Variable renewable energies and transition to hydrogen highlighted in the REN Award

The REN Award, one of the oldest scientific awards in Portugal, was yesterday presented to the best doctoral and master's theses in the field of energy carried out at Portuguese universities. Amadou Bissiri, from the University of Coimbra, was honoured for his doctoral thesis on Variable Renewable Energy in West Africa, and André Dias, from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Porto, was awarded for his Master's thesis on the transition from natural gas to hydrogen. The 30th REN Award ceremony took place in the Grand Hall of the Ritz Hotel in Lisbon and was attended by the Minister of Energy and the Environment, Maria da Graça Carvalho.

Awarded every two years, the REN Award for the best Doctoral Thesis was awarded to Amadou Bissiri for his work ‘Catalysing variable renewable energy in the West African Energy Pool: perspectives on capacity expansion planning and institutional infrastructure’. The conclusions of the study by the University of Coimbra student aim to encourage policy makers, planners, regulators, electricity companies and regional institutions to devise collective and bold solutions to solve the long-standing problem of access to electricity in West Africa, integrating the production of Variable Renewable Energy.

The best Master's Thesis was awarded to André Dias for ‘The transition from gas to 100% hydrogen: network planning methodologies and challenges for the energy system’. The methodology presented in the work of the student from the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto was applied to CelZa, a green hydrogen transport project to be built between Portugal and Spain.

Catarina Cartaxo, a student at the Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon, wrote a thesis on Oscillating Water Columns, the most promising type of device for converting wave energy into electricity, and was awarded 2nd place in the REN Prize. Pedro Marques, also from the Instituto Superior Técnico, won 3rd place with his work on the use of CAT to evaluate the blend of natural gas and hydrogen.
Sofia Andrade, from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, and Miguel Tavares, from the Instituto Superior Técnico, received honourable mentions.

For the fifth year running, REN awarded the REN – Ciência LP – FCT Scientific Merit Medals, the result of a partnership between REN, Centro Ciência LP and the Foundation for Science and Technology, which reward work on energy by young people from Portuguese-speaking African countries. In the Women Researchers category, the winner was Leila Jossias with her work “Methanol synthesis through direct methane oxidation: simulation and assessment of energy feasibility”.

In the Students and Researchers category, Gafar Muganharia was the winner with ‘Simulation of Cryogenic Removal of H2S and CO2 from Synthesis Gas Using Conventional and Thermally Integrated Distillation Columns’. Alberto Filimão took second place with ‘Study of Ocean Renewable Energy in the Coastal Zone of Mozambique’.

Every two years, the REN Award recognises the best doctoral thesis and the winner receives a cash prize of €30,000. The three best master's theses are awarded annually, with first place receiving a prize of €25,000, second place receiving a prize of €15,000 and third place receiving €10,000. Each honourable mention receives a prize of €2,500. The winner of the REN – Ciência LP – FCT Scientific Merit Medals receives €5,000 and the runner-up €2,500.