Research and Development
Research
and development (R&D) is a key
ingredient necessary to maintain and
upgrade the technologies which will impact
Israel's infrastructure and energy sector.
Without keeping up and advancing the
relevant technologies, Israel's options
will become inferior to the work's energy,
and infrastructure development
alternatives.
Some
of Israel's most important resources are
technical expertise, abundant solar
energy, and some mineral resources, These
resources will continue to drive Israel's
energy R&D into solar energy related
research. Economic considerations in the
exploitation of solar energy will continue
to stress R&D of high temperature
processes and new material research using
the unique solar tower facility at the
Weizmann Institute, laser driven energy
transmission processes.
Material
research will continue to have significant
impact on energy storage such as cool to
hot storage, where material phase change
has been used in the past This type of
energy storage is important for shaving
peak power demand. Technological advances
in superconductivity will allow the
practical application of superconducting
magnetic energy storage device (SMES),
whilst the production of short high
temperature superconducting electrical
wires in laboratories was performed
successfully.
Energy
storage will also be affected by the
impact of material research on battery
reliability, storage capacity, discharge
duration and the number of cycles (overall
lifetime). Battery research will also
determine the rate at which electric
vehicles will be accepted by the
customers. Material research will lead to
an efficient, high power density,
non-polluting battery which would permit
the introduction of a substantial number
of electrical vehicles. Replacement of a
part of (for example 30% by the year 2020)
the current fleet of vehicles which jam
Israel's road infrastructure, with
electric vehicles and with electrically
driven trains will have far reaching
effects on the fuel sector (both gasoline
and diesel), may lessen Israel's
dependence on imported oil and will
improve the balance of payment, will
increase the demand for electricity and
will contribute to a more evenly
distributed demand curve, will generate
new jobs and will result in a substantial
improvement in the air quality.
Biomass, biofuels and waste will
constitute a small fraction of the fossil
fuel mix. These technologies are largely
developed abroad and their main impact
will be on the preservation of
environmental quality while at the same
time generating small quantities of energy
- primarily for local consumption.
Israel
will continue to preserve
technical know-how in
order to be able to
incorporate nuclear energy
in the future.
The
introduction of nuclear
energy in Israel will
resolve three important
issues:
diversification
of energy sources,
ensuring long term and
reliable energy supply
source (since a nuclear
power plant has to be
re-fueled only once a year
or even less frequently)
and reducing the global
warming effect which is
believed to be caused by
the combustion of fossil
fuel.
Renewable
energy will be a part of
Israel's energy,
geothermal, and passive
and active solar energy
except for solar energy,
which is expected to
contribute approximately
5% and a few hundred
additional MWs of wind
power, the contribution to
Israel's overall energy
balance from all other
types of renewable energy
sources well be
negligible, with probably
one exception - the
Aeroelectric Tower, which
is under development and
has not yet been proven,
This technology cools dry
and hot air, generating a
downward flow of wind
which drives turbines
located at the bottom of
the chimney to generate
electricity. The energy
source in this concept is
solar and natural-global
air circulation. This
ambitious and innovative
technology will provide a
way to exploit solar
energy without using a
collector.
The
introduction of Natural
Gal as a main fuel source
will facilitate the
introduction of fuel cell
technology into the
Israeli energy system.
Israel will promote fuel
cell technology through
R&D and international
cooperative research.
Fuel
cells are efficient,
quiet, emission-free,
inherently modular, are
responsive to changing
loads, and have been used
in the past on a small
scale in space and other
commercial applications.