On May 22nd, the three partners of the project, the Aragon Hydrogen Foundation, the architectural firm B-Haus and the University Centre of Defence of Zaragoza (CUDZ) met at the facilities of the also partner, ARPA in Zaragoza. During the meeting, we had the opportunity to share impressions on the evolution of the initiative. We also had the opportunity to visit the modules. On the one hand, the ENERMOD module (energy module that supplies renewable energies and energy storage by means of batteries and hydrogen). And on the other, the PASSIVMOD (habitable module designed under PassivHaus standards). Both are the proposal to be integrated in the final module. The latter is currently in the construction phase.

During the day, it was demonstrated how the team’s efforts had been focused on the construction of these modules. And the work forecast for the coming months was concluded. In which, the month of August stands out. This is a key month as the equipment will be tested at ARPA.

Finally, in September, the project will be taken to the field to install the module in what will be the first demo: the facilities of the Army’s XXII Sapper Brigade, in Zaragoza.

A report assessing the energy efficiency of the Gabriel de Castilla Base on Deception Island (Antarctica), one of the sites where the prototype of the project will be tested and where it is expected to be permanently installed, has been delivered to the Army Infrastructures Directorate. This report provides an energy characterisation of the current state of the project as a result of the work carried out during a research visit by the Defence University Centre. At the end of the report, proposals for improvement are made and an evaluation is made of the energy that would be saved with respect to its current state, by building the Base with the new modules that are being designed. This Base is going to renovate several of its buildings from the next campaign onwards, in accordance with its Master Plan.

The project will last three years and has a budget of 1,006,152 € co-financed 55% by the European LIFE+ programme.

The agreement to launch the European LIFE ZEROENERGYMOD project was signed today and is expected to be tested within a month. The agreement involves four partners: the Hydrogen Foundation, chaired by Arturo Aliaga, the University Defence Centre and the Aragonese companies ARPA EMC and B-Haus. It is a project based on the development of habitable and modular modules, easy to transport and install and with zero-emission energy consumption. It will first be tested in the army, although the idea is to extend it to the civilian sphere.

The four partners involved in this project, including the Aragon Hydrogen Foundation, have today ratified their commitment to research to achieve more efficient buildings. The president of this entity and also vice-president of Aragon, Arturo Aliaga, highlighted “the solidity of this initiative based on hydrogen technologies and which has two Aragonese companies for its implementation, as well as the Ministry of Defence, which is deeply rooted in Aragon”. The origin of this technology, Aliaga reiterated, “began more than fifteen years ago in the autonomous community and now, with projects like this one, it shows that it is bearing fruit and is being placed at the forefront of this type of research with international prototypes. We hope that it will end up being a patented prototype that can be extended to other applications in the civil sector.

The final solution will consist of two integrated modules, the PASSIVMOD, a living module with reduced energy consumption, thanks to its design under the Passivhaus standard, and the ENERMOD, an energy module with renewable generation. The living module will be multi-purpose and can be used as a bedroom, office or communications centre, certified under the Passivhaus energy standard, the most demanding in the world and which is already spreading all over the world. And the second energy module that will supply it is what we call the Enermod, which, through wind energy and solar panels, will produce energy that will be stored in the form of hydrogen and thus, seasonally, will be able to supply the habitable module in a self-sufficient way. The idea is that in the future the military bases will be “green” and completely independent of the country in which they are located, that they will not emit CO 2 and, at the same time, will increase their security. So far, several research stays have been carried out in Lebanon, Antarctica and Zaragoza to test how this standard behaves in different climates, medium or extreme, and it has been shown that it is capable of reducing energy consumption by up to 90%. The problem, until now, was the difficulty in supplying renewable energy consumption, but by reducing it to 10%, self-sufficiency is possible.

The prototype will now be tested in Zaragoza, as an example of an arid and dry climate for six months. From there it will be moved to the Riga base in Latvia, a cold climate, and finally to the Gabriel de Castilla base in Antarctica, an extreme climate, where it will remain for good. It will be the first Passivhaus building to be erected on the Antarctic continent. The plan is to test its operation in order to bring the use of this technology to the rest of the military camps around the world.

The challenges of our current world necessarily drive the research and development of technologies in the field of
Security and Defence. Due to its dual nature, there is a rich Defence Technological and Industrial Base, formed by the
University Defence Centres (CUD), the National Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA), universities, technology centres and companies, with technological
centres and companies, with technological capabilities that enable them to face new challenges that translate into technological, social and economic benefits for the Defence
technological, social and economic benefits for the Armed Forces and Security Forces, but also for all citizens.
For this reason, the National Defence and Security R&D Congress is held every year. Thanks to it, the capabilities, needs and interests are brought together to facilitate the necessary collaboration of this extensive Technological Base to face the challenges.

At the last edition on 25 November, Beatriz Rodríguez, professor and researcher at the Centro Universitario de la Defensa-AGM, presented a paper entitled “Analysis of the results of the energy characterisation of the Gabriel de Castilla Antarctic Base. Towards a new model of energy sustainability in the LSAs of the Spanish Army”. The conclusions of this work serve as a starting point for the design of the new habitable modules to be built with funding from the European Union within the LIFE Project 19CCM/ES/001327.

This eighth edition was held at the Basic Air Academy of Leon in a blended learning format. This venue is especially important because this year marks the centenary of the first four air bases, among which is the Military Aerodrome of León where the Basic Air Academy is located.