Agricultural University of Athens
The Agricultural University of Athens (AUA) is the third oldest university in Greece. Since its foundation, AUA has contributed consistently and systematically to the sustainable development of the Greek and European agrifood sectors, by conducting basic and applied research on agricultural sciences and technologies. AUA is represented in the TEAPOTS project by research groups of the Department of Natural Resources Utilization & Agricultural Engineering, and the Department of Agricultural Economics & Rural Development.
The Department of Natural Resources Utilization & Agricultural Engineering is active in a wide spectrum of research fields, such as state-of-the-art electromechanical equipment for agriculture, precision agriculture, automation, robotics, renewable energy technologies, high-efficiency desalination, waste heat recovery, ORC technology, and high-temperature heat pumps.
The Department of Agricultural Economics & Rural Development is focused on sustainability and innovation in agriculture, transdisciplinary design, as well as participatory techniques. Its members are involved in research projects on topics such as interactive innovation, Agricultural Knowledge & Innovation Systems, extension/advisory services, education, training & learning, agro-ecological transition and agri-environmental topics, policy assessments, and project design and evaluation.
Role in the Project
In the TEAPOTS project, AUA is involved in multiple activities:
Developing a high-efficiency ORC engine, a key technology to be integrated into the TIS solution in Work Package 2. The ORC engine exploits the waste heat from the flue gases of the pyrolysis unit and generates renewable energy from agricultural residues. Moreover, AUA provides expertise and tools for the evaluation of the agronomic data to be collected from field sensors in Work Package 3. The agronomic data processing leads to the development of semantics key indicators, the pillars on which the development of the TDP platform is based.
Leading the Work Package 6, which includes coordinating the necessary activities for a comprehensive societal, economic, and environmental impact assessment of the TEAPOTS solutions, the development of business models, and the analysis of the remaining steps for the commercialization of technologies.
Actively contributes to the preliminary determination of end-user needs in Work Package 7, by exploiting its contacts with relevant stakeholders in Greece. By participating in the TEAPOTS project, AUA aims to maintain an active role in agriculture de-fossilizing.
Enhancing its expertise in the development of high-efficiency ORC engines for the recovery of high-temperature heat sources, and their integration with other renewable energy technologies to provide sustainable solutions for the agricultural sector.