Stanimir VALTCHEV
Professor, University NOVA of Lisbon, PORTUGAL
Invited Full Professor, Burgas Free University, Bulgaria
Invited Full Professor, Technical University of Sofia, Bulgaria
Research interests:
Power Converters, Energy Harvesting, Wireless Energy Transfer, Electric Vehicles, Energy Management and Storage, Non-destructive Testing, Bio Energy-harvesting, and Biosensors.
Keynote address:
Hydrogen as an Energy Storage and Renewable Source
Abstract:
The Universe is more than 70% hydrogen. The interstellar space is made of vacuum, but the hydrogens’ atoms fill the space. The Sun, similar to the other stars, produces colossal energy by the nuclear synthesis of hydrogen nuclei. Luckily, we have enough of that material that builds the universe. It is a storage which we can enrich and also can use. The burning flames of carbon and hydrocarbon materials have warmed humans for more than 50000 years. In a country like the Netherlands, the hydrocarbon grid (Natural Gas) is 10-20 times more powerful and may contain 100-200 times more energy, compared to the electric grid. The problem is that we have burned almost completely in the last 50000 years the carbonic and hydrocarbon materials, and very intensively we do that in the last few hundred years a great deal of our stored in 10 million years solid carbon (coal) and liquid or volatile hydrocarbon (petrol, gas). At the same time the atmosphere is full of products that threaten human lives. Some ideas are compared, and prognostics are suggested, based on subjective but technical data, to show the importance of hydrolyzers, fuel cells, air polluters etc., to suggest the use of the luckily available allover energetic material, hydrogen.
Stanimir VALTCHEV was born in Bulgaria, graduated from TU Sofia, awarded as the of the year 1974, worked in TU Delft, received PhD from
IST in Lisbon. He started in semiconductor technology, then medical equipment, and industrial electronics (laser supplies and high-frequency
power converters). In the 1980s worked in the Robotics Laboratory of TU Sofia (also being Assistant Director of the Centre of Robotics). During
1987 and in 1991-1992 he worked in the Laboratory for Power Electronics of TU Delft in the Netherlands, as Assistant Professor. Since 1988 was Assistant Professor in TU Sofia and taught Power Electronics. He was the Deputy Dean of TU Sofia, responsible for the international students in 1990-1994. After 1980 he worked mainly on high-frequency resonant power converters, published in numerous conferences and journals, obtained IEEE and other awards. In 1994 he was invited to Portugal and lead projects of a new power converters, taught various subjects in different universities and consulted various institutions in Portugal and the Netherlands. He is currently an Emeritus Professor in UNL and Invited Professor of BFU, and TU Sofia, Bulgaria. His research includes power converters, energy harvesting, wireless energy, electric vehicles, energy management and storage, and hydrogen technology. He is editor and reviewer of journals, being also active in IEEE, now Life Senior Member.
