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How will power-based fuels and chemicals replace the current fossil feedstocks in the future?

Joint Status Workshop Power-based Fuels and Chemicals: Sharing Progress and Scientific Challenges, Meeting New Colleagues, and Working Together on Solutions in our Research Program on June 12-13, 2024 at KIT.
The participants in front of the old cafeteria of the KIT Campus North.LT, KIT
PtX Lab is part of the Energy Lab KIT
The PtX Lab is part of the Energy Lab, where modularized systems are built and tested in a network to develop decentralized, scalable solutions for power-based fuels and chemicalsry.
4 kW microwave plasma unit for scale up studies KIT
4 kW microwave plasma unit for scale up studies
Karla works on the topic of power-based fuels and chemicals derived from CO2 and renewable electricity. KIT
Dr. Karla Herrera Delgado works in the Catalyst Design Center (CDC) at IKFT on energy-based fuels and chemicals derived from CO2 and renewable electricity.
Dr. Philipp Röse: "Our interest here is less in the catalyst synthesis itself than in the electrochemical reactions at the solid-liquid interface on electrodes." KIT
Dr. Philipp Röse: "Our interest here is less in the catalyst synthesis itself than in the electrochemical reactions at the solid-liquid interface on electrodes."

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.

How will power-based fuels and chemicals replace the current fossil feedstocks in future?

Joint Workshop Power-based Fuels & Chemicals: Sharing progress and scientific challenges in our research program on June 20-21, 2023 at Forschungszentrum Jülich.
Participants in front of the library at FZJ. FZJ
Participants in front of the library at FZJ.
Prof. Ulrike Krewer, spokesperson of "Power-based Fuels and Chemicals" in scientific exchange. Joint Workshop Power-based Fuels & Chemicals: Sharing progress and scientific challenges in our research program on June 20-21, 2023 at Forschungszentrum Jülich KIT
Prof. Ulrike Krewer, spokesperson of "Power-based Fuels and Chemicals" in scientific exchange
KIT participants behind the library at FZJ. KIT
KIT participants behind the library at FZJ.

To achieve the climate targets, sector coupling and electrification based on renewable energies in the energy sector and industry must be optimized in a joint holistic approach. Up to now, 70 - 80 percent of basic chemical materials are taken 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

In order to provide technologies, materials and processes for these challenges, the approximately 200 scientists in the "Power-based Fuels and Chemicals" subtopic are working together in six themes:

  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), Prof. Olivier Guillon (FZJ) and Prof. Wilhelm Meulenberg (FZJ) welcomed the participants. The presentations and the poster session with 43 posters gave the opportunity for discussion and exchange of new ideas. The program also included a tour of the institutes and laboratories at FZJ.

The next meeting of Subtopics 3.2 '"Power-based Fuels and Chemicals" will take place in June 2024 at KIT. Many thanks for the hospitality and the excellent organization and preparation of the event by the colleagues from Forschungszentrum Jülich.

Workshop "Grid Integration of Electrolysis" with KIT Technology and Grid Experts

Workshop "Grid Integration of Electrolysis" with KIT Technology and Grid Experts KIT
Paricipants of the KIT workshop at IMVT

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 joint competences of the colleagues at KIT will also be bundled to write a white paper on "Grid integration of electrolysis".

Workshop "Negative Emissions Technologies at KIT" (NET@KIT)

The scientific contribution of KIT energy research to technologies enabling negative CO2 emissions was the focus of the workshop on March 23, 2023.
KIT President Prof. Holger Hanselka gave a warm greeting to the participants KIT
KIT President Prof. Holger Hanselka gave a warm greeting to the participants
Prof. Sabine Fuss is one of the authors of the 2018 IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C. She says, "The longer the world waits to take ambitious action on climate change, the more critical the importance of CO2 removal technologies becomes" KIT
Prof. Sabine Fuss is one of the authors of the 2018 IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C. She says, "The longer the world waits to take ambitious action on climate change, the more critical the importance of CO2 removal technologies becomes"
 KIT
The NET@KIT workshop took place in the Engler-Bunte lecture hall at KIT's South Campus.
 KIT
The ENZo doctoral students and the participants exchanged ideas in the poster session. There was also the possibility to discuss remaining questions about the presentations.

After the introduction by Prof. Roland Dittmeyer, KIT President Prof. Holger Hanselka gave a warm greeting to the participants.

Prof. Sabine Fuss held the first keynote lecture. She was contributing author of the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (IPCC AR6 WG1, chapter 5 and IPCC AR6 WG2, chapter 16). Her main research interests include carbon dioxide removal and net zero strategies. Prof. Fuss presentation entitled "The role of CO2 removals for the Oasis climate goals - current state and future scenarios" highlighted the importance of negative emissions / carbon dioxide removal (CDR), as all emission pathways limiting global warming to 1.5 °C or 2 °C by 2100 require the use of CDR approaches in combination with emission reductions. 

Due to the many questions, the discussion about the presentation was continued during the coffee break. In the following keynote speeches, among others, the research activities of KIT on NET were presented:

  • „Electroswing Approaches for CO2 Direct Air Capture“ – M. Sc. S. Hosseini (IMVT)
  • „Biobased NET – The Contribution of Fast Pyrolysis“ – Dr. A. Funke (IKFT)
  • „Helmholtz Climate Initiative ‐ Next Steps towards Climate Neutrality“ – Dr. F. Bauer (INE)
  • „Zero‐Emission Circular Concrete through Hydrothermal Sequestration“ – Dr. K. Garbev (ITC)
  • „Distributed Capture of CO2 in Buildings ‐ Vision and Exemplary Demonstration at KIT “ – Prof. R. Dittmeyer (IMVT)
  • „NECOC ‐ atmospheric CO2 becomes a valuable raw material“ – Dr. B. Dietrich (TVT)
  • „Sustainability Assessment of Fuel Production Routes“ – Dr. M. Haase (ITAS)

The second keynote lecture entitled "The Role of Carbon Management in Achieving Net‐Zero" was given by Prof. Jennifer Wilcox. She is the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management at DOE and is on leave as the Presidential Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering and Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. In addition, as a senior fellow at the World Resources Institute (WRI), she led WRI’s Carbon Removal Program. Prof. Wilcox joined the workshop online.

In the final panel discussion, the different frameworks, technical and political issues and public perceptions in Europe and America were discussed in detail by the audience of young and experienced scientists, presenters, participants and guests. This event has underlined the importance of the topic. It has brought together young and experienced researchers as well as the guests from different disciplines at KIT and facilitated interesting talks and discussions on the diverse research approaches of negative emission technologies and carbon dioxide removal. The coffee breaks and the poster session enabled a fruitful exchange.

Many thanks to Ms. Heike Kull, manager of the KIT Graduate School ENZo, Prof. Thomas Wetzel and colleagues for organizing this successful event!

Workshop "Urban Resource Hub" - What are the challenges of recycling now and in the future?

Representatives from industry, environmental authorities and academia met on March 15-16, 2023 to discuss challenges of material cycles in a circular economy
 KIT
The current and future challenges of recycling were presented and discussed from the perspective of manufacturers, recyclers and environmental authorities.
 KIT
Together, important questions and expert knowledge were discussed in the World Café. In small groups, the participants discussed the challenges of recycling in different sectors and industries.
 KIT
Representatives from industry, public authorities and Helmholtz scientists from HZDR, HIF and KIT met to discuss the challenge of a circular economy and to develop joint research projects.

The workshop "Urban Resource Hub" took place at the ZEISS Innovation Hub focused on the current and future challenges of recycling in a circular economy from the perspective of manufacturers (Sto Group), recyclers (Nordmineral-Recycling, Heinrich Feeß GmbH, Becker Elektrorecycling Chemnitz GmbH, Remondis SE) and the Federal Environment Agency (UBA).

  • "Technology, logistics, time and money - an insight into recycling WDVS (external thermal insulation composite systems)"
  • "Building material versus waste"
  • "Legal framework of circular economy"
  • "Circular economy in the construction industry"
  • "Potential for recyclable materials in household collection"
  • "Circular economy as a building block of the sustainability strategy"

After a series of keynote presentations on the topic from the various sectors and on the legal framework, an exchange between the participants in small groups was moderated in the further course using the World Café method. Afterwards the results of each table were presented and discussed together. This exchange enabled Helmholtz-researchers of the Topic "Resource and Energy Efficiency" from HIF, HZDR and KIT to understand what academia can contribute: to identify systemic links and technologies that can be further developed through joint projects and in collaborations.

In the last part of the workshop, ideas for specific projects and calls for proposals at national (AiF, BMBF, BMWK) and EU level were developed in small groups in a "funding market".

Many thanks for the fruitful discussions and the open exchange to all participating guests from the companies, from the Federal Environment Agency and from the Helmholtz Centers HZDR, HIF and KIT!

9th Annual Meeting of the KIT Energy Center

Turnaround in energy supply: When and with which technology? KIT
Prof. Dr. Eva Schill speaks about the change of times in energy supply
Discussion at the poster KIT
Discussions about energy solutions at the poster
The poster prize of the EnBW Foundation was awarded by Prof. Dr. Wolfram Münch EnBW AG to Mr. A. Ghosh Chowdhurya. KIT
The poster prize of the EnBW Foundation was awarded by Prof. Dr. Wolfram Münch EnBW AG to Mr. Ankur Ghosh Chowdhurya.

The scientific contributions of KIT energy research to the accelerated implementation of the energy transition were the focus of the conference on July 14, 2022. After the welcoming address by KIT President Holger Hanselka, there were presentations from the Topics of the KIT Energy Center on the following subjects, among others:

  • Change of times in energy supply: When and with which technology? (Prof. Dr. Eva Schill, INE)
  • Finding the batteries of tomorrow today (T.T. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Helge S. Stein, HIU)
  • Energy Use: From renewable electricity to chemical energy sources via integrated process chains (Prof. Dr. Ute Karl and Michael Riedinger, EIFER and IMVT)

In the further course of the program, the Heinrich Hertz Award was presented by Dr. Christoph Müller Netze BW GmbH to Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jutta Hanson from the Technical University Darmstadt.

The poster session allowed young scientists and PhD students to present and discuss their research results. The poster prize of the EnBW Foundation was awarded by Prof. Dr. Wolfram Münch EnBW AG to Mr. Ankur Ghosh Chowdhurya. Who presented the results of his work titled

  • "Synthesis of stable zinc oxide based catalysts for carrying out direct dehydrogenation of methanol to achieve (a) anhydrous formaldehyde & (b) highly selective hydrogen as by-product".

He has carried out this work as a BASF PhD student at IKFT/KIT in the framework of the NAMOSYN project.

Interesting talks and discussions on energy topics between the researchers of the KIT Energy Center and the guests from industry and science could be held in the afternoon and evening at the summer party in a convivial atmosphere in front of the KIT Casino. Many thanks to KIT Energy Center for organizing this nice event!

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4th Doctoral Colloquium Bioenergy (DOC2021)

This year's Doctoral Colloquium Bioenergy was organized on September 13-14, 2021 at KIT
DOC2021 Bioenergy KIT KIT
DOC2021 Bioenergy KIT DBFZ, Uni Bochum
Labtour DOC2021 Bioenergy KIT PSI
Labtour DOC2021 Bioenergy KIT KIT

This year, the 4th DOC2021 Doctoral Colloquium Bioenergy was organized on September 13-14, 2021 by the Institute of Catalysis Research and Technology (IKFT) of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) supported by DBFZ in Leipzig and by the Scientific Advisory Board, which comprises more than 40 renowned bioenergy scientists from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Norway.

Future researchers, industry representatives and policy makers need to be brought together at an early stage to share knowledge and discuss research gaps and challenges. At the same time, networking between scientific institutions that are already intensively involved in bioenergy research needs to be expanded.

Addressing that demand, the Doctoral Colloquium BIOENERGY was initiated in 2018. Since then, it does not only serve as a platform for junior scientists to gain further qualification, but also provides an opportunity for networking and scientific exchange. Doctoral researchers from both universities and other research institutions present and discuss their latest results and advancements.

Theme fields (inter alia)

  • Sustainable resource base
  • Bioenergy system analysis 
  • Thermochemical conversion
  • Biochemical conversion
  • Biorefineries / Biofuels

The Doctoral Colloquium BIOENERGY covers every part of the biomass conversion chain, from the feedstock to different conversion pathways and their technological implementation, up to the resulting products and services. In addition, the necessary system analyses and measures for system integration were addressed.

The 4th Doctoral Colloquium BIOENERGY started with a guided laboratory and plant tour at the Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT), Campus-Nord.

Twitter: ∂doc_bioenergy

Workshop: Technical Nanocatalysts in Industry

7 May 2021: Nanocat's role & potentials for CO2 savings & energy efficiency discussed in the workshop of the Research Network Energy
Workshop: Technical Nanocatalysts in Industry KIT
EE4InG | Accompanying research of the Research Network Energy of the BMWi
World-Café Pixabay
Exchange & discussion during the World Café

The stakeholders of the innovation system (academia: CAU, KIT, TUM, FHI-MPG, TUDa, TUB; industry: Evonik, hte/BASF, CreativeQuantum, Zeolyst International; associations: VDI, DECHEMA & policymakers: BMWi, PTJ) discussed ideas on innovative products & technical solutions to reduce energy consumption & CO2 emissions against the background of climate neutrality 2050, which requires a structural change of the chemical industry. Two keynote speeches addressed:

  • Electrochemical energy conversion & storage
  • Nanocatalysis as a contribution to energy & resource efficiency and process intensification

Followed by open exchange & lively discourse in the World Café...

  • Motivation, trends and gaps: holistic view of catalyst and process development; scalability of catalyst production / catalyst recycling / component recycling; achieving overall systemic efficiency to establish a circular economy
  • State of the art, challenges: How do we research and develop?
  • Future topics & structures: Material production and integrated development, digitalization of catalysis research, structures for transfer of research results into industrial practice.

Specific nanostructuring enables incremental improvements of catalytic processes or the development of completely new catalytic reaction pathways. The results of the workshop contribute to the EduaR&D paper (EduaR&D method): "Technische Nanokatalysatoren in Industrie und Gewerbe" as part of the EE4InG project. For further information, please get in contact with Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jörg Sauer or Philipp Haltenort.