Innovative Ideas for Energy Transition and Climate Protection Assessed

The “Forum Junge Spitzenforschung” science competition gives the region’s next generation of researchers an opportunity to present their innovative research concepts. This year, the competition’s overarching theme was “Energy and Climate – Together for the Future”. At the end of April, six project teams from Dortmund and Bochum presented their ideas to a jury of business experts: Felix Nal from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at TU Dortmund University and his “Returnee” project scooped first place. The six finalists received prize money totaling 42,000 euros.

“The ‘Forum Junge Spitzenforschung’ science competition shows what innovation potential there is in our region and especially at our universities. The scientific depth and clear practical relevance of the energy and climate projects submitted this year are impressive,” said Dr. Ronald Kriedel, Managing Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship & Transfer (CET) at TU Dortmund University and of TU concept GmbH. “This is precisely the starting point for the CET: We want to help young researchers transfer their ideas from the lab into practice – and in this way develop solutions together for the major challenges of our time.”

This was the second time that the Stiftung Industrieforschung (Industrial Research Foundation) and TU concept GmbH have looked for original and practice-oriented ideas born out of innovative basic research at universities and research institutions in the Ruhr metropolitan region. This led to the next generation of scientists presenting the six most promising projects to a jury. This year, the competition focused on approaches, technologies, processes or services that make a practical contribution to the energy transition and climate protection.

Valves that generate electricity and smarter planning for managers

Felix Nal, this year’s winner, presented a pressure control valve with an integrated radial expansion turbine. In gas pipelines, it is often necessary to reduce the pressure before the gas is transported onward. Until now, this has been done by throttling, i.e., by releasing the excess pressure. But this pressure is unused, meaning a considerable loss of energy. Nal wants to utilize this in his winning project “Returnee”. To do this, he installed a small turbine with a generator directly into the pressure control valve: As the pressure is reduced, electricity is generated at the same time – and is even carbon neutral. The jury rewarded this research approach with prize money of €12,000. “I am very pleased about this recognition, which highlights the social relevance of our research. The idea of installing the turbine in the pressure regulator was the outcome of close collaboration with our industrial partner W2. That makes the project a good example of the successful transfer of knowledge and innovation to industry,” said Felix Nal.

Second place, worth 10,000 euros, went to Maximilian Krebs and Ben Hermann from the Department of Computer Science at TU Dortmund University and their research project “SPEAR”. Their innovation enables a static analysis for predicting the energy consumption of programs and should help developers in the future to recognize and optimize the impact of their work on energy consumption. SPEAR is based on hardware profiles that allow such an analysis to be conducted quickly and efficiently. The tools can be used independently of the original hardware.

Photo: A man with a light blue shirt and glasses stands in front of a screen and holds a trophy with the number 2 in his hand. — Maximilian Krebs from the Department of Computer Science

Photo: Two men in shirts smile at the camera and hold a trophy with the number 3 on it. — Jan-Eric Wörheide and Simon Kammerer

Simon Kammerer, Paul Wenzlokat and Jan-Eric Wörheide’s idea won third place, and they were awarded prize money of 8,000 euros. The interdisciplinary research project “KrGRK 2193 – The ‘What-If Machine’ for Energy Managers” at the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at TU Dortmund University has produced an innovative simulation and optimization tool that enables companies and planning offices to evaluate investments, operating modes and strategies for industrial energy infrastructures in a fast, reliable and precise way.

Other ideas for heat storage, concrete production and network intelligence

Three other teams also used the opportunity to present their ideas and received 4,000 euros each in prize money: A group from Bochum University of Applied Sciences and Westfälische Hochschule – Westphalian University of Applied Sciences presented an innovative solution that makes it possible to determine the energy level in a latent heat storage unit more accurately with the help of piezo elements. In the “From Dust to Strength” project, a team from the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering at TU Dortmund University demonstrated a new process for producing concrete that is more environmentally friendly and particularly stable. A team from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at TU Dortmund University presented the “HYBKomp2” project, in which it is developing and testing a smart control system that connects many different power sources, storage systems and consumers, and controls them in an optimal way.

Business experts evaluate the ideas

The members of the jury were Marie Ting (Südwestfalen Agentur GmbH), Dr. Thorsten Seipp (Volterion GmbH & Co. KG), Philippa Köhnk (BRYCK), Wulf-Christian Ehrich (Dortmund Chamber of Commerce and Industry), Dr. Heinrich Dornbusch (PROvendis GmbH) and Ronald Derler (Kompetenzzentrum Digitale Wasserwirtschaft). The criteria for the experts’ assessment of the submitted ideas and proposed projects were relevance and innovative character. Economic and social potential also played a role in the jury’s decisions.