Research News

Kornelis Blok has devoted himself to the energy transition for many years. On the 24th of May, he says farewell to the TU Delft before his retirement, although he certainly will not sit still. We spoke with him about the past and the future. How does he look back on his career and his years at TU Delft?

Electrical power grids worldwide are becoming overloaded. This makes it essential to further develop solutions to ensure the stability of our increasingly sustainable energy system. TU Delft is proud to work at the forefront of renewing energy systems, together with industry partners like grid operator TenneT. During a symposium on the topic of net congestion and innovation, experts from the industry and academia presented their joined efforts in this field.

For the 9th time, the open access monitor was carried out for TU Delft by the Research Support team. The report is based on the current definitions of the national OA monitoring framework. More than in all previous years, the share of open access within TU Delft has grown.

A Dutch consortium, led by national energy research institute DIFFER, will receive 4.7 million euros from NWO to build a facility that makes controlled layers of material. Through this facility, Delft researchers and partnering institutes can explore materials for new catalysts and batteries.

A major challenge in the energy transition is the efficient and flexible storage and transportation of renewable energy. Batteries will play an important role in this. However, much research and innovation are still required. In order to encourage this, on Thursday 11 May 2023 TU Delft will be launching e4BatteryDelft: a brand-new platform that will focus on electrochemical storage of renewable energy – with respect for the world around us, in a way that is affordable and also totally European.

Solar energy is the cheapest and most accessible form of energy. Now, it will be more efficient than ever.

Dingena Schott has been appointed professor of Machine Cargo Interaction Engineering in the Department of Maritime and Transport Technology (M&TT) starting 26 April 2023. Schott’s research focuses on improving and developing tools for transporting and processing granular materials.

What was born almost 20 years ago as an enthusiastic plan by some Applied Earth Sciences students is now becoming reality: the construction of the wells will start this summer, and in a few years' time TU Delft's campus will be heated by a geothermal source. Earlier this week, the consortium behind Geothermie Delft decided to make the necessary follow-on investment to realise the planned geothermal wells and start the research programme.

On 26 April, NWO announced that the research project 'Dynamic yAw Models fOr wiND turbine/farm design (DIAMOND) by wind energy researcher Dr Wei Yu will receive close to € 640.000 funding from the Open Technology Programme. Yu: “I am thrilled and humbled to have been granted this research funding, which represents a crucial opportunity for us to explore new frontiers of wind turbine yaw dynamics. We'll develop dynamic yaw models to mitigate wind turbine wake losses, paving the way for a more sustainable wind energy industry.”

AeroDelft, a student team from Delft University of Technology, and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines have announced a partnership to explore hydrogen in aviation. The partnership will support AeroDelft’s Project Phoenix, focused on researching and developing new technologies that can reduce the aviation industry's environmental impact.

The Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science is proud to announce that Professor Peter Palensky has been appointed as the new Head of the Department of Electrical Sustainable Energy. He will start his term on July 1. Peter Palensky brings with him a wealth of experience in the digitalisation of the energy grid: a crucial aspect of the ongoing energy transition.

DNA replication is the process whereby cells make an exact copy of their DNA before cell division. A key part of the intricate DNA replication machinery is a molecular motor called CMG, which has the vital task of separating the two strands of the DNA double helix so that they can be copied. An interdisciplinary team of researchers from TU Delft has now developed a new methodology to assemble and image the motion of CMG with unprecedented resolution.

As of April 1st, Prof.dr. Peter Palensky will take over the role as chair Delft Energy Initiative from Prof.dr. Kornelis Blok.