Over the last few years, heat pumps have become more efficient. In a recent interview, Marek Miara, head of the heat pump unit at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, talked about research results and future development potential. His team has completed three large-scale monitoring projects in old and new buildings.  more...

The "Solar Decathlon 2013", an international university competition held in Irvine, California, ended last Sunday. The competition took place for the sixth time. This time, both European teams were very successful. The Austrian team from the Vienna University of Technology was the winner out of the 19 universities that took part. The Austrians won the most points in ten disciplines for their LISI building prototype. Third prize went to the team from the Czech Technical University in Prague.  more...

The interdisciplinary NEOTHERM junior research group at Otto von Guericke University in Magdeburg is developing new materials for storing thermal energy. Using new composite materials, the scientists at the Faculty of Process and Systems Engineering (FVST) want to recover and store unused solar thermal energy and waste heat from industry. This energy can be used, for example, for heating domestic hot water or for space heating.  more...

The Oel-Waerme-Institut has joined forces with partners in industry and science to develop a burner system that runs on heating oil, vegetable oil or a mixture of both. In a range from 5 to 25 kilowatts, continuous modulation adjusts the output to current requirements. The project, which is subsidised by the German Federal Ministry of Economics, focuses on optimised fuel mixture control and atomisation. The resulting low-emission burner systems can be used in central heating systems in buildings with low heating capacities.  more...

Cryogenic air separation, a process employed to produce oxygen, requires a lot of energy. This high energy consumption impairs the efficiency of a number of industrial processes and procedures used to separate carbon dioxide from exhaust gases. In the context of the MEM-OXYCOAL research project headed by RWTH Aachen University, scientists have developed membranes that improve the energy efficiency of oxygen separation.  more...

At the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the small-scale production of lithium-ion cells has begun. The goal in the research factory is to reduce production costs by developing process engineering for the mass market. Researchers aim to use this to help the lithium-ion batteries make a breakthrough as stationary and mobile storage facilities.  more...

A consortium from science, manufacturers and power plant operators is investigating the new materials under real conditions at the GKM power plant in Mannheim (Grosskraftwerk Mannheim). Professor Karl Maile, Commercial Director of the Materials Testing Institute at the University of Stuttgart (MPA Stuttgart), is heading the scientific support research on the high-temperature material test facilities (HWT I and II). In the interview, he talked about the importance of the ongoing material development for the flexibility and efficiency of power plants.  more...

Small gas turbines are relatively inefficient. In the wake of the energy turnaround, demand for intermediate electricity storage systems is increasing. Scientists at RWTH Aachen and TU Freiberg are working on a new design concept to increase the efficiency of current small gas turbines.  more...

The ideal course of a power route depends on a number of factors. Scientists at the Technical University of Dortmund have joined forces with the grid operator Amprion to model a weighting function which systematically reproduces the relevant criteria. A computer-aided planning tool shall enable planners to make an objective assessment of various route layouts, visualise different alternatives and swiftly develop suitable compromises.  more...

The staff at the Federal Environment Agency’s research facilities in the Berlin district of Marienfelde can now test the German government’s first zero-energy building during their daily work. The energy supply is based on the exclusive use of renewable energies: a photovoltaic system produces electricity and a heat pump generates the necessary heating and cooling energy. The building is intended to generate just as much energy as it requires within one year.  more...