Edinburgh Napier University

  The project has an ambitious aim to develop an innovative semi-industrial system based on a solution-blowing spinning (SBS) technique to produce ultra-high elastic piezoelectric (UHEP) nano-structures. These structures have diverse applications such as Energy Harvesting (EH), sensors and medical instruments. A lab-scale (SBS) system will be designed and built capable of producing optimised UHEP nanofiber layers. A semi-industrial prototype will be then developed to produce larger UHEP layers in order to build innovative EH units.
The collaboration between ENU (previously at Northumbria University) and Alexandria University is motivated by the complementary experience of academics. The integration of Dr Hassanin's expertise in nanofibers materials and Dr Shyha's expertise in advanced manufacturing is a key factor for the success of this collaboration. The rationale underpinning this collaboration is Egypt’s drive to overcome the current energy deficit where only 2% of total energy comes from renewable resources. Egypt’s target in 2022 is to increase renewable energy’s share to 14% and our UHEP aimed to significantly contribute.
We envisage that using the developed layers for building EH units will help in moving Egypt towards energy self-sufficiency (Egypt produces 24 GW but 29 GW is needed to bring light to all households). Approximately 25% of the total electrical energy sold in Egypt is consumed for lighting. Our EH units will also help many remote towns and villages in Egypt with low-income population that have limited access to the national electricity grid to access electrical energy. This positively impact on social welfare and healthcare, and reduce electricity bills. The additives to nanofiber mats include cellulose nanostructures (help to improve the use agricultural waste in Egypt). The proposed systems will open new opportunities helping in creating new jobs and reduce the current high unemployment rate in Egypt (12.7% in 2016):
The total amount of funding awarded is £165,893.40