Aragon Hydrogen Foundation team visits the Estós Refuge.
The Foundation’s technicians went to the Estós hut to replace a broken consumption meter and to take new electrical and thermal measurements in the hut. These activities are part of the LIFE SUSTAINHUTS project for the search for sustainable solutions in mountain huts.
The visit is part of the second year of the LIFE SUSTAINHUTS project, which continues to develop optimal solutions to improve the sustainability of the shelters included in it. In the case of Estós, whose electricity production comes from an electric generator, photovoltaic panels and a small hydraulic turbine, the proposed solutions will focus on improving the flow of the turbine, greater energy efficiency of the building and improvements in the storage systems and the electrical panel, which will lead to a reduction in diesel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
The SustainHuts project is a demonstration project aimed at reducing CO2 emissions in natural environments by implementing innovative and original solutions based on renewable energies in mountain shelters. This project will provide local authorities with several demonstration sites that will allow them to start devising an action plan for the reduction of emissions in constructions of the same type as the shelters, such as hotels in natural parks or places where nature is an important component, or in other tourist areas in isolated places (e.g. islands).
The different technologies to be applied will be based on photovoltaics, micro-hydro, micro-wind, fuel cells, electrolyzers, hydrogen storage as well as new insulation materials. All these technologies will be installed in different mountain shelters to demonstrate, show and educate on climate change adaptation.
The aim is to achieve a 20% improvement in energy efficiency, a reduction of CO₂ (carbon dioxide) pollutant emissions by 21 tons per year per shelter and NOx (nitrogen oxide) emissions by 0.5 tons per year per shelter, as well as to reduce the number of helicopter trips made to them to supply current fuel, with an estimated saving of one ton per year of kerosene per establishment.
The Foundation for the Development of New Hydrogen Technologies in Aragon is the project coordinator and actively participates in all work packages. Apart from the project coordination tasks, its activity is mainly focused on evaluating the suitable technologies to be implemented in the Aragonese shelters -mainly the hydrogen system to be implemented in one of them-, monitoring the environmental indicators of all the shelters, and leading the communication and dissemination activities of the project.
