Redeveloping an urban district represents not just an architectural challenge - the tenants behind the facades must also be taken into account. Those involved in the "Weingarten 2020" research project are aiming to meet both demands. With the involvement of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, they have created the first passive high-rise building in a district of Freiburg. A further important milestone was the optimisation of the energy supplies.  more...

Fuel cells have unique abilities: in contrast to other co-generation (CHP) plants, they directly convert the chemically bound energy of fuel sources such as hydrogen or natural gas without using a flame. If they are deployed in heating devices, they generate electricity and heat efficiently. Indeed, they are considerably more efficient than combining conventional electricity generation and condensing boilers.  more...

Large volumes of carbon (coke) are used for the melting process in the cupola furnace, whereby a combustible process gas is formed as a by-product. This so-called cupola furnace gas has a low heating value and has previously been completely combusted for generating the hot blast in the cupola furnace's recuperator. However, in this process only around 35 % of the contained energy is used thermally. Now it is possible to utilise the remaining 65 % of the chemically bound energy that was previously not used in most foundries: a modified biogas combined heat and power plant runs with cupola furnace gas (CFG) from the melting furnace.  more...

Anyone generating electricity or operating high-temperature industrial processes produces waste heat. This waste heat is often not utilised, since its economic use does not seem viable. Small plants using the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) promise help here: they make the waste heat usable in the form of electricity, improve the cost-effectiveness and reduce CO2 emissions. Researchers from Saarland have developed an engine that uses low-temperature heat to generate electricity very efficiently for a large range of uses.  more...