Raymond Atughwe

The PhD research investigates renewable energy with special interest in long-range energy transmission/transportation between Africa and European energy demand centres, with the objective of illuminating the potential of sustainable energy solutions that can reshape the global energy landscape. 

The current global energy challenges and climatic crisis underline the need for net zero carbon emissions, leading to an intensification of research in clean energy, especially in the transport industry (aviation, marine and railway) which is difficult to defossilize. Evidence for human-caused climate change is irrefutable. Renewable energy includes those from renewable sources like solar, wind, biofuels (e.g., ethanol, biogas, etc.), hydropower, and wind power, all producing energy with lower emissions, helping to mitigate against greenhouse gas (GHG) effects and global warming.  

Despite the urgent need to reduce GHG effects by increasing the production and supply of renewable energy, certain sectors still lag behind in terms of the use of greater proportion of renewable energy.  Within the EU’s transportation sector, aviation  accounted for 2% of global energy-related CO2 emissions in 2022 . These data show the importance of this specific sector in the future global economic growth. 

This research project is aimed at investigating, through the development of novel optimisation models, the potential of chemical and electrochemical storage, and long-range energy transmission/transportation systems for biomass and solar-generated energy. To achieve the objective, a novel optimisation model is been conceptualised, designed and implemented from the ground (exclusive of, off the shelf simulation softwares like Aspen HYSYS and others) using MILP techniques.  In the end, this work will contribute to the field of sustainable fuel developement (SFD) as it relates to future energy systems.