Ongoing Research Project

High-temperature manufacturing industries are energy-intensive, operating furnaces at over 1000 °C continuously, leading to substantial waste heat. In glass production, up to 60% of energy is wasted, and in cement production, 44% is lost as waste heat. The waste heat recovery market, currently valued at €57 billion and growing at 9% annually, is projected to reach €108 billion by 2028. High-temperature industries (>1000 °C) account for only 3% of this market (€3.2 billion). Despite their high operating temperatures, downstream processes below 800 °C offer significant waste heat recovery potential. Waste heat can be recovered from cooling grates, furnace walls, and flue gases. However, the lack of technology capable of handling high temperatures in volatile environments and the complexity and cost of conventional systems like steam turbines hinder heat recovery adoption. | Duration: 05/2024 - 04/2027

The core business of Fraunhofer ISE is the development of the next generation of solar cells. Tandem solar cells, integrated photovoltaics and sustainable production have top priority. The "Kumelle" project addresses the development of perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells, high solar cell efficiencies of over 30 % and copper metallization instead of expensive and increasingly scarce silver. The project is thus fully aligned with the core objectives of Fraunhofer ISE. In addition to the evolutionary further development of flatbed screen printing as the state of the art in production, the focus is on the revolutionary development of a new printing process (FlexTrail) in close cooperation with the consortium leader acp systems AG, which implies advantages in terms of resource efficiency, minimum feature size, material flexibility and productivity. In addition, a material-driven solution approach is being pursued with the aim of correlating cell-characteristic performance parameters with material-specific parameters and thus building up a deep understanding on the processes used. | Duration: 05/2024 - 04/2027

Intelligent energy management in smart living and building environments can contribute to the energy transition, for example by increasing the use of renewable energies through controlled consumption or by providing flexibility potential for the system. The central objective of the »FAME4ME« research project is to investigate the potential applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in relation to future energy services for private end customers dealing with topics such as smart meters, energy management and time-variable electricity tariffs. The project is supported by the BMWK as part of the SmartLivingNEXT funding program. | Duration: 02/2024 - 07/2026

According to the grid connection guidelines, power generation units (PGUs) must be able to withstand grid faults without shutting down. The guidelines define the behavior of the PGU during these faults. However, there are currently no requirements for the transient time range immediately after the occurrence and clearing of faults. As a result, PGUs may behave incorrectly or even switch off due to these transients. In the future, it will be increasingly critical to consider the behavior of the grid as it becomes more defined by the behavior of the PGU. This is due to the growing share of power electronic generation in the total generation. This is particularly important for grid-forming converters, which will be necessary to maintain grid stability. | Duration: 10/2023 - 09/2026

High-temperature heat storage systems can make a significant contribution to the decarbonization of industrial processes. They enable the efficient use of waste heat and at the same time the integration of electrical heating elements to replace fossil fuels. Heat storage systems enable a flexible energy supply for processes by decoupling the use of thermal energy from the generation of energy. This is economically interesting, as waste heat that might otherwise have been lost can be used at a later point in time, thus reducing energy consumption. In addition, a heat storage system allows electricity to be purchased at a time adapted to a variable market price. | Duration: 07/2023 - 06/2026

One prerequisite for achieving climate neutrality by 2045 is the rapid expansion of heat pumps in the building sector. According to the German government's heat pump campaign, the total number of heat pumps is set to increase from around 2 million at present to over six million by 2030. The “InnoWP” project addresses key challenges for this market ramp-up in the areas of power electronics and semiconductors for the entire performance range of heat pumps in residential buildings, from new single-family homes to larger existing multi-family buildings. | Duration: 04/2024 - 03/2027

85% of the European building stock was built before 2001 and does not meet low-energy standards.In order to achieve the necessary climate targets by 2050, Europe must accelerate the renovation wave! For the building envelope, four different renovation concepts are being developed in the project using the example of demonstration buildings, which are tailored to the needs of different building types, climate zones, social classes and user preferences. They can be scaled up and adapted to new or existing buildings throughout Europe. | Duration: 10/2022 - 09/2026

In the long term, environmental heat from lakes and rivers will be an important source of energy. However, Germany has so far lacked a consistently developed environmental regulatory framework and targeted technical solutions based on this. In the “FluSeeQ” project, the water systems are to be structured in terms of their thermo-ecological properties, the technically and economically optimal solutions are to be developed for different performance classes, taking into account the respective ecological requirements, and the potential that can be tapped for Germany is to be derived on this basis. | Duration: 09/2024 - 08/2028

In order to achieve climate neutrality in Germany by 2045, one of the decisive factors is the extent to which energy consumption for living, working, leisure, consumption and mobility in cities can be reduced and replaced by climate-neutral energy sources. In the European Union, the concept of so-called "Positive Energy Districts" (PEDs) is being pursued for this purpose: PEDs are climate-neutral neighborhoods that have a positive effect on the upstream energy system. The buildings in PEDs are energy efficient and their heat supply is climate neutral. PEDs consistently exploit the potential for renewable energy generation in the neighborhood to maximize energy demand for electricity and heat. Mobility in PEDs is electrically driven and multimodal. | Duration: 11/2021 - 04/2025

With the phase-out of coal-fired power generation, not only will large amounts of power generation capacity be lost, but also gigawatts of thermal capacity in district heating networks that will have to be replaced by low-CO2 alternatives. Large-scale heat pumps at former power plant sites that feed heat into existing district or local heating networks are a promising alternative to decentralized solutions, especially in densely built-up urban areas. The project aims to reduce the barriers to the timely integration of large-scale heat pumps into district heating systems, both from a technical and an economic point of view. | Duration: 10/2021 - 09/2025