Sustainable Energy Systems

In the “Sustainable energy systems“ research field, researchers at Clausthal University of Technology are looking for answers to the question of how a secure energy supply can be guaranteed even with fluctuating renewable energies. Researchers from the fields of materials science, physical technologies, energy systems engineering, process engineering, computer science, law and economics are cooperating in this endeavor.

The focus is on concepts that can be used to convert, store and retrieve “green“ electrical energy. These include short-term storage in batteries to stabilize electricity grids and conversion into material media such as compressed air and hydrogen for long-term storage in underground caverns. New business models should make such scenarios attractive for the energy sector in order to enhance security of supply.

Sector coupling between electricity, heat, transport and industry plays an important role here, for example through power-to-gas facilities. Regenerative electrical energy is converted into hydrogen (or secondary products such as ammonia) by electrolysis, stored, transported and then converted back again. Important aspects are the clarification of basic processes, the minimization of conversion losses, system integration and economic and ecological evaluation.