Press Releases 2019

Highly efficient power semiconductors are to pave the way for a wide range of novel applications – from e-mobility to artificial intelligence. This is the objective of the recently launched joint project "power transistors based on AlN (ForMikro-LeitBAN)" coordinated by the Ferdinand-Braun-Institut.

Heat pumps play a decisive role in the energy transition: Sustainably generated electricity provides heat in winter and a good climate in summer. Nowadays, heat pumps work almost exclusively on the basis of compressor technology. Compressors require harmful refrigerants, the use of which will be restricted even more by law in the future. In the Fraunhofer ElKaWe lighthouse project, six Fraunhofer Institutes are developing highly efficient electrocaloric heat pumps, which do without harmful refrigerants.

By 2050, the chemical industry should operate in a climate neutral fashion, which means phasing-out fossil oil, gas and coal. Therefore alternative carbon sources and renewable energy have to be utilized in order to replace fossil reserves. A new Stuttgart Research Initiative will elaborate on the concept of such a future chemical factory, both from a fundamental and application-oriented standpoint.

Energy storage systems are of crucial importance to all sectors of industry involved in the energy and mobility transition. The idea behind Germany’s ‘Forschungsfertigung Batteriezelle’ is to create a development center for battery cell production that will serve the whole of Germany. Known by its German abbreviation FFB, the new battery cell research facility will close the current gap in the value chain of primary and rechargeable batteries and eliminate the need to depend on other markets. The project team, which consists of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and its research partners, is now embarking on the first steps to put the FFB concept into practice at the chosen location of Münster in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Agrophotovoltaics (APV) allows for the dual harvesting of crops and photovoltaic electricity on the same piece of land, providing sustainable solutions under consideration of soil protection and water conservation. The first international conference on APV systems AgriVoltaics2020 will take place in Perpignan, France from August 26-28, 2020 under the motto “Launching Agrivoltaics World Wide.”

November 1, 2019, saw the start of the X-Wakes “Interaction Between the Wakes of Large Offshore Wind Farms and Wind Farm Clusters With the Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer” research project, which is being funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) to the tune of € 3.4 million over a period of three years. In the scope of X-Wakes, the researchers will be investigating how the wind conditions in the German Bight could change if offshore wind farms are expanded on a large scale.

In the »DigitalFire« project, the Fraunhofer Institute UMSICHT is exploring the possibilities of digitizing biomass furnaces. Cost-effective standard components should make existing plants more flexible and economical. The project has a duration of three years and is funded by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture with approximately 776,000 EUR.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology IEE has launched a capacity building program for energy system transfor-mation in India together with the Indian institute IIT Mumbai and partners from industry. The focus of this program is on grid integration of renewable energy. It is initiated by the German Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusam-menarbeit GIZ and aims at employees of Indian grid operators who are active in grid operation and management. The training program combines online and presence modules in topics such as generation, forecasting, system inte-gration, control and visualization of renewable energies as well as market mechanisms, regulation and politics.

Researchers at Fraunhofer ISE have developed a climate-friendly heat pump which uses propane, a natural gas. The greenhouse gas potential is about 500 times less than conventional refrigerants and thus extremely low.

In modern architecture, large-area glazing is a continuing trend because of its appearance and design variety. Large southwards-oriented windows help to reduce the energy demand for heating in winter. However, large-area glazing may significantly increase the energy demand for cooling and air-conditioning in hot summers. Smart Glass Solutions – such as electrochromic (EC) and thermochromic (TC) windows and glass façades – control the radiation energy transfer with the "touch of a button" and thus can drastically reduce the energy demands for heating and air conditioning of large buildings.