TPG CARE

The project aims at contributing to climate change mitigation and to a circular economy in Lebanon, through low-carbon and energy resource-efficient solutions and processes. It proposes to do so through supporting the application and promotion of renewable energy (RE) and energy efficient (EE) technologies that are economically sustainable and innovative for Lebanon. It will therefore help creating additional awareness on green and innovative technologies, also spreading the implementation and utilization of 2^nd life batteries coupled with an appropriate control logic.

TPG will take part in the AICS funded project based in Burundi. The project aims to promote the utilization of renewables energies in the country also promoting the implementation of smart grid. The Burundi’s province that are considered are Bujumbura Rural, Ruyigi and Rutana, in these areas some pilot actions are taking place. TPG role in the project is mainly related to the identification of policies strategies to enhance renewables and to empower private financial investments in the country

IPVC seeks to promote the identification and adoption of QMS and green technology along the poultry value chain to ensure resilience and sustainability and stimulate green economic growth in the poultry value chain in Zimbabwe. TPG will identify high-potential innovations to be adopted by poultry value chain actors for implementing QMS and the use of green technology, such as biogas waste-to-energy solutions, solar powered climate control systems for poultry houses and cost effective poultry feed production systems and technologies. Business models will eventually be developed for each green technology pilot site, to demonstrate potential for viable return on investment and facilitate financial product development in collaboration with financial institutions supporting the poultry sector. The identified innovative QMS and green technology solutions will be supported under IPVC’s objective to improve small and medium producers business services. The scoping study will compare the possible options as well as the specific requirements and limitations.

With the collaboration with Januaforum (an association working on national and international cooperation, https://www.januaforum.it/) and MoringaWave (a Malagasy social enterprise, http://www.moringawave.com), has been studied the “state of the art” of moringa oleifera transformation process in Madagascar in order to implement a sustainable and green value-chain. Moringa oleifera, called also “miraculous plant”, is a plant that allows positive answers to many of the open questions related to the development in different parts of the world. Moringa oleifera properties are numerous, guaranteeing to please many of the ONU “Sustainable Development Goals”.  Therefore, the great potential of moringa supply-chain development seems clear. Especially in Madagascar where the 91% of population, in 2013, was under the poverty threshold (2 USD/day), the level of chronic malnutrition was around the 42%. Furthermore, in Madagascar are still persistent many traditional practices and low knowledges in terms of correct alimentation. The work has provided the design of a new moringa centre in Toliara (South of Madagascar) where the energy required for process machines and auxiliaries is obtained by using photovoltaic panels. In the meanwhile, some improvements in the management of the already existing moringa centres have been developed in order to enhance the quality and the quantity of products elaborated, guaranteeing a higher health and safety to the workers.

In the framework of an ongoing funded civil engineering project, University of Genoa collaborated in the dimensioning and realization project of a large size biogas plant. The background project foresees the construction of a recovery centre which is being constructed in a rural area of Arusha’s region. This centre will be mainly used as school but also as professional institute for conscious reintegration into the community. The whole project has been designed on the basis of a rational use of resources, of a sustainable integration in the local context and of a responsible sharing of the used techniques. The technology used is based on a mechanism able to produce cob bricks (similar to LEGO bricks) with excellent mechanical properties.
The designated area will measure about 3 hectares and will include a dormitory, suitable for about 70 people, several teaching classrooms, some laboratories, kitchen, refectory, recreation’s rooms and a community area. As anticipated, the project will foresee the implementation of some renewable energy solutions able to meet, fully or partially, the local energy requests as far as electric and thermal needs are concerned. First of all, a biodigester that will cover the entire thermal energy supply of the entire structure and will be used for domestic applications (mainly for kitchen). The biodigester has been designed by University of Genoa and will be realized in next months. The organic matrix, input for the digester, will mainly comes from animal manures with some addition of agriculture discards. The interesting thing of this project will be the redaction of a simple instruction manual for the daily utilization of the plant together with a smart guide to settle the correct dosages of the inlet.

The aim of this work was the investigation of suitable technological solutions in the field of renewable energies in an Andean region of Peru, where the lack of resources and means is a not negligible issue.  Part of the work included on field activities in partnership with Apurimac ONLUS association, based in Rome (Italy). Concrete support in the realization of this project was found in other local associations. The study, after a preliminary general feasibility study, focuses the attention on the design and the development of a low-cost biogas plant for rural areas from pig and cow manures. In that case, the combustible was used to improve the users living conditions.

TPG contributed in many phases of development, with a specific contribution in optimization activities and monitoring campaign, including an observation of the main technical parameters used in the construction of the plant (internal temperature, solar radiation, insulating materials, digester buried level, …). Furthermore, some innovative solutions have been evaluated for heat recovery: in particular TermoElectricGenerator (TEG) was investigated.  Such a system is compatible with the needs and requirements of the studied region, in order to meet a small electricity, need from an energy recovery. This was made possible by an advanced study of a Peltier thermoelectric modules, capable of converting thermal energy into electrical energy, of which various configurations have been studied.