The Energy Efficiency Export Initiative is expanding its funding. The intention is that German design and technology skills in the energy-optimised construction field shall now also be publicised worldwide. The support is being organised by the German chambers of foreign trade in the form of tours of buildings, expert workshops and media relations work.
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A school where you feel at home that at the same time consumes little energy during operation – that is the Niederheide primary school in Hohen Neuendorf. A ventilation system which combines mechanical and natural ventilation via the windows ensures a good air quality and a pleasant indoor environment in the classrooms. It is the first school in Germany to receive the Gold Medal for Sustainable Construction. It was certified in accordance with the Sustainable Construction Assessment System (BNB) developed by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB).  more...

How safe and reliable are photovoltaic installations with lithium-ion storage systems? In order to find out, scientists are investigating different plant systems. The intention is to identify possible weak points – such as during transport and installation – so that they can be taken into account in future standardisation work.  more...

Researchers have developed a quadruple solar cell that converts 46 per cent of sunlight into electricity. The high-performance cells achieve this record-breaking efficiency in connection with optics that concentrate the light 508 times. If these cells were built in concentrator modules, energy would be produced even more economically in regions with high levels of sun.  more...

The confectionary manufacturer, Ferrero, and the packaging specialist, Junghans, want to save half the energy that they previously required for production. With the help of a new energy monitoring system, they also want to become smart consumers: They would then purchase energy, when it is cheapest for them. A recently started research project will define what the companies have to change in terms of production and management.  more...

Through the ENPRO research initiative, chemical corporations BASF, Bayer and Evonik hope to bring to the market new products much more quickly from the lab and establish more energy-efficient manufacturing processes in cooperation with other companies and universities. The initiative envisages the application of continuous production processes for small product volumes too in the special chemicals sector and the phasing out thereby of batch-based manufacture. In doing so, the partner institutions are seeking to develop new methods and system and equipment concepts.  more...

Through the “Thermochemical energy storage unit for thermal power plants and industrial heat” project (TcET), researchers at TU Munich hope to increase the flexibility of fossil fuel power plants. The trick in all of this: If no or a reduced volume of electrical power is required, the plant does not power down. The surplus energy rather is temporarily stored in thermochemical storage systems.  more...

In October, the COORETEC research initiative organised by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy celebrated its tenth anniversary in Berlin. In recent years, around 500 research projects have been initiated and funded with more than 500 million euros invested by both the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and the industry.  more...

Heating and gas networks can balance out fluctuations in the electricity grid. But how flexibly can surplus electricity be indirectly stored? In the Multi-Grid Storage project, scientists have investigated how it can be best of all stored in the form of heat or gas and then made available again as electrical energy as soon as it is required.  more...

The batteries in electric vehicles can store surplus energy from the electricity grid. By the same token, they can feed back electrical energy to the grid at times of high demand for electricity. As part of the NET-INES project, scientists are investigating different charging and discharging strategies as well as the opportunities to market this service. For this purpose, they surveyed more than 600 vehicle owners.  more...