This text is part of the special Energies section
For two years, the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières (UQTR) and the National Institute for Scientific Research (INRS) have been united in an original partnership called the Joint Research Unit (UMR) on materials and energy transition technologies. A unit that is found in the heart of the “Valley of the energy transition” formalized last Monday.
“We are working to improve batteries, the production of green hydrogen and materials,” says François Allard, professor at INRS Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications and now attached to the UMR. In short, anything that promotes the energy transition interests them.
Based in Trois-Rivières for 14 months, François Allard has assigned two students to his work on digital battery modeling, a technology that aims to accelerate research to obtain better lithium-ion batteries. It also takes numerous steps with manufacturers and battery recyclers.
The key word that gives coherence to all these efforts is “circularity”. By definition, the circular economy is the opposite of the linear economy: extraction, production, consumption, rejection. “If we manage to transform industrial residues into inputs, that is to say into materials for the manufacture of lithium-ion battery components, we introduce circularity into the economy”, says the researcher, who also works on water electrolysis technologies that will use the heat that is lost in factories. “This heat can be used to make hydrogen production profitable. »
Even if the UMR INRS-UQTR has not yet blown out its two candles, it can already boast of some concrete advances in the field of hydrogen fuel cells, a technology essential to heavy road, rail or maritime transport, where electrochemical batteries are insufficient. “My colleague Samaneh Shahgaldi from UQTR has found a way to replace the polymer of certain membranes with wood cellulose. »
Complementary researchers
The UMR currently brings together five researchers. The two from INRS are François Allard and Éric Peterson, a specialist in biomass recovery. On the UQTR side, there are three who work in theoretical calculation for the discovery of new materials (Gabriel Antonius), the development of photocatalytic systems (Mihaela Cibian) and new materials for fuel cells and electrolyzers ( Samaneh Shahgaldi). “We are currently hiring a sixth member of the Unit who will come from INRS,” says Simon Barnabé, co-director of the Institute for Innovation in Ecomaterials, Ecoproducts and Ecoenergy (I2E3) at UQTR, who worked on the committee creation of the UMR.
The researchers are chosen to complement each other and develop collaborations. Thanks to his skills in electrochemistry and battery development, François Allard has projects with his three colleagues from UQTR. Éric Peterson, who arrived more recently, joined Simon Barnabé’s laboratory.
Biotechnology, explains the latter, is an important aspect of the energy transition, because the goal is to reduce GHGs, and that means manufacturing energy sources, products and materials that use household waste, algae or insects. Renewable natural gas, called biomethane, is the best known example, but it is not the only one. “The typical case would be that of a manufacturer of cleaning products made from products of fossil origin. The same product can be obtained by breeding a micro-organism in wastewater. »
A gift from heaven
François Allard insists on the fact that the UMR wanted its scientific production to match the needs of the region (see box). “It was very important for us to stick to local demand. »
Because the UMR is clearly part of a development and energy transition project in which Trois-Rivières intends to play a leading role. “We want to ensure that the components of the targeted technologies are of Quebec origin,” says Simon Barnabé. Ultimately, we want to be able to design new generations of batteries, fuel cells or electrolysers. »
For UQTR, the UMR is a “gift from heaven”, according to Simon Barnabé, who explains that competition is fierce between faculties who compete for research and recruitment budgets. “The UMR frees us from this constraint, because the INRS places people with us without it costing the University a penny. In this way, we increase our research capacity on themes specific to what is happening at home. »
Collaboration and cooperation go without saying at the UMR since INRS researchers do not have their own laboratory. They work on their own research in the laboratories of their colleagues at UQTR. “The arrival of a new teacher brings a new dynamic, new advice, new master’s and doctoral students of different nationalities who talk to and follow each other throughout their studies and for life. »
Welcome to the Energy Transition Valley
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