Research projects
Empowering Change: Tailored Narratives and Communication Strategies for Accelerating the Energy Transition
The project aims to develop innovative narratives and visualizations of the energy transition that resonate with everyday life, tailored as targeted communication strategies for end consumers. The primary objective is to enhance the active engagement of private households in the energy transition, with a specific focus on the 'buildings and housing' sector. This sector accounts for a significant portion of household-related primary energy demand, particularly in heating, hot water production, lighting, and electrical appliance usage. Traditional fact-based communication approaches have struggled to effectively reach the general public, often failing to translate information and motivation into tangible actions. To address this challenge, the project employs a multifaceted approach that includes media analyses, photovoice, design fiction techniques, and data networks. These methods are utilized to explore the interplay between citizens' living environments and actionable solutions.
The transdisciplinary team brings together expertise from communication, urban studies, design, engineering sciences, energy supply, as well as practical insights from Handwerkskammer Düsseldorf and Verbraucherzentrale NRW.
By leveraging diverse perspectives and collaborative efforts, the project aims to bridge the gap between knowledge dissemination and behavioral change, ultimately fostering greater participation in sustainable energy practices among private households.
Funded by: Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK)
Duration: 2023 - 2026
Project coordinator:Fraunhofer UMSICHT
Project partners: Energieversorgung Oberhausen, Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of Hagen
Projekt Carbon2Chem -RegStat
The research project carbon2Chem is financed by the Ministry for Education and Research. It aims to reduce unavoidable CO2-emissions through the CCU-approach (Carbon Capture and Utilization ) which result in particular from steel works, cement works, and incineration plants.The consortium consists of 17 scientific partners currently working in 7 partial projects.
Through the CCU-process the unavoidable CO2-emissions are returned to the production cycle. The use of new fossil resources is thereby avoided. The recycling process also provides the necessary carbon-based resources.The first phase focused on basic research. The main focus in the current phase is on applied research. The last phase of the project will focus on industrial-scale implementation. The developement of a cross-industrial-production-network aimed at the reduction of CO2-emissions and the manufacture of new resources for the chemical industry was succesful. The project achieved a significant reduction of emissions in steel works.
Within this context, the chair of environmental science explores the regulatory framework and which regulations are neccessary for implementing CCU technology. The first step is the analysus of the existing and relevant regulations to determine whether gaps in the existing regulation exist.
Based on that analysis, a strategic concept will be developed to adapt the regulatory framework to facilitate the cross-industrial-network.
Projekt Carbon2Chem - further training
Basic training module “Cross-industrial networks”
To ensure that the results of the project can be distributed sustainably and a lasting transfer can take place, continuing education measures are very useful. This gives existing and new academic staff the opportunity to acquire the necessary interdisciplinary knowledge beyond the content of the relevant disciplines and to anchor it in practice. An academically oriented blended learning continuing education program is therefore being developed for distance learning, which provides academics from the fields of management, planning, construction and operation of cross-industrial production systems with the necessary knowledge and thus enables them to plan, build and operate such systems. This is done on the basis of the following tasks:
- Target group analysis, analysis of requirements
- Creation of a didactic concept for blended learning and a module handbook
- Creation of a “Basics” learning module on technological boundary conditions and interfaces
- Test phase
Advanced training module “Cross-industrial networks”
Based on the basic module, in-depth courses are developed to cover specific needs in a targeted manner. This is done in the following steps:
- Expansion of the didactic concept and the module handbook
- Creation of a “Regulatory framework conditions” learning module
- Creation of a learning module “Planning, construction and operation of cross-industrial systems”
- Test phase
Contact persons
- Prof.Dr.-Ing. Görge Deerberg
- Sebastian Nimpsch
Projekt Carbon2Chem - Modelling and Simulation
The subproject "Carbon2Chem - Modelling and Simulation" envisages the development of an agent-based simulation model that aims to simulate and optimise the conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) into valuable chemical products. This project aims to address key environmental issues by leveraging carbon capture and utilization techniques. Through agent-based modelling, the simulation captures the dynamic interactions between different actors such as CO2 sources, energy suppliers, chemical plants and markets. The objectives of the model include assessing the feasibility and efficiency of CO2 conversion, optimising resource allocation and evaluating economic and environmental impacts. By simulating this complex system, the Carbon2Chem project aims to provide insights into sustainable chemical production, resource management and emission reduction.
The Carbon2Chem® project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in the 6th Energy Research Programme. The aim is to reduce CO2 emissions from unavoidable CO2 sources such as steelworks, waste incineration plants and cement works through the CCU approach (Carbon Capture and Utilization), so that the unavoidable amounts of CO2 are returned to the production cycle. This avoids the use of new fossil raw materials and at the same time makes carbon-based raw materials available for industry. The consortium consists of 17 partners and is currently working together in 7 sub-projects. Overall, the project is divided into 3 funding phases over a period of 10 years, at the end of which the results obtained will be implemented on a large scale. The focus of the first phase was basic research, the current (2020-2024) second phase focuses on application-oriented research and the last project phase is about industrial implementation. The development of a cross-industrial production network for reducing CO2 emissions at steelworks and developing new raw material sources for the chemical industry was successful, making it possible to significantly reduce emissions at the steelworks and contribute to defossilizing the chemical industry. In addition to preparing for large-scale implementation, the results are currently being transferred to other areas.
Contact persons
- Prof.Dr.-Ing. Görge Deerberg
- Afshin Poorkhanalikoudehi
