Bioeconomy

How can we achieve the internationally agreed climate targets? The Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB makes the greenhouse gas CO2 usable as a carbon source for the chemical industry. With a patented catalyst synthesis, screening for the optimal catalyst in high throughput and combined (electro)chemical-biotechnological processes, various concepts are available to CO2 emitting industries.

Article - 04/07/2019

Sustainable energy storage using egg shells

Germans consumed 235 chicken eggs per head. While egg white and egg yolks are processed into cakes, pasta or scrambled eggs, the shell predominantly ends up as organic waste. This despite the fact that eggshells are complex composites of lime and protein fibres. “It has repeatedly been shown over recent years that natural products are excellently suited for energy storage,” explains Professor Maximilian Fichtner from the Helmholtz Institute Ulm,…

Article - 08/05/2019

Environmentally friendly alternative to fossil natural gas: methane from biomass

In cooperation with the research unit of the German Technical and Scientific Association for Gas and Water (DVGW), KIT researchers have built a pilot plant in which biogas produced by fermenting residual organic materials can be upgraded to synthetic methane (synthetic SNG). Biobased methane is not only a sustainable energy source for the heating and transport sectors, but also opens up new opportunities for temporary storage of renewable…

Article - 27/03/2019

Residues from biogas plants as feed for algae

Algae are frugal organisms. They require only light, water, minerals and carbon dioxide to be able to produce biomass. These properties will now be exploited economically in a two-year research project. Dr. Stefan Sebök from the University of Hamburg plans to study the holistic utilisation of degradation products of a biogas plant in Wallerstädten by linking them to land-based algae cultivation.

Article - 06/12/2018

Celeriac and electricity: dual-use system on arable land

Food or fuel? Potatoes or electricity? In addition to growing energy crops for biofuel and biogas production, open space solar plants also compete with food production when it comes to land use. Agrophotovoltaics (APV), i.e. the dual use of arable land, can mitigate the conflicting interests of agriculture and open space PV systems. APV-RESOLA is a pilot project aimed at investigating the efficiency of this dual use.

Press release - 26/07/2018

Power-to-X technologies and renewables

Storage solutions will be very much in demand as renewables account for a growing share of electricity in the grid. One option – converting fluctuating green electricity into chemical energy carriers or raw materials – looks particularly promising. Scientists at the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) want to put power-to-X processes into action with a two-pronged strategy.

Article - 17/07/2017

Efficient production of fuel from biogenic residues

Natural gas is a more climate friendly fuel than raw materials such as coal and petroleum. Nevertheless it is also a fossil fuel that generates anthropogenic CO2 emissions. In a collaborative project at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, scientists and engineers are concentrating on finding out how biogenic residues and waste materials such as wood, sewage sludge and biomass mixtures can be turned into alternative gaseous fuels.

Article - 23/08/2016

Bioenergy from meadow orchards

A project called ”Energiebündel & Flowerpower" run by the “Netzwerk Streuobst Mössingen" has established a complex local recycling network for biomass from meadow orchards. The network involves the city of Mössingen, the neighbouring municipality of Nehren, the KFB institution for the physically disabled and their self-help work group called “Streuobst und Naturschutz”, a biogas operator from Nehren, a start-up company called Vital…

Dossier - 10/09/2012

Horizon 2020 the EU framework programme for research and innovation a boost for top-level research in Europe

In the face of the ongoing financial crisis Europe is working on a new research strategy that is aimed at creating new economic growth and jobs. The new EU framework programme for research and innovation Horizon 2020 replaces the 7th Framework Programme FP7 and will run from 2014 with a budget of 80 billion. In July 2012 Brussels launched the final FP7 calls for proposals for 2013 that offer numerous market-based instruments designed to bridge…

Article - 30/07/2012

Hydrogen technology a future market segment worth billions

The importance of hydrogen as an energy carrier is expected to increase considerably over the next twenty years and play a key role in the worlds energy supply by 2050. An industrial sector offering technology infrastructure and services related to the use of hydrogen will evolve alongside this growth. The Biotechnology Forum in Freiburg on 19th September will focus on the potential future role of biotechnologically produced hydrogen.