The first ANCEHA research group seminar 2021

The first seminar of the ANCEHA research group was held on 12/02/2021. Associate Professor Dr. Bentouba Said presented the topic of the seminar, which was on Renewable energies, research development, challenges and opportunities.

Further to the seminar, the research group also discussed possible new expansion and collaboration on hydrogen production. Currently the ANCEHA research group is focusing on hydrogen related research in collaboration with research institutes in India. This collaborative research includes hydrogen production from salt water. Currently two students from Alahappa University, India are at HVL for their experiments and research stays related to this collaborative research. The ANCEHA research group will be focusing on similar research expansion in Sri Lanka in the near future.

HVL is currently upgrading its laboratory facilities for the clean energy technologies, which are intended to cater to the advancing of clean energy technological research carried out by the research group comprising of students from HVL and collaborating universities in India and Sri Lanka.

The first ANCEHA research group seminar 2021

The first seminar of the ANCEHA research group was held on 12/02/2021. Associate Professor Dr. Bentouba Said presented the topic of the seminar, which was on Renewable energies, research development, challenges and opportunities.

Further to the seminar, the research group also discussed possible new expansion and collaboration on hydrogen production. Currently the ANCEHA research group is focusing on hydrogen related research in collaboration with research institutes in India. This collaborative research includes hydrogen production from salt water. Currently two students from Alahappa University, India are at HVL for their experiments and research stays related to this collaborative research. The ANCEHA research group will be focusing on similar research expansion in Sri Lanka in the near future.

HVL is currently upgrading its laboratory facilities for the clean energy technologies, which are intended to cater to the advancing of clean energy technological research carried out by the research group comprising of students from HVL and collaborating universities in India and Sri Lanka.

 

Conference on Sustainable Development Goals – Day Zero – Discussion

A  conference on Sustainable Development Goals is arranged by in Bergen by our funding agency Norwegian Agency for International Cooperation and Quality Enhancement in Higher Education (Diku, formerly known as SIU) the coming week. As part of the conference a panel discussion is arranged on Wednesday, 10th of February from 15.30 to 17.00 (Norwegian time), from 20.00 to 21.30 (Sri Lankan time) and I am invited to take part in the discussion reflecting our experience with collaboration under the NORPART project with Sri Lanka. We are also going to have 2 min video on our projects in Sri Lanka. The discussion is on how higher education and research both away and at home can be enhanced through these type of collaborative projects. The discussion will be in Norwegian through zoom, but it will be nice if  students and staff who are associated with Norpart project and our research group register themselves.  Director of Norad and representatives from the ministry of education will also be at the panel discussion.

Please register at SDG – Contact Details (eventsair.com)  Day Zero – Free registration

More information at:   https://www.uib.no/en/sdgconference/138845/day-zero-wednesday-10-february#globalt-samarbeid-bedre-utdanning-hjemme-og-ute-

The first ANCEHA research group meeting of 2021

A virtual meeting of the ANCEHA research group of HVL was held on 07/01/2021.

The group welcomed two new members, Associate Professor Said Bentouba and Dr. Mansure Keykhaei. Dr. Mansure Keykhaei, a visiting researcher, is working in the field of Novel luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) for a modern building and greenhouse.

The discussion was focussed on ways to strengthen collaboration, project activities and initiatives within the group at HVL as well as with our partner institutions in India and Sri Lanka during the pandemic.

It was noted that the size of the group and its activities have expanded. HVL has established a new collaboration with the Alahappa University in India to work on hydrogen production and has also introduced courses on hydrogen at HVL.

Research stays of students from the partner universities in India and Sri Lanka with HVL continues. A Masters student from the Electrical Engineering department of HVL will be jointly supervised by HVL and University of Jaffna and will visit Sri Lanka during his research stay.

Student Mobility: Two Sri Lankan research students in HVL

Two Sri Lankan students have been undergoing research training at HVL. Sivagowri Shanmugaratnam and Kajana Thirunavukarasu from the Department of Physics, University of Jaffna, arrived on 22nd of November 2020. They are conducting research at HVL under Professor Dhayalan Velauthapillai.

Floating solar research lab – a collaborative project between Norway and Sri Lanka

Floating solar panels for clean energy production is considered to be another promising route for Sri Lanka on its journey towards achieving renewable energy targets in view of its vast number of existing natural and man-made water bodies.

As yet another collaborative initiative between Norway and Sri Lanka, the Ambassador to Norway in Sri Lanka, HE Trine Jøranli Eskedal, declared opened the first floating solar power plant on 24 January, 2020 as an introductory step to be used as a floating research lab as well as an information sharing base including being an educational exhibit to encourage and enthuse the native population at large towards transitioning to clean energy. Reflecting the collaborative project work between the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences and the University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka, this first floating solar panel was launched in the premises of the University of Jaffna, Kilinochchi campus.

The 42 kW energy produced by this exhibition plant will partly electrify the university premises in this campus. The project was made possible with the support of Innovation Norway and the Norwegian energy group Equinor. The floating solar plant was designed and developed by Current Solar
AS, a Norwegian solar developer. This particular design is based on Norwegian marine knowhow from offshore and aquaculture industries and innovatively combines the use of composite beams for mounting the solar panels.

On her visit, the Ambassador also inspected the Clean Energy Research Lab at the University of Jaffna which was also assisted by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Sri Lanka to promote research on clean energy technologies.

An expert panel discussion on ‘A New Decade: Investing in Clean Energy in Sri Lanka – Drivers and Barriers’

The Royal Norwegian Embassy in Sri Lanka together with the University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka and the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences hosted an expert panel discussion on 21 January, 2020 under the title ‘A New Decade: Investing in Clean Energy in Sri Lanka – Drivers and Barriers’. The conference was held at the Galle Face Hotel, Colombo, Sri Lanka. This conference brought together several key actors, stakeholders and experts from the Sri Lankan clean energy sector as well as a delegation from Norway for the panel discussion.

Sri Lanka is a signatory to the Paris Climate Agreement and shares the vision and commitment to achieving carbon neutral status by 2050. The sustainable way of progressing towards achieving this commitment is through investing in clean energy technologies to tackle future energy demands while also reducing the emissions. Collaborations between governments, private sector, researchers and higher education institutions are therefore crucial for such endeavour. In this regard, Norway and Sri Lanka have partnered and are laying greater emphasis on collaborating on clean energy technologies. This partnership in research, development and investments in clean energy between Norway and Sri Lanka resulted in the establishment of a clean energy consortium in 2018 bringing together private enterprises, academics and researchers from both countries. This was made possible with the financial assistance from the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Sri Lanka. The consortium builds linkages between research and industry between both countries and encourages advancement, investments, partnerships and joint ventures towards low carbon solutions with an increased focus on solar energy generation. The conference was part of this initiative.

The expert panellists consisted of Sturle H. Pedersen, Chairman of Norwegian clean energy company Greenstat Hydrogen Asia, Nalin de Silva, Senior Professor from the University of Colombo, Asanka S. Rodrigo, Director General of Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority, Senarathna Banda, Deputy General Manager of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) Renewable Energy Development Division, S. Renganathan, CEO and Managing Director of Commercial Bank of Sri Lanka, and Kamal Dorabawila, Principal Investment Officer of International Finance Corporation (IFC). The session was moderated by Prof. Rohini M. de Silva from the University of Colombo.

Prior to the panel discussion the welcome address was delivered by the Norwegian Ambassador to Sri Lanka, HE Trine Joranli Eskedal where she highlighted the need for greater collaboration in research, development and investment on clean energy. This was followed by Prof. Kathirgamanathan Kandasamy, Vice Chancellor of the University of Jaffna and Prof. Dhayalan Velauthapillai, head of the research group on Advanced Nano Materials for Clean Energy and Health Applications of Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, who gave a brief overview on the collaborative work being undertaken between the universities in Norway and Sri Lanka. Inge Vikesdal, CEO Current Solar AS Norway, detailed their engagement in putting up the pilot floating solar plant in the University of Jaffna – Kilinochchi premises. Nanthini Nagarajah, a PhD Research Fellow of Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, presented the outline of her study on the drivers and barriers to clean energy transition in Sri Lanka.

The panel discussion was the main segment of the event and dealt with not only the promising potential in Sri Lanka for renewables but also the number of challenges the country faces in moving towards and transitioning to renewables and becoming more efficient users of energy. The panellists responded to questions from the audience in their area of expertise. Approximately sixty participants participated in the event.

Inauguration of ‘Master of Clean Energy Technologies’ Programme

The vice-chancellor and Ambassador Her Excellency Trine Jøranli Eskedal, the Ambassador of Norwegian Embassy in Colombo inaugurated ‘Master of Clean Energy Technologies’ Programme in collaboration with Western Norway University of Applied Sciences on 19.09.2020. This Master of clean energy technologies programme is the first of its kind in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka is foreseeing a clean energy future. The planned Master programme will help to produce the required technical workforce to accelerate clean energy technologies in Sri Lanka. The University of Jaffna and theWestern Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL) jointly developed the curriculum under HRNCET and CBERC projects (http://project.jfn.ac.lk/hrncet/). The courses will be taught by qualified academics from the universities in Sri Lanka, India, USA, Sweden, and Norway. The Master programme comprises of two levels.

First is a one-year Master of Clean Energy Technologies with only taught courses and the other is a two-year Master of Science in Clean Energy Technologies. Students who excel in their masters will have an opportunity to continue their studies towards split-side PhD programme in Norway. Dr.M.K.Ahilan and Dr.T.Pathmathas will serve as joint coordinators of the programmes.

Training workshop on ‘AFM and XRD : Effective research tools for material research’

Clean Energy Research Laboratory, Department of Physics received an atomic force microscope (AFM) and an x-ray diffractometer (XRD), worth of 12 million rupees each, from the State Ministry of Skills Development, Vocational Education, Research & Innovations, and Royal Norwegian Embassy in Sri Lanka, respectively. On the request made by our collaborators from National Institute of Fundamental Studies and Universities of Peradeniya, Ruhuna and Kelaniya, a Training workshop on “Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) and X-Ray Diffractometer (XRD) as effective research tools” is scheduled to be held at the Clean Energy Research Laboratory, Department of Physics for training the research students on September 12 & 13, 2020 (weekend). Dr. U. Sutharsini and Dr. M. Thanihaichelvan will serve as resource persons of this training workshop.

Weekly webinar in the month of June

ANCEHA research group organised a weekly webinar with its collaborating partners to share knowledge, enhance research and build strong bonds among the partners to promote high-quality research during the pandemic. University of Jaffna (UoJ), Sri Lanka, Coimbatore Institute of Technology (CIT) and PSG College of Technology from India and the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL) took part in the weekly webinars.

The first webinar took place on 13th of June 2020. Venkatraman Madurai Ramakrishnan, Research Scholar – CIT and Siva Uthayaraj, Research Scholar – UoJ gave presentations. Venkatraman in his presentation spoke about the direct comparison on the properties of the TiO2 nanoparticles prepared by microwave and solvothermal methods using the identical initial precursor. Further, its performance as photoanode in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) was discussed. The power conversion efficiency was found to be higher for TiO2 prepared by microwave method than the other counterparts. Here the essential parameters for the optimum performance of dye-sensitized solar cells were also discussed.

Siva Uthayaraj’s Presentation was titled “Single walled carbon nanotube incorporated Titanium dioxide and Poly (3-hexylthiophene) as electron and hole transport materials for perovskite solar cells”. The presentation included a brief introduction on perovskite solar cells followed by the recent challenges, recent research findings and proposed future works.

The second webinar was hosted on the 20th of June and Dr. M.Thanihaichelvan from UoJ and Rajaramanan Tharmakularasa Research scholar, UoJ presented their research.

The final webinar of the month took place on the 27th of June and Sandhiya Chennakrishnan, Research Scholar, CIT and Sivagowri Shanmugaratnam, Research Scholar, UoJ presented their research. Sandhiya’s presentation was titled “Nanomaterials Approach for Improving Cathode in Lithium Ion Battery”.