Pró-Amazônia
As a key pillar for the planet's climate stability and as the world transitions to cleaner energy sources, the Amazon region presents a unique combination of socio-ecological challenges and technological opportunities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and combating climate change. However, despite undeniable environmental contributions by the communities inhabiting this region, they are excluded from the energy transition process. They face persistent energy insecurity and rely on fossil-fuel-based transportation and power generation that incurs high costs and significant carbon emissions. The logistical challenges of fuel delivery cause increased costs and scarce reliability of services.
On the other hand, photovoltaic systems and electric boats powered by renewable energy present a viable and sustainable alternative. These systems are particularly well-suited for decentralised applications such as these, and with a detailed design, can be adapted to local conditions.
Pró-Amazônia aims to develop comprehensive solutions to promote a just energy transition that benefits the riverine communities of the Amazon. The project focuses on enabling these communities to benefit from cost reductions, energy security, and improved social well-being through the integration of low-carbon technologies for energy generation and transportation.
To achieve this, this project proposes to develop solutions for electric mobility on the Amazon rivers and integrate these vessels into community power grids by reusing second-life electric batteries, helping strengthen energy security across the region.
THE TEAM:
This project brings together a multidiscciplinary consortium of institutions from Brazil, the international Amazon region, and Germany. Spearheading the team is the Universidade Federal do Amazonas (UFAM), in collaboration with the following partners:
- Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA, Brasil)
- Universidad Católica San Pablo (UCSP, Perú)
- Universidade Federal do Santa Catarina (UFSC, Brasil)
- Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt (THI, Germany)
- Universidade Maior de San Andrés (UMSA, Bolívia)
- Universität Duisburg-Essen (UDE, Germany)
- Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia (UPTC, Colombia)
The UFAM team is comprised of two main research groups, e-Controls and LP-MAT, from fields such as electrical engineering, control and automation, energy systems, computer science, mechanical engineering, materials engineering and science, physics, and chemistry.
UFAM, UMSA, and UPTC bring extensive experience in rural electrification projects in the Amazon region, the development of new energy storage technologies, and a proven track record in the control and automation of microgrids and power converters, as well as in battery state-of-charge forecasting and management, which strengthens the project's system engineering dimension.
UFSC and UFPA offer extensive experience in the integration of renewable energy, electric mobility, and battery technologies, including operational platforms such as Barco Solar and Rabeta drive systems.
THI offers advanced capabilities in the areas of battery diagnostics, predictive modelling, and analysis of renewable energy systems.
UDE and UCSP contribute strategic expertise in circular economy modelling and regulatory frameworks.
This collaboration enables the consortium to share critical infrastructure and resources, including laboratory facilities, microgram simulation platforms, and cloud-based data analysis systems.