In the small town of Ruhstorf an der Rott, researchers at the Technology Center for Energy are tackling the big sustainability questions of our time: How should we design energy systems of the future?
In collaboration with business partners, researchers are developing ways to improve mobility in rural regions and expand e-vehicle charging infrastructure.
One hundred years after it was founded, the Margaretenau building cooperative is getting a facelift. Researchers on the MAGGIE project are working to ensure the renovations deliver energy savings and meet climate targets.
Postdoc Chandra Macauley researches fuel cell structures at Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg—one of the top locations for materials science in Germany.
By 2035, the electricity generated in Germany is to come entirely from renewable sources. However, an electricity supply generated predominantly from sun and wind will fluctuate over the course of the day. Therefore, the Kopernikus project SynErgie, which has been funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) since 2016, is investigating how energy-intensive companies can flexibly adapt their demand to the electricity supply. On the part of the University of Bayreuth, Prof. Dr. Knut Werner Lange is researching the legal framework conditions. Recently, the third phase of the nationwide large-scale project started.
Aluminium-plastic composite (APL) films are very often used for food packaging, but they pose a challenge when it comes to plastic recycling. Researchers led by Bayreuth-based physical chemist Prof. Dr. Markus Retsch have now developed an upcycling process that gives such films an innovative second use. An easy-to-apply coating transforms used APL packaging into high-performance, versatile cooling films that counteract another global problem: the high energy demand for cooling systems. The research results are presented in the journals "ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering" and "Advanced Materials Technologies".
A transformation of the energy supply that replaces fossil fuels with renewable energy sources requires new powerful technologies for storing electricity generated by the sun and wind. One promising technology is Carnot batteries, which temporarily store electricity in the form of heat. A new project of the Chair of Technical Thermodynamics and Transport Processes (LTTT) in the Center of Energy Technology (ZET) at the University of Bayreuth is investigating optimal working fluids for these energy systems. As part of the DFG Priority Programme 2403 "Carnot batteries: Inverse design from markets to molecules", it will initially be funded for three years with a total of around 298,000 euros.
Lithium-oxygen batteries, often hailed as the future of rechargeable energy storage, presently face limitations that prevent their widespread adoption. One of these significant constraints is the occurrence of large overpotentials experienced during the charging process. This means that the voltage needed for charging increases substantially implying low efficiency. In a new study published in the journal "Chem", Prof. Dr. Francesco Ciucci of the University of Bayreuth and research partners in China have for the first time been able to identify and explain the causes of these overpotentials.
The German Research Foundation (DFG) is funding a new Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) at the University of Bayreuth. The interdisciplinary research of nanostructured functional materials is expected to revolutionise the performance of batteries, solar cells, fuel cells and photocatalysts, thereby opening new perspectives for a sustainable energy economy. The starting point for material-based innovations is a holistic view of the transport of electrons, ions, molecules and heat, and their interactions in the materials. The new CRC 1585 "MultiTrans" will receive a total of around 11 million euros from the DFG over the next four years.
The use of industrial waste heat can develop into an important component of an energy industry that is independent of fossil fuels. To convert large amounts of waste heat into electricity as efficiently as possible, turbines with a high degree of efficiency are required that work with a special conversion process – the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC). In a pilot project for the development of such a turbine, the Center of Energy Technology (ZET) of the University of Bayreuth is cooperating with TGM Kanis Turbinen GmbH in Nuremberg. The Bavarian State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy is funding the project for three years with a total of about 1.7 million euros.
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