Insulating the interior of listed historic buildings can conflict with building preservation orders: room surfaces are often invaluable witnesses of the past. These surfaces can come loose when the glued insulating wall panels are removed. Together with industrial partners, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP are developing safely detachable interior insulation systems for a building of the Benediktbeuern monastery. Further partners can join the project until August.  more...

Last Monday, students at the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences completed the construction of their OnTop building prototype, and celebrated this with an event at the site. Previously, the building on the premises of the prefabricated house manufacturers Bien-Zenker had been constructed on a trial basis before it will enter the international university competition Solar Decathlon Europe 2014 in Versailles, France, later this month. With this concept, the team from Frankfurt am Main aims to combine the redevelopment of urban living space with storey additions.  more...

Until now, tube receivers have been used in solar tower power plants to absorb the concentrated solar rays and convert them into heat. The German Aerospace Centre (DLR) is now pursuing a new approach. In a rotating receiver, ceramic particles are evenly heated up to 1,000 degrees Celsius. The advantage of this is that the beads also act as a storage medium. The centrifugal receiver at the Jülich solar tower is scheduled to enter operation from mid-2015.  more...

One of the highest wind measurement masts in Europe has been standing on top of a wooded hill near Kassel since 2011. The mast is being used to investigate the wind layers between 100 and 200 metres in height and the influence of forest cover and terrain inclinations on the wind profile and generation of turbulence. The measured values, which are obtained using conventional sensors on the mast, are also used to validate and further develop laser-based LiDAR methods. In the interview, Paul Kühn, Group Manager for Onshore Site Assessment at the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology IWES, talks about the project’s initial results and future prospects.  more...

The RenewIT project is researching how data centres can make greater use of renewable energies. That is an important goal for project partner Thorsten Urbaneck, who is a private lecturer at Chemnitz University of Technology. This is because it is estimated that data centres consume two per cent of the electricity used in Europe – and the trend is increasing.  more...

When machine tools process complex components, often only about 20 % of the energy deployed flows into the actual metal cutting processes. The main loads tend to be peripheral machine components, such as cooling systems or hydraulic drives. In the Maxiem project, scientists from the Technische Universtät Darmstadt and industrial partners are showing how this energy requirement can, in ideal cases, be more than halved.  more...

In Germany’s largest fuel cell heating unit field test, 350 systems by various manufacturers have been tested in homes to date. This is in preparation for market launch and mass production. By mid-2016, up to 500 units are to be tested in the “Callux” field test.  more...

CO₂ can be separated from the flue gases from power plants. However, the processes developed for this have been very expansive until now. When capturing CO₂ using quicklime, on the other hand, the costs are much lower – around 15 euros per tonne of CO₂. These plants for capturing CO₂ from exhaust gases can be retrofitted in existing power plants. The Technische Universität Darmstadt has demonstrated the process using a one-megawatt pilot plant. The solid material produced – quicklime – could be interesting for cement plants, since this would reduce their energy consumption.  more...

Can large-scale hydrogen storage systems help pave the way for renewable energy? Scientists from several research institutes investigated the technical and economic requirements for this in the PlanDelyKaD research project. The research focused on hydrogen electrolysis and gas storage in salt caverns. The study also revealed the method’s potential on the market.  more...

The development of compact switching points for DC transmission solves a problem caused by the grid expansion: the grid nodes and feed-in systems are becoming smaller and can thus be installed more conveniently in urban areas and on platforms for offshore wind farms. Siemens’ development manager Denis Imamovic is today presenting the latest results of the research project at the Berliner Energietage conference.  more...