Renewable Energies
In this area the application-oriented research activities with focus on the following topics are intensified.
The development of energy-saving electrochemically activated reaction processes instead of thermally activated processes is a central building block of the energy transition in the chemical industry. In the second funding period, new scientific and technological challenges arise especially during the synthesis of ammonia (NH3) and Fischer-Tropsch hydrocarbons from water, air ,and renewable energies (wind, sunlight)
Biogas, synthetical methane and green hydrogen, which can be produced by electrolysis out of renewable sources for electrical energy, are predestined substitute materials for fossil gas. Besides the production of the green hydrogen (H2) under the challenge of changing operating conditions caused by the volatility of renewable energies, the distribution of it into suitable gas distribution networks is a central task.
The focus during the energetic usage of biomass should be on processes, which can be operated with residual and waste materials from the agricultural production or the food industry. An important goal is to convert the supplied substrate and the by-product CO2 as completly as possible into valuable biofuels and biochemicals through the use of customized microorganisms and multi-stage process concepts.