Carbon Care
Carbon Care : the L2EP Approach for the Reduction of Greenhouse Gases
The “Carbon Care” Approach of L2EP Lab since 2010
Due to its specificities, L2EP lab is responsive to energy-related questions such as technologies’ efficiency and renewable energy sources. Since 2010, a “Carbon Care” approach has been started with 4 steps:
- awareness of our environmental footprint
- reduction of our greenhouse gases (GHG)
- assessment of our GHG emissions
- and GHG mitigation
“Carbon Care” approach of L2EP has been initiated in 2010 on the occasion of IEEE-VPPC’10 conference . It has been refined during EPE’13 ECCE Europe conference notably with the development of a calculation tool.
“Carbon Care” action for a conference
Since 2015, thanks to a dedicated person trained to the ADEME’s “Bilan Carbone” method and the introduction of life cycle assessment, this “Carbon Care” approach has been extended to lab’s main research topics. Learning from its past experiences and accumulating knowledge is the L2EP’s philosophy.
“Carbon Care” for Conferences Organised by the L2EP Lab
IEEE-VPPC’10 was the first “Carbon Care” action for L2EP lab. The event was held in Lille in September 2010 and gathered 368 attendees from 35 countries.
GHG reduction
“Carbon Care” team (4 volunteers) was set up to reduce the GHG emissions of the conference. To do so, the team guided attendees in their accommodation and travel choices and organized reduction actions, such as taxi-bike and local meals, at the time of the conference.
Taxi-bike
GHG estimation
Thanks to simple tools, the total GHG emissions of the conference (transport, accommodation etc.) were estimated to 775 tons of CO2eq.
GHG mitigation
The cost of the total GHG emissions of the conference was calculated (24 000€). This amount had then been used to participate in 2 projects aiming at reducing GHG emissions: one local project of plantation in Deûle Park to mitigate local GHG emissions of the conference; the other one of reforestation of a national Park in Argentina to mitigate the conference’s international GHG emissions.
Reforestation project in Argentina
Deûle Park’s Plantation
was also held in Lille in September 2013. 1 107 attendees from 54 countries took part in it. Based on IEEE-VPPC’10 experience, EPE’13 ECCE Europe built a stronger “Carbon Care” team, action (with the development of an efficient assessment tool) and a collective mitigation action.
Awareness and GHG reduction
The “Carbon Care” team’s role was extended: as previously, the team (10 volunteers) guided attendees in their accommodation and travel choices, organized reduction actions, such as taxi-bike and local meals, at the time of the conference. But the team also raised people’s awareness that emissions of GHG should be reduced by a 1-day “Carbon Care” tutorial (43 attendees) during the conference and help the attendees who were willing to do something though an extra fee for Carbon Care.
 Carbon care booth |
 Carbon care tutorial |
 Taxi-bike |
 Local meals |
GHG estimation
The main effort in this conference was the development of a dedicated software based on the ADEME method. It uses the “Bilan Carbone” methodology for transport, accommodation, food and other items and includes uncertainties. It allows a much more accurate estimation. The conference leads to 1 530 tons of CO2eq emissions.
Tool developed in the framework of EPE’13-ECCE Europe
Assessment resulting from GHG estimations tool
GHG mitigation
Like previously, the cost of the total GHG emissions of the conference was calculated (15 872 €). The amount of money used to take part in 2 projects aiming at reducing GHG emissions. The first project in the same national Park Argentina allowed the mitigation of the conference’s international GHG emissions. The second project in Northern France mitigated the local GHG emissions of the conference. The big difference this time was that 50 persons from L2EP lab planted 30 trees and 1 200 hedgerow groves (528m length) themselves on 2014/03/13.
Reforestation project in Argentina
Plantation of 1200 hedgerow groves and 30 trees in northern France by the members of the lab
Carbon Care for Projects Coordinated by the L2EP Lab
Since 2015, L2EP lab has extended its “Carbon care” approach in the framework of research projects with application to: at the regional level CE2I CPER project (2015-2022) and at the European level PANDA H2020 project (2018-2021).
This action also benefits from the previous experiences of the lab and was adapted to cover the different aspects of a research project, i.e. the development, the management and the dissemination phases, on the whole duration of the project. In order to carry out the assessment, the project manager has been certified by the ABC (“Association Bilan Carbone” or Carbon assessment association) after her training to the ADEME (French ecological transition agency)’s “Bilan Carbone” method.
Operational perimeter: emissions linked to direct/indirect activity of partners
The PANDA mid-term evaluation was the opportunity to show our “Carbon Care” approach to the experts of the European Commission. Their feedback were very positive. They also indicated the willingness to develop such initiative for other projects founded by the EU.
Research Projects Related to Energy Transition
Many projects of L2EP are related to the energy transition thanks to the expertise of lab’s members in innovative electrical system. Moreover the L2EP is leader of the CUMIN interdisciplinary programme on e-mobility and a key player of SoMEL So Connected on urban smart grids.
CUMIN
https://l2ep.univ-lille.fr/groupes-de-recherche/equipe-commande/programme-cumin/
The « Campus of University with Mobility based on Innovation and carbon Neutrality » programme is coordinated by L2EP and developed in collaboration with CRIStAL and TVES labs also located at the Cité Scientifique campus of the University of Lille. This interdisciplinary programme aims at developing electo-mobility on the campus in order to reduce its GHG emissions. The CUMIN programme is subdivided into several projects dealing with one specific aspect of the programme. In the long term, the Cité scientifique site will become an eco-campus as a living lab for the development of eco-cities. CUMIN is developed in partnership with Région Haut-de-France, Metropole Europenne de Lille, i-SITE ULNE foundation, University of Trois-Rivières (Canada), University of Ghent (Belgium) and Rochester Institute of technology (USA).
SoMEL So Connected
https://www.ademe.fr/sites/default/files/assets/documents/somel_soconnected.pdf
This project is coordinated by the Metropole Européenne de Lille (MEL) to develop business models of smarts grids’ integration in urban areas. L2EP is a key player of this project, in particular by the integration of renewable energy in buildings and smart energy management of the different power flows. In this framework, L2EP lab is also strongly implied in “Smart buildings as nodes of smart grids” chair supported by MEL and JUNIA. The aim of this chair is to explore the so-called smart buildings’ potential as nodes of new energy grids integrating renewable and decentralised energy generation.
Contributors and Special Thanks
This Carbon Care action has been possible thanks to many contributors we would like to acknowledge here: L2EP members, invited professors and students, ULille and Arts et Métiers Paris Tech students.
Bibliography:
Some references related to our Carbon Care actions and projects
IEEE-VPPC
– A. L. Allègre, S. Astier, A. Bouscayrol, L. Chevallier, X. Cimetière, S. Clenet, B. Lemaire-Semail, P. Maussion, J. F. Sergent, “Experiences on carbon care conferences”, IEEE VPPC’14, Coimbra (Portugal), October 2014 (common paper L2EP Lille and LAPLACE Univ. Toulouse).
– T. Jokela, V. Cattiau, P. Tavares, L. Chevalier, A. Bouscayrol, P. Pereirinha, L. Silva, J. Trovao, “Carbon care action of IEEE-VPPC’14”, IEEE-VPPC’15, Montreal (Canada), October 2015 (common paper L2EP University of Lille, INESC Coimbra, Aalto University, University of Rio Cuarto and University of Sherbrooke).
EPE’13-ECCE Europe
– S. Clenet, A. Bouscayrol, P. Maussion, L. Chevallier, C. Sannier, X. Cimetière, « How to organize a carbon care conference?”, EPE’13 ECCE Europe, September 2013, Lille (France),
(common tutorial of L2EP Lille, LAPLACE Toulouse and A&MParitech Chambery institute).
– A. Bouscayrol, L. Chevallier, X. Cimetière, S. Clenet, B. Lemaire-Semail, “EPE’13 ECCE Europe, a carbon neutral conference!”, EPE Journal, Vo. 28, no. 1, pp. 43-48, January 2018. DOI: 10.1080/09398368.2018.1425183
CUMIN interdisciplinary programme
– A. Bouscayrol, E. Castex, P. Delarue, A. Desreveaux, O. Ferla, J. Frotey, R. German, J. Klein, W. Lhomme, J.F. Sergent, “Campus of University with Mobility based on Innovation and carbon Neutral”, IEEE-VPPC’17, Belfort (France), December 2017 (common paper L2EP Lille TVES and CRIStAL of Univ. Lille within the CUMIN project).
PANDA H2020 project
– A. Bouscayrol, A. Lepoutre, C. Irimia, C. Husar, J. Jaguemont, A. Lièvre, C. Martis, D. Zuber, V. Blandow, F. Gao, W. Van Dorp, G. Sirbu, J. Lecoutere, “Power Advanced N-level Digital Architecture for models of electrified vehicles and their components”, Transport Research Arena 2020, Helsinki (Finland), April 2020 (within the framework of the PANDA H2020 European Project, GA #824256).
Contact : Amandine LEPOUTRE
Séminaire en ligne, Mois Franco-Chinois sur l’Environnement, The electric vehicle – technological challenges and research at L2EP, 4 nov. 2020
Soutenance de thèse, Guilherme SANTOS PEREIRA, 23 Nov. 2020
