A new research project of the Institute for Water and Energy Management at Hof University of Applied Sciences aims at promoting the potential and usage of hydropower in existing water facilities. The project "Network for the Generation of Energy with Hydropower in Existing Water Facilities (NEEWa)", funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) with 417,000 EUR, strengthens the knowledge transfer from the Green Tech University Hof to regional companies. In addition, the project contributes to the success of Hof as a center of competence for water and renewable energies in the region.
Geothermal energy as a sustainable energy source can make its own significant contribution to reducing CO₂ emissions in Germany. This is shown by a case study of the Kirchstockach power plant published by scientists at the Center for Energy Technology (ZET) at the University of Bayreuth in the journal "Renewable Energy". Geothermal research at ZET is integrated into the Geothermal-Alliance Bavaria, which has been funded by the Bavarian Ministry of Science since 2016. Within the framework of the recently launched second funding phase, ZET will receive around 500,000 euros.
An enzyme could make a dream come true for the energy industry: It can efficiently produce hydrogen using electricity and can also generate electricity from hydrogen. The enzyme is protected by embedding it in a polymer. An international research team with significant participation of scientists from Technical University of Munich (TUM) has presented the system in the renowned science journal Nature Catalysis.
The University of Bayreuth is coordinating a new Priority Programme established by the German Research Foundation (DFG). The focus of the research work is the sustainable production of industrially usable nitrogen. To this end, various working groups in Germany are to develop innovative, sustainable processes that consume significantly less energy and release less CO₂ than the Haber-Bosch process that has been in use for a hundred years. The research programme, which is unique in Europe, is planned to run for six years and is being funded by the DFG to the tune of € 6.5 million. Coordinator is the Bayreuth physical chemist Prof. Dr. Roland Marschall.
3D printing has opened up a completely new range of possibilities. One example is the production of novel turbine buckets. However, the 3D printing process often induces internal stress in the components which can in the worst case lead to cracks. Now a research team has succeeded in using neutrons from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) research neutron source reactor for non-destructive detection of this internal stress – a key achievement for the improvement of the production processes.
The long-term storage of energy generated from the sun and wind power is of central importance for the transition to green energy. Flow batteries (redox flow batteries) have already proven to be a form of energy storage with great economic and ecological potential. A new research project by Prof. Dr. Birgit Weber at the University of Bayreuth will now work towards optimising this type of battery. The goal is to significantly increase the efficiency and storage capacity of environmentally-friendly, iron-based flow batteries. The project is being supported for one and a half years with funds from the Volkswagen Foundation’s "Experiment!" programme amounting to approximately € 120,000.
Sustainable catalysts that can contribute to global Energiewende (phase-out of fossil and nuclear fuel) have been an established research topic at the University of Bayreuth for many years. Recently, Dr. Eranezhuth Wasan Awin from India has been strengthening interdisciplinary research work in this field. At the invitation of the Bayreuth Humboldt Centre, the young scientist is working on the development of metal modified nanocomposite fibres by electrospinning. As catalysts, the fibres stand to enable the production of "green" hydrogen from renewable raw materials as well as its storage.
A residential area in the Belgian city of Ghent, a university campus in Poznan, Poland, a hospital in Milan: at these three locations, the EU project RENergetic is investigating how citizen energy can be successful. The University of Passau is contributing expertise on artificial intelligence and sustainability.
A team led by Technical University of Munich (TUM) physicists Christoph Utschick and Prof. Rudolf Gross has succeeded in making a coil with superconducting wires capable of transmitting power on the order of more than five kilowatts contactless and with only small losses. The wide range of conceivable applications include autonomous industrial robots, medical equipment, vehicles and even aircraft.
Lithium-ion batteries are currently the most important category of electrical energy storage device. Their operational safety depends crucially on separators that ensure the spatial separation of the electrodes. With the aim of further increasing the safety of high-tech batteries, and at the same time extending their service life, the University of Bayreuth is set to develop novel separators made of glass together with renowned industrial partners. The joint project "Glass separators for lithium-ion batteries (GlasSeLIB)" will start on March 1, 2021 and will be funded by the Bavarian Research Foundation to the tune of more than € 375,000 over the next three years.
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