April 23 at the ITMO University a meeting with representatives of Limassol, the second largest city of Cyprus, was held. Mayor of the city Andreas Christou, the officials of various departments and employees of the Technological University of Cyprus discussed with representatives of St. Petersburg universities the project "Ideas of universities - to the practice of cities" and ways to solve energy problems using alternative energy.
ITMO University and Limassol authorities started negotiations on joint projects two years ago, when a delegation of ITMO University first visited Cyprus. Now the project "Ideas universities – to the practice of cities" was joined by other educational institutions of St. Petersburg: the Bonch-Bruevich Saint - Petersburg State University of Telecommunications, the Institute of Hospitality, Saint-Petersburg State University of Service and Economics, Saint-Petersburg State Institute of Technology (Technical University). Representatives of St. Petersburg universities are ready to work together with Limassol on solving the problems of energy, transport infrastructure, urban environment and tourism.
Important problem for Cyprus and, in particular, for Limassol is drop in oil production and as a result, rising of energy prices. Over the past two years the price of fuel in Cyprus, initially costing more than the European average, has doubled. According to studies of Europe's Energy Portal, electricity generation price is also higher than the European average. Lizidis Andreas the head of Industrial Development of Ministry of Energy stated at the meeting at the ITMO University, that Cyprus is a country with a separate power system, which is dependent on imports of oil and energy. In this regard, there is an urgent need to use alternative energy systems.
“The idea of solar energy is popular now. We use solar panels, which are able to convert solar radiation into useful form of energy for humans, electricity. Until 2020, we plan to increase the capacity of one battery to 190 MW, while now it is only 84 MW. Another technology, which we plan to introduce in 2016 is sunny parks to accumulate solar energy”, Lizidis Andreas explained.
As an aid in solving the energy problems of Cyprus, the concept of the "Clean Cyprus" was developed in the ITMO University. The author of the concept is Professor Igor Meshkovskiy, the head of the Department of Physics and Technology of Optical Communication.
“The project has a global goal, the translating the entire energy system of Cyprus to renewable energy sources. As a first step, we proposed the creation of a solar power station with a total capacity of 5 MW. The main concept of the project is the production of pure hydrogen from solar energy and its subsequent use in different areas of life”, the Professor Meshkovskiy said. “In parallel, we are negotiating with the Technological University of Cyprus about creating small stations with a total capacity of 120 kW”.
As Professor Meshkovskiy explained, the hydrogen has a number of useful properties. First, it has a long shelf life, up to 25 years, in contrast to conventional batteries. Its period of use is limited to only three years. Secondly, this project will reduce the maintenance costs of energy carriers. Using lithium-ion batteries needed to change energy storage system every three years. In addition, hydrogen has an important advantage, its environmental friendliness, as the only byproduct of the energy system based on hydrogen becomes water. In contrast, when using combustible materials, such as biogas,harmful emissions fall into the atmosphere. The professor also pointed out that hydrogen can be used not only to generate electricity for homes and industry, but also for the production of fuel for transport: cars and ships.
Mayor of Limassol Andreas Christ noted interest in the project, but expressed doubts about the possibility of its financial implementation. Due to the crisis, most Cyprus banks are not always willing to give loans even for the best beginnings. Yuri Kolesnikov, the vice-rector for educational and organizational and administrative work of the ITMO University, in turn, noted that the first important step in building cooperation is made: the common interests were found and the prospect for technical solutions proposed project was determined. But the painstaking work on drawing up a business plan for the project and search for investors still have to be conducted. The volume of investments should reach from 20 to 30 million Euros, and the implementation of the project will take 3 to 4 years.
The material was prepared by the Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing.