Introduction

Welcome to the web pages of the Energy and Hydrogen working group at the Ohm.

The members of the working group are working on their own ideas for the energy of tomorrow and thus contribute to developing solutions for the challenges of sustainable energy supply and hydrogen technologies of the future.

Mini Energy and Hydrogen “Reallabor”

The Mini “Reallabor” is a creative space in which students have the freedom to realise their ideas and projects in a practical environment. It is located at various locations at the Ohm (Wassertorstraße, LEONARDO Center, Energie Campus, and in the future, in the Ohm Innovation Center). In the lab, you can:

• do research: Work on current topics in the field of renewable energy and hydrogen technologies.
• do interdisciplinary work: Exchange with students from different subject areas and benefit from different perspectives.

Supervision

The working group is supervised by faculty, research associates, and more experienced students. They provide support in project planning, for technical questions, and in realising your ideas. This makes a dynamic learning environment where creative thinking is promoted.

Join us!

Are you ready to become a part of this interesting project? We invite all students to actively engage and share their visions for a sustainable future. Together we can develop innovative solutions and make a contribution to the energy transition.

How can you get involved?

Who can participate in the working group?

Students and faculty from all Ohm Faculties can participate. In addition, interested parties from outside the university, in particular school students and trainees, can participate in the working group.

How can students participate?

Students can participate as part of their education (project papers, final theses, student assistants, or potential research associates). But they can also participate outside of their studies.

The working group is open to all topics and projects. We welcome an opportunity to work with you on your private projects, development aid projects, or industrial research and development projects.

Roles open to students:

Treasurer, chair, project officer, public relations, and more.

Topics

Students can develop or continue projects in a variety of subject areas or join an existing project and contribute their expertise.

Projects can be in a variety of areas, for example in:

Biomass:

If energy from biomass or bioenergy is being discussed, people are referring to the utilisation of energy from plants or natural waste. Biomass energy is a type of renewable energy.

Biomass is the only regenerative, chemically based energy form and is considered an all-rounder. Because there are different types of raw materials that can be used bio-energetically.

• Energy plants: specially cultivated agricultural crops such as maize, rapeseed, or fast-growing woody plants (short rotation plantations)
• Logging remains / forest residues
• Biogenic residues from agriculture, households, and industry (e.g., wood chips from the wood industry, used fat from food production, but also sewage sludge)
• Waste wood and biogenic components of residual waste

Renewable heat:

To utilise the natural heat of our environment, we need heat accumulators and heat pump systems. A heat pump uses ambient heat and mechanical or electrical drive energy and raises the temperature to a usable level, e.g, to heat buildings. This means that around 2 to 6 kWh of useful heat can be generated from one kilowatt hour of electrical energy.

Renewable hydrogen:

Hydrogen (H₂) is the most common element in the universe, available on earth in very high quantities, and contained in nearly all organic compounds. At the same time, it only appears in its bonded form - the best known example is water (H₂O), which is a compound of the elements, oxygen (O₂) and hydrogen (H₂). Type of energy does not come directly from nature and is therefore considered secondary energy, primary energy is required to produce hydrogen. It can be used to store and transport energy.

Hydrogen is used as a potential fuel in fuel cells and hydrogen cars, as hydrogen only produces water during combustion and that makes it an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels. Great hopes are pinned on hydrogen for the development of a climate-neutral energy and economic system in Germany. The volatile gas should be produced CO₂-free and play an important role in achieving various functions.

Utilising hydrogen

• Hydrogen is used for mobile applications, from cars and commercial vehicles to ships and trains.
• In branches like the steel or chemical industries, to enable climate-neutral processes.
• Hydrogen is needed as a buffer storage to stabilise the German electricity grid.

Carbon capture and utilisation, carbon capture and storage:

Carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) refers to using the carbon that is in captured CO₂. CO₂ is used in many industries as an important raw material. For example, it is used for the production of basic chemicals such as polyethylene, polypropylene, ethanol, or polyols for the production of polyurethane and as a precursor material for a variety of intermediate and end products.

In carbon capture and storage (CCS), carbon or CO₂ is captured from exhaust gas streams or directly from the atmosphere and permanently stored underground

Current projects

Development of a hydrogen-powered multicopter drone

Hydrogen offers many advantages over conventional battery-powered drones as a power source for multicopter drones.

One big advantage is the longer flight time. A long flight time enables the drone to fulfil a variety of missions, such as forest fire monitoring or the inspection of energy parks. The time between two missions can also be shortened, as only the hydrogen must be refilled without needing additional batteries. With conventional drones, such a shortened time between missions is only possible if several sets of batteries are available.

Due to special take-off and landing capabilities of the multicopter, missions are possible, where only minimal take-off and landing space are available. And it remains possible for multicopters to fly in a stationary position. This is not possible for fixed-wing aircraft, which are already available with a variety of hydrogen propulsion systems.

This unique capability makes the drone an ideal project for the Energy and Hydrogen working group as it requires an interdisciplinary approach. This project requires expertise from various specialisations and therefore offers an excellent opportunity for the participants to develop.

Michael Erdlenbruch - erdlenbruchmi99048atth-nuernbergPunktde