New PhD projects in SDU Climate Cluster
Public support for climate solutions, energy savings in sports facilities, more efficient PtX, increased CO2 absorption in the oceans and better utilization of land areas are the topics of the new PhD projects supported by SDU Climate Cluster.
For the second time, SDU Climate Cluster grants support for the employment of five PhD studentsin climate-related research projects at SDU.
SDU Climate Cluster's mission is, through interdisciplinary research, to contribute to climate neutrality by 2050. That is a society where no more greenhouse gas is emitted than is absorbed.
The ambition of the SDU Climate Cluster is to create optimal conditions for ground-breaking, excellent and interdisciplinary research, education and communication within the climate area.
You can read about the five projects that received support in the spring 2023here https://www.sdu.dk/en/forskning/sdu-climate-cluster/news/nye-phd-projekter.
And here is a presentation of the five new PhD projects:
How to Gain Support for Nature-Based Climate Solutions from Citizens and Decision-Makers
Climate change necessitates novel solutions such as creating rainwater beds in urban areas or establishing new wetlands and marshes capable of absorbing excess rainfall. However, not everyone fully supports these nature-based solutions, including citizens, decision-makers and businesses.
The researchers behind this project aim to uncover the reasons behind this lack of support. To achieve this, they will use the island of as a model. Funen was chosen because the researchers are familiar with local projects and stakeholders, and it aligns well with a large initiative in which the University of Southern Denmark is involved. This initiative is the EU-funded ARCADIA project, where Funen, like other European regions, has been selected as a model area for addressing climate change through nature-based solutions.
As part of this effort, a PhD student will assess the barriers preventing citizens and businesses in Funen from endorsing nature-based solutions. Additionally, the researchers will identify the factors that contribute to support. This research falls within the realm of behavioral science.
Based on the findings, the project will develop guidelines to help regions (such as Funen) create new or modify existing behavior change interventions related to nature-based solutions.
Project title: Using behavioural science to offer evidence-based guidance for the promotion of nature-based solutions for climate resilience.
Researchers:
- Professor Nikos Ntoumanis, Danish Centre for Motivation and Behaviour Science, Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, Faculty of Health Sciences.
- Professor Cecilie Thøgersen-Ntoumani. Danish Centre for Motivation and Behaviour Science, Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, Faculty of Health Sciences.
- Professor Gary Banta, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science.
More Efficient PtX Technology
PtX (Power-to-X) is expected to become the most crucial part of the future energy systems. PtX can convert solar and wind energy into fuels. With PtX, energy can be stored instead of being used immediately, as is the case with current wind and solar energy utilization.
The production of PtX fuel can become more energy- and cost-efficient according to the researchers behind this project. Their focus lies on the electrolysis process: The step where the system converts electricity such as from a wind turbine into hydrogen (which is later transformed into fuel by adding e.g., CO2). Electrolysis requires electricity, and costs can vary significantly due to e.g., fluctuating electricity prices.
With this project, the researchers primarily aim to develop a strategy for optimizing the electrolysis cost performance within the energy systems. This involves determining the most effective and economically viable times to run the electrolysis process. Additionally, they seek to explore efficient methods for storing CO2, hydrogen and heat.
Project title: Flexible and cost-effective integration of electrolyzers into smart energy systems (FLEX-ENVIRONMENT).
Researchers:
- Henrik Wenzel, Professor, SDU Life Cycle Engineering, Faculty of Engineering.
- Hossein Nami, Assistant Professor, SDU Life Cycle Engineering, Faculty of Engineering.
- Brooks A. Kaiser, Professor, Department of Business and Sustainability, Faculty of Business and Social Sciences.
- Yingkui Yang, Associate Professor, Department of Business and Sustainability, Faculty of Business and Social Sciences.
Greater CO2 Uptake in the Oceans
The world’s oceans and river systems have the capacity to absorb much more CO2 than they currently do, which could aid in mitigating climate change. However, this will not happen spontaneously.
According to the researchers behind this project, it is possible to encourage oceans to absorb more CO2 by introducing large quantities of crushed stones into the water. This process, known as Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement, has previously been tested in a closed river system by scientists.
The researchers estimate that this method could remove 5-10 million tons of CO2 if implemented along Denmark’s coastlines. To put this in perspective, Denmark currently emits estimated 74 million tons of CO2 per year.
As part of this project, the researchers aim to develop and test an intelligent sensor system that can autonomously assess when and how much crushed stone should be released into the water.
Project title: Exploring the full potential of CO2 removal using Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE): From theory to implementation.
Researchers:
- Carolin Löscher, Associate Professor, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science.
- Roana de Oliveira Hansen, Associate Professor, Mads Clausen Institute, Faculty of Engineering.
Read more about the idea here: https://www.sdu.dk/en/nyheder/ocean-alkalinity-enhancement
Making Better Use of indoor Sports Facilities
Denmark has over 8,000 indoor sports and cultural facilities, which are only utilized 60% of the time. This underutilization results in unnecessary energy consumption and CO2 emissions.
This project aims to explore ways to increase utilization and optimize energy usage. One aspect involves generating ideas for utilizing the vacant time slots in sports facilities and optimizing their energy consumption. The other aspect investigates whether users are willing to modify their behavior - for instance: How will lowering the temperature be received by the users?
The study will be conducted in collaboration with organizations and will focus on the Region of Southern Denmark. The insights gained will be used to establish a knowledge base on how Odense municipality and other municipalities can strategically work on usage and energy optimization in their facilities.
Project title: Facility Utilisation and Energy Efficiency: Can more users and energy optimisation go hand in hand?
Researchers:
- Evald Bundgård Iversen, associate professor, Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, Faculty of Health Sciences.
- Niels Opstrup, associate professor, Department og Political Science, Faculty of , Department of Political Science and Public Management, Faculty of Business and Social Sciences.
- Eva Berthelsen Schmidt, PhD student, Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, Faculty of Health Sciences.
More Climate-Efficient Use of Land
Land areas are a limited resource, primarily already utilized for purposes such as agriculture, urban development or nature conservation. However, many climate plans require the use of land areas for instance to create coastal wetlands that mitigate flooding. Consequently, there is a need to develop and test a new process for land management according to the researchers behind this project.
The goal of this project is to identify ways to optimize land use, ensuring that it contributes both to CO2 sequestration and helps prevent climate risks like floods, heatwaves and storms. Furthermore, the project expects that Denmark can achieve these goals with fewer and smaller land areas than currently in use.
The project will take place in the Region of Southern Denmark, and the insights gained can subsequently be applied to other regions in the country.
Project title: An Ecosystem Approach to Land Use Multifunctionality for Climate Mitigation and Adaptation (CLIMALAND)
Researchers:
- Nicola Tollin, Professor MSO, Department of Technology and Innovation, Faculty of Engineering.
- Gary Banta, Associate Professor, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science.