Adda Avendaño
The transition towards greater energy efficiency through the use of clean energy is a long-term process that requires the participation of government, industry, society, and academia, a challenge that has been accepted by the Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN), through the National Laboratory for Energy Conversion and Storage (LNCAE) with a group of specialists of the highest level, who work with state-of-the-art equipment.
One of the goals of the LNCAE is to influence the fulfillment of the objectives of Vision 2050 of the "Transition Strategy to Promote the Use of Cleaner Technologies and Fuels 2019", proposed by the Federal Government, the Ministry of Energy (Sener) and the National Commission for the Efficient Use of Energy (Conuee), which project towards the future of the country through an energy sector based on clean, efficient technologies, an energy supply of universal access, diversified, of high quality and at competitive prices.
The founder of the laboratory, Dr. Edilso Francisco Reguera Ruiz, is a member of the National System of Researchers (SNI), Level III, a group that has granted him the highest recognition for his work as an Emeritus Researcher.
In the last 10 years, Reguera Ruiz has focused on obtaining and studying advanced materials for renewable energy technology at the Centro de Investigación en Ciencia Aplicada y Tecnología Avanzada (CICATA), Legaria Unit.
Also, during this time, Dr. Edilso developed an intense activity of national impact, in the promotion of scientific research in this particular area, through conferences, seminars, and various networking projects.
In 2012 he organized the annual international workshop on renewable energies "IWECS: International Workshop on Energy Conversion and Storage" and based on the results obtained, in 2016 the creation of the LNCAE was approved, the result of a joint project between the IPN, the National Council of Humanities, Sciences, and Technologies (Conahcyt), formerly Conacyt, and the Institute of Renewable Energies (IER), of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), as a partner institution and sub-site of the laboratory.
Edilso Reguera Ruiz, a specialist in materials technology, explained that the laboratory's research areas include energy conversion and storage, including hydrogen, batteries and supercapacitors, residual energy, as well as other specific aspects of biomass, which seek to provide integral solutions to the industrial sector through the incubation of technology-based micro-enterprises, the generation of technological developments and sustainable energy applications.
"For this purpose, we have 42 major pieces of equipment that are operated by 11 professors belonging to the Advanced Technology Graduate Programme of CICATA Legaria and members of the SNI (seven polytechnic chairs, three Conahcyt chairs, and one postdoctoral fellow) and more than 30 master's and doctoral students," he explained.
In addition, the LNCAE has three X-ray diffractometers with specialized software for the structural characterization of materials, a superconducting magnetometer, unique in the country, capable of very high temperatures, magnetic and non-magnetic properties, and precision at the nanostructure level, capable of detecting the position of electron spins, including unpaired electrons (spin that has not been compensated by the spin of another electron).
"This equipment, which was acquired eight years ago, requires a lot of care, we simply have seven helium compressors to liquefy it here and an exclusive power plant, because if the electricity were to fail for just one minute, 400,000 dollars would be lost," says the specialist in materials for renewable energy technologies.
Another highly specialized piece of equipment at the LNCAE is the Mössbauer Spectrometer, a state-of-the-art device, unique in the country, which has a Cobalt 57 radioactive source, which, through the emission and resonant absorption of gamma rays, allows the study of fine details of the crystalline and electronic structure of solids, with resolutions of 10 to -13 in nuclear energy.
The person in charge of the equipment, Dr. José Manuel Ávila, a specialist in Solid State Physics, explained that to operate the Mössbauer Spectrometer it is necessary to obtain certification from the National Nuclear Commission, both for the operator and for the place where the apparatus is located, which must be properly shielded with lead walls . The gas chromatograph coupled to a mass spectrometer is another example of LNCAE's specialized machinery used for the separation, identification, and quantification of mixtures of volatile and semi-volatile substances in materials, which are separated and analyzed independently.
To establish a national industry for capital goods and equipment designed and produced by the public, social, and private sectors of the country, ensuring a sovereign energy transition and providing the population with full access to cutting-edge technologies that incorporate renewable energies at lower costs, the design, construction, and evaluation of prototypes, the creation of Spin-Off and Startup microenterprises, as well as linkage with the national industry, are crucial.
Therefore, the country needs to transition towards a Knowledge Economy, which promotes the training of highly skilled human resources engaged in scientific research that aligns with the development of renewable technologies with minimal environmental impact. This scientific production is demonstrated through the publication of articles, technological developments, and patents, of which the LNCAE already has a long list of 24 applications for intellectual property protection since 2016, and an additional 2 applications from the year 2022.
From this list, three patents have already been obtained: A device for thin film generation by the immersion method, Arsenic removal from drinking water using iron nanoparticles, and a Capital cell for structural studies of adsorption and ion exchange processes in crystals through X-Ray Diffraction.
Moreover, there are over 90 articles published in scientific journals, seven chapters in scientific books with an ISBN (International Standard Book Number), and the completion of 38 Master's and Ph.D. theses, in addition to those currently in progress.
As an alternative to reducing the level of pollution in Mexico City (CDMX) and progressively transitioning from the use of fossil fuels to renewable energies for electromobility, in September 2021, LNCAE began its collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation (Sectei), through the Center for Technological Development and Innovation, better known as Vallejo-i.
This is the Laboratory of New Materials, coordinated by LNCAE, to develop new energy technologies that enable the accelerated penetration of electromobility, focusing on three main areas: Industry 4.0, Linkage, and Development of new materials and prototypes that promote a significant reduction in the carbon footprint of industrial and social activities in CDMX.
It represents a new collaborative working model, known as the triple helix model, involving the government of CDMX, which provides the infrastructure, the industry, universities, and academic centers, such as IPN, contributing the know-how, that is, knowledge and specialized personnel for the development of technology for the benefit of society and the environment.
Selección Gaceta Politécnica #163. 2023, June 30th. IPN Imagen Institucional: Read the full magazine in spanish here
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