Replacing Fossil Raw Materials
The RWTH Themen magazine and an internet platform provide information on the RWTH profile area Energy, Chemical & Process Engineering, which is concerned with energy and materials conversion and usage.
The supply of sustainable energy and materials is one of the major challenges of the future. The profile area Energy, Chemical & Process Engineering, ECPE for short, investigates two important aspects of this challenge: how to improve energy and material efficiency and the transition to renewable resources.
In order to achieve these goals, the traditional research paradigm must be extended and close collaboration between energy engineering, chemistry, and chemical engineer facilitated. As the spokesperson for the research consortium, Prof. Stefan Pischinger, explains: “In the long run, an almost full transition to sustainable energy sources is possible. This requires not only that the currently used fossil raw materials are replaced in their function as energy carriers, but also that the currently fossil-based supply of materials will be secured through alternative sustainable sources.”
The new issue of the RWTH-Themen magazine presents projects and research results of the research consortium, including future opportunities of energy storage and energy saving, alternatives to pumped storage power plants, and smart energy services for buildings and city districts.
Overview of Projects and Institutions
An English-language Web site provides an overview of all partners and contacts in the ECPE profile area. Apart from 78 RWTH institutes, eleven institutions from Forschungszentrum Jülich are involved in the research consortium.
"We want to present the diverse research activities of the involved institutions to possible research partners, to industry, and to the wider public. To keep the information complete, accessible and up to date, we decided on a database structure that helps us to identify current and future research focuses in the fields of energy engineering, chemistry, and chemical engineering,” explains Prof. Pischinger.
There are currently eight profile areas at RWTH Aachen University. Database information systems are also currently being established for the other profile areas as well.