Technical analyses

As part of the tech­ni­cal ana­ly­sis, this young working group is focu­sing on the con­cep­tu­al deve­lo­p­ment of pos­si­bi­li­ties for using rene­wa­ble ener­gies and ener­gy sources such as green elec­tri­ci­ty or hydro­gen to defos­si­li­ze pro­cess heat gene­ra­ti­on, but also on fle­xi­ble, hybrid hea­ting con­cepts (e.g. natu­ral gas/electricity) in the con­text of the ener­gy tran­si­ti­on. In addi­ti­on to the tech­ni­cal fea­si­bi­li­ty, the impact of the use of new tech­no­lo­gies on the ener­gy and mate­ri­al balan­ces of the pro­cess or the pro­cess chain is addressed.

CO₂ footprint and life cycle analysis

The CO₂ foot­print is of incre­asing importance for indus­tri­al fur­nace engi­nee­ring and ther­mopro­ces­sing tech­no­lo­gy. The working group is invol­ved in both the sys­te­ma­tic deter­mi­na­ti­on of the CO₂ foot­print for the manu­fac­tu­ring of ener­gy-inten­si­ve pro­ducts and the CO₂ foot­print of the plant tech­no­lo­gy used for this pur­po­se. For the­se tasks, inter­na­tio­nal stan­dards and gui­de­lines such as the Green­house Gas Pro­to­col or the Life Cycle Assess­ment (LCA) metho­do­lo­gy are used and fur­ther deve­lo­ped for their appli­ca­ti­on in indus­tri­al fur­nace engi­nee­ring and ther­mopro­ces­sing technology.

Economical assessments

In addi­ti­on to the ana­ly­sis of tech­ni­cal and eco­lo­gi­cal aspects of new hea­ting tech­no­lo­gies for indus­tri­al fur­nace engi­nee­ring and ther­mopro­ces­sing tech­no­lo­gy, the working group also addres­ses the eco­no­mic impact on the plant ope­ra­ti­on. This includes in par­ti­cu­lar the heat gene­ra­ti­on cos­ts in the con­text of dyna­mic mar­ket con­di­ti­ons (e.g. ener­gy and CO₂ pri­ces) and the ana­ly­sis of sui­ta­ble tran­si­ti­on times for the use of green elec­tri­ci­ty, hydro­gen or hybrid hea­ting con­cepts for CO₂-neu­tral pro­cess heat gene­ra­ti­on over the cour­se of the ener­gy transition.

Networking

The working group inte­gra­tes the tech­ni­cal, eco­lo­gi­cal and envi­ron­men­tal dimen­si­ons of new hea­ting con­cepts into the con­text of the ener­gy tran­si­ti­on, working clo­se­ly with inter­nal and exter­nal part­ners. The working group is invol­ved in cross-sec­to­ral and cross-the­ma­tic pro­jects and stu­dies that com­bi­ne, for exam­p­le, the use and gene­ra­ti­on of rene­wa­ble ener­gies. In addi­ti­on, the working group pro­mo­tes cross-sec­to­ral exch­an­ge with the Hybrid Hea­ting Inno­va­ti­on Network.