Energy systems and process-energy technology

The subject areas forming the focus of the research works in the research field "Energy systems and process-energy technology" are:

• Energy systems (transformation, transportation, distribution, storage, use and management)

• Performance mechatronics and drive systems

• Process-energy technology

Energy systems

The interconnection (or coupling) of the processes of transformation,  transportation, distribution, storage and (efficient) use of energy requires a holistic examination of the energy systems, an example being the integration of decentralised energy-generation systems into the energy-supply system. A systematic analysis is required in this respect for questions pertaining to the interconnection (or coupling) of the generation of high or low temperatures and electrical power as well as e.g. for the feed-in of decentrally generated energy into the supply grids which will develop in the future into active distribution grids. Again, it is important to look at the entire system in order to be able to take sufficient account of repercussions caused by the decentralized feed-in.

Another point requiring a holistic examination of this entire energy system is the employment of decentralized and regenerative energy sources such as e.g. geothermal energy or biogas for supplying energy to buildings or building complexes.

Performance mechatronics

Performance mechatronics is an interdisciplinary field of the engineering sciences. As already indicated by this denomination, performance-mechatronic systems interconnect mechanical and electronic components in order to improve the efficiency of classic systems and to facilitate entirely new functions. In addition to the classic engineering disciplines, a special focus is placed on information technology, without which a lot of our contemporary technical systems would not be just as efficient. The task of mechatronic systems consists in the transformation (or conversion), transportation and/or storage of energy, matter and/or information by means of the sensor, processing and actuator technologies as well as elements of mechanics, electronics and informatics.

Process-energy technology

The difficulty of the process-energy technology lies in the field of energy optimisation and energy saving in the industrial sphere, in power plants and with regard to the end consumers. The industrial process-energy technology is a cross-sectional technology with a central importance from a technological and energetic point of view for a large number of production and machining processes. Its fields of application are manifold and range from the food, textile and paper industries to the chemical industry, where we mostly find process temperatures of up to 600 °C (low-temperature processes). Examples for high-temperature processes within the range of above approx. 600 °C up to approx. 1500 °C can be found in the steel and building-materials industries, the iron and non-iron foundries as well as the glass and ceramics industries.