home
type and energy rating.
Data Examined on IES
iSCAN platform

40. Indoor Air Quality Concerns - Structural
• Accuracy of energy rating, once building
is occupied
• Effects of the mandatory Part- L sections
for energy on the building in regards to
IEQ.
• Air-tightness
• High RH
• Mould growth conditions
• Overheating

41. Examine Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Behaviours
ADAPTIVE
BEHAVIOUR
Operating
shades/blinds
Adjusting
thermostats
Diversity of
behaviour based
on cultural,
contextual and
personal factors
Adjusting
clothing
level
Using plug-ins
such as
personal
heaters/fans
Opening/closing
windows
Role of occupants

42. Identify Best Practice in Design and Operation
of an A-Rated Building
• Homeowner/Building Owner
Recommendations on how to manage
home/building more efficiently while
improving thermal comfort.
• Policy Makers
Recommendations on how to improve the
current energy performance rating system
• Building Designers/Constructors
Recommendations on how to design and
build A – rated buildings better

43. Potential Impacts
• Improved methodology for A-rated homes to close the gap between design and
operation (close, not eliminate as never possible to eliminate).
• Enable home owners to understand their A-rated home better so they can operate
it to maximize the benefit.
• Enable better design for A-rated homes maximizing the impact, e.g. knowledge on
when and where to use PV versus a heat pump.
• Growth in the number of A-Rated renovated and newly construction in both the
domestic and commercial sector.
• Scalability of the project to other European countries under the EBPD (European
Building Performance Directive) which could increase competitiveness of irish
companies.
• Reduction in national energy consumption/greenhouse gases and it ultimately will
help us reach EU energy targets.

44. Identify and Recruit New and Existing
A-Rated Buildings (Commercial)

45. Thank You

46. www.seai.ie46
1. SEAI RD&D Funding Programme Opportunities
• Dr Lucy Corcoran, SEAI RD&D Programme
3. RD&D Project 2: IES R&D
• Dr Ruth Kerrigan, Director & Head of R&D Division, IES
2. RD&D Project 1: SSE Airtricity
• David Noronha, Innovation Manager, SSE Airtricity
4. Questions for Speakers / Networking
Session overview

47. SEAI National Energy RD&D Funding Programme
Key Messages:
Who: Funds companies, academic institutions, semi-state & public bodies
When: 2020 Call opens in Q4 2019
Review 2019 call documentation and start planning now!
What: Funding of innovative energy RD&D projects, up to €650k per project
Ireland’s national energy RD&D funding programme
Website: https://www.seai.ie/resources/seai-research/
Email: EnergyResearch@seai.ie

48. Thank you for your attention
For any other queries, please contact:
EnergyResearch@seai.ie