In order to achieve the climate goals, sector coupling and electrification based on renewable energies in the energy sector and industry must be optimized in a joint, holistic approach. Today, 70 to 80 percent of chemical feedstocks are derived from fossil sources. In the future, fuels and chemicals must come from renewable electricity for green hydrogen and renewable or recycled carbon sources such as CO2, biomass or waste.

To provide the technologies, materials and processes to meet these challenges, the approximately 200 scientists in the "Power-based Fuels and Chemicals" subtopic are working together in six topic areas:

1. MIEC membrane reactors
2. Conversion of CO/CO₂-rich syngas
3. Technologies for LOHC - Liquid organic hydrogen carriers
4. Direct electrochemical synthesis (Electocatalysis beyond hydrogen)
5. Modular integrated plants
6. Plasma reactors / Plasma activation of inert molecules

Prof. Ulrike Krewer (KIT, Helmholtz Subtopic Spokesperson), Prof. Jörg Sauer (KIT Program Spokesperson) and Prof. Roland Dittmeyer (KIT Topic Spokesperson) welcomed the 115 participants. The presentations and the poster session with about 50 posters provided an opportunity for discussion and exchange of new ideas. The program also included a tour of the research facilities at KIT Campus North and South on a sunny June day.

Participants were invited to visit three of the six possible stations on the lab tour.

1. Power to X Lab @ Energy Lab
2. Catalyst Design Center (CDC) @ IKFT
3. Liquid Metal Based Thermochemistry and Heat Storage @ ITES
4. Plasma Laboratory @ IHM
5. 3D Printing Lab & Electro Catalysis of CO2 @IMVT
6. Electrochemistry Lab @ IAM-ET, Campus South (bus transfer)

Our website offers information about the scientists who have presented their laboratories and their research topics.

• Dr. Herrera Delgado works at the Catalyst Design Center (CDC),
• Dr. Navarrete Muñoz investigates the activation of carbon dioxide with microwave plasma,
• Dr. Philipp Röse is working on direct electrochemical synthesis,
• Dr. Klarissa Niedermeier investigates Liquid Metal Based Thermochemistry and Heat Storage.

Highlights from the Technological Development

Come and visit us at the Future Hub > Hall2, Booth B35

Net-Zero Circular Concrete – Concrete without Emissions Harmful to the Climate

An innovative circular approach is pursued to produce concrete with a low consumption of resources and without emissions affecting the climate. Concrete waste resulting from the demolition of buildings is crushed and sorted into coarse and fine fractions. Limestone is added to the fine fraction to produce a binder at moderate process temperatures. The coarse fraction absorbs the carbon dioxide (CO₂) produced in the course of the process. Together with the binder, it is used for producing new concrete. The pilot plant that is being set up at KIT will be used to gain the know-how for the production of larger quantities.

Data Sheet

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Come and visit us at the Energy Solutions > Hall13, Booth C76

Heat Transfer with Liquid Metals

Thermal energy storage systems can store energy in the form of heat as needed by industrial high-temperature processes in chemical or metal processing industries. Liquid metals enable heat storage at very high temperatures. They are combined with ceramic beads having a high storage density and long-term storage capacity. A pilot plant will demonstrate operation of a liquid metal-based heat storage system.

Data sheet

BiFlow – Hybrid Storage System for Power and Heat Supply

The energy transition and extended use of renewable energy sources require large storage capacities. The BiFlow project focuses on the development of a hybrid storage system that combines specific advantages of the lithium-ion battery with those of the redox-flow battery. The electrolyte tanks of the redox-flow battery are additionally used to store heat. In connection with a thermal coupling module, it increases the storage capacity and total efficiency of the system. This opens up new options for cost- and space-efficient co-storage.

Data sheet

Litona – Materials for Sustainable Sodium-ion Batteries

KIT’s startup Litona develops energy storage materials for sodium-ion batteries. Sodium-based batteries can be produced using abundant and inexpensive materials. This will reduce future costs of batteries and the dependence of Europe on imports of resources. Litona’s work presently concentrates on Prussian white analogs. These storage materials are of interest for stationary energy storage applications and for the e-mobility sector.

Data sheet

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Safe Hydrogen Storage Systems

Hydrogen (H₂) is a clean, efficient, and reliable energy carrier for many applications. KIT has more than 30 years of experience in H₂ safety research. Its hydrogen test center HYKA accommodates worldwide unique infrastructures for experiments covering various release and combustion scenarios. The PET (partially vented explosion tube) is used to study turbulent combustion processes in hydrogen-air mixtures found in partially vented geometries. These may be leaky H₂ storage tanks in rooms with doors and windows. Researchers also develop 3D simulation programs to specifically analyze and improve safety conditions.

Data sheet

KIT at Other Stands

The Center for Electrochemical Energy Storage Ulm & Karlsruhe (CELEST) will also be present at the stand of Baden-Württemberg international (hall 12, stand D15). KIT, Ulm University, and the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) cooperate in CELEST, the biggest platform for electrochemical storage systems in Germany.

At the stand of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (hall 2, stand A28), the AppLHy! exhibit highlights the design and implementation of a combined transport route for liquid hydrogen and electric power. Power will be transmitted with the help of high-temperature superconductors. Read more.

KIT’s Contributions to the Conference Program

Tech Transfer Conference Stage (Hall 2, Stand B02)

Tuesday, April 23 2024, 14.50 hrs
Presentation in English with live interpretation: Net-zero Circular Concrete
Dr. Peter Stemmermann, Institute for Technical Chemistry of KIT.

ENERGY 4.0 Academy (Hall 12, Stand D35/26)

Thursday, April 25, 2024, 10.00 hrs
Presentation in German: Methane pyrolysis as a key element for emission-free hydrogen and carbon production
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Wetzel, Institute of Thermal Process Engineering of KIT

lookKIT 2024/1: Ressources. Circular Economy. Energy.

source: PDF

Global resource consumption is increasing rapidly. According to calculations, we would have needed significantly more than one earth to meet demand two years ago. This emphasizes that we need to use materials and energy more carefully and efficiently. Therefore circular economy and intelligent storage technologies are important keywords At the Hannover Messe, KIT researchers present solutions to this problem.

One of the EU’s goals is to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. On our way there, the RISEnergy (stands for: Research Infrastructure Services for Renewable Energy) project aims to accelerate the development of innovations for the use of renewable energy sources and the commercialization of the respective technologies. Above all, access of researchers and companies to research infrastructures in European and non-European countries will be facilitated. The project coordinated by Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) will start on March 1, 2024. RISEnergy will be funded by the European Commission with about EUR 14.5 million for a duration of four and a half years.

RISEnergy will create  a European ecosystem covering all areas of renewable energy technologies. We want to push the development of promising technologies from the laboratory level to industrial maturity. Joint research infrastructure projects have already been launched for certain technologies, but RISEnergy is the first project of this dimension in Europe that covers all areas of renewable energy technologies: Photovoltaics, Concentrated Solar Power, Hydrogen, Biofuels, Wind Energy, OceanEnergy, as well as Integrated Grids, Energy Storage, Materials Research, Information and Communication Technologies.

Consortium of Institutions from 22 Countries 

The RISEnergy consortium consists of 69 technology institutes, universities, and industry partners from 22 countries. The partners contribute with their infrastructures, know-how, or provide organizational support. 

Researchers Can Apply

Within the framework of RISEnergy, 84 research infrastructures from 19 European countries, the USA, Canada, and Japan will open their facilities to external researchers and company developers, who can apply for access. An expert committee will decide. If approved, RISEnergy will cover the costs of the research facility as well as travel and accommodation expenses. Most of the project budget will be used for this purpose.

The Hydrogen Researcher

"The energy of tomorrow is water, which has been broken down by electric current. The elements of water broken down in this way, hydrogen and oxygen, will secure the Earth’s energy supply far into the future”. For Jules Verne, this was a vision he wrote down in his 1875 novel "The Mysterious Island." Dr. Svetlana Korneychuk, however, likes to quote the French author because his vision is closer to reality today than ever before. With her work at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the researcher contributes to making hydrogen as an energy carrier affordable and suitable for everyday use.

Scientists of the Helmholtz programs ESD and MTET discussed scientific and technical issues of the grid integration of electrolysis and subsequent steps on May 12, 2023, at KIT Campus North. After a first scientific and technical exchange on the important key topics, working groups were formed to deal with the following issues in the future:

• What kind of transient data do we need/could we use? (experimental side)
• Co-simulation in open software sense (modeling)
• How to connect renewable energy sources to electrolysers in the most efficient way? The role of power electronics in connecting electrolysers to the grid.
• How to design electrolyzer systems? Operation of electrolyzer itself (SOH, interfaces,…)
• Dynamics of the downstream processes; role of storage as buffer

The new graduate school ENZo offers the next generation of young researchers the opportunity to apply interdisciplinary knowledge in application-oriented projects that can visibly contribute to the transformation of the energy system.
Future researchers are characterized not only by their desire to understand how developments and technologies can be embedded in the overall context of the energy system, but also by their desire to contribute to its sustainable design. MTET themes such as

• Renewable Energy,
• Sector Coupling Industry - Electricity, Heat, Chemical Energy (Sources), and
• Circular Economy - Use of Raw Materials and Energy

are holisticly combined in the "Real World Projects" with the important viewpoints and aspects such as

• Machine Learning and Digital Tools
• Technoeconomics Assessment, Interaction with Society, Acceptance and Social Developments.

Embedded in the manifold technological and scientific possibilities at the KIT Energy Center, ENZo creates a unique development environment for PhD students.