Welcome at the website of the CP4GE research group

The Computational Physics for Green Energy (CP4GE) group of Prof. Dr. Jan Lohbreier offers multiphysical simulations to support partners in industry and academia during the development or improvement process of green technologies. To acquire a better understanding, computer simulations provide many advantages and unique possibilities compared to purely experimental methods.

The world around us is determined by the laws of physics, which are typically described by partial differential equations (PDEs). However, current problems in academia and industry are often too complex to be solved analytically. Numerical simulations are the method of choice: the questions are formulated as a numerical model and the PDEs can be solved

approximately. A well-established numerical technique to solve these equations is the Finite Element Method (FEM). Additionally, in many applications, considering only one physical aspect is not enough. More equations - corresponding to two or more physical regimes - need to be solved in a coupled manner. This is what makes up "multi-physical simulation" and defines our area of expertise. Besides the simulative know-how, the group also consists of experienced experimental physicists. Therefore, the team of CP4GE is always interested in cooperations with laboratories at the Nuremberg Institute of Technology or with R&D laboratories of research partners. The combination of simulative and experimental expertise is necessary for the validation, making CP4GE's simulation models successful.

Ongoing third-party funded projects

E|MPOWER - Automated Manufacturing Processes for Electric Road Systems for the Electrification of Heavy-Goods Transport

In E|MPOWER (Effiziente Modularisierung induktiver Leistungsübertrager im Schwerlastverkehrt), automated production and deployment techniques for an Electric Road System (ERS) are investigated. Besides CP4GE, the consortium consists of the partners ELSYS Institute (TH Nürnberg), VIA IMC, Electreon, Risomat and the consortium leader Institute FAPS (FAU).

The project includes integrating Electreons wireless ERS technology on a 1-km section of the Autobahn in Northern Bavaria. This ERS is an inductive charging technology that is directly integrated into the roadway enabling the contactless transfer of energy to driving and stationary vehicles.

Together with the Institute ELSYS, the research group investigates a loss modell for the ERS. The joint project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, funding code 01MV22020A as part of the „Elektro-Mobil“ program and supported by the German Autobahn GmbH. 

AWESOME - Anwendungsnahe Weltrekord-Solarmodul-Entwicklung

In this joint project, the research groups "Solarfabrik der Zukunft" and CP4GE develop and demonstrate application-oriented and industrially relevant organic photovoltaic (OPV) modules with new world-record efficiencies in order to accelerate the market entry of OPV and thus contribute to the energy transition.

CP4GE supplements the experimental approach of the project partner with numerical models. The simulation results provide design rules for module layout and manufacturing processes, thus providing a guide for practical module developments in the project.

 

 

LoLiPoP - Long Life Power Platforms for Internet of Thing

In LoLiPoP IoT innovative Long Life Power Platforms will be developed to enable retrofitting of wireless sensor network (WSN) modules in IoT applications. This includes the development of algorithms to perform functionalities like asset tracking and condition monitoring (for predictive maintenance). They can be used in applications such as industry 4.0, smart mobility and energy efficient buildings. A sub-goal of the LoLiPoP IoT is the investigation and development of innovative energy harvester systems to ensure the energy self-sufficiency of the platforms.

For this purpose, CP4GE develops multiphysical models of energy harvesters.

 

For more information, please visit www.lolipop-iot.eu.

Further research activites

Electric motors

Together with partners from industry and academia, we investigate and optimize electric machines.

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC)

The research group is an associated partner in the Institute for Applied Hydrogen Research, Electro- and Thermochemical Energy Systems (H2Ohm). Researchers across the THN are members in this joint reserach facility. The complexitiy of the PEMFC makes a multiphysical simulation approach necessary to investigate this technology. 

People

Fabian GUMPERT Doctoral student
 Annika JANßEN Master student
Jan LOHBREIER Head of research group
Lilian LOWE Master student
Luisa NICKEL Master student
Niklas PÖPEL Bachelor student
Eugen VAMBOLT Scientific assistant

Services

For many years computer simulations have been established as a "third pillar" in R&D. If you are involved in a R&D process and you encounter a problem which cannot be solved with your methods on hand, multi-physical simulation might be beneficial to you. As numerical simulations allow for a deep insight, our methods can contribute to a better understanding of your process. The group is constantly interested in new projects with partners from industry or academia.

If you see potential for a collaboration, please contact us.

Publications

2022

DPG-Frühjahrstagung - "Multiphysical simulation of a low temperature PEMFC"

2023

Giese A., Körber M., Kostourou K., Kopf D., Kottcke M., Lohbreier J., Schmidbauer J. M. , Braun B., "Passively Q-switched sub-100 ps Yb3+:YAG/Cr4+:YAG microchip laser: experimental results and numerical analysis," Proc. SPIE 12399, Solid State Lasers XXXII: Technology and Devices, 123990S (8 March 2023); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2649057

DPG-Frühjahrstagung - "Numerical simulation of the coating process for organic photovoltaics"

DPG-Frühjahrstagung - "Multiphysical simulation of the temperature distribution in a PEM-fuel cell"

Fabian Gumpert, Annika Janßen, Christoph J. Brabec, Hans-Joachim Egelhaaf, Jan Lohbreier & Andreas Distler (2023) Predicting layer thicknesses by numerical simulation for meniscus-guided coating of organic photovoltaics, Engineering Applications of Computational Fluid Mechanics, 17:1, DOI: 10.1080/19942060.2023.2242455

Open positions

We are constantly looking for enthusiastic students who are interested in the development of green technologies with numerical simulations. We can offer topics for:

  • Student helpers (Studentische Hilfskraft)
  • Projects (Anwendungsprojekte und Masterprojekte)
  • Bachelor thesis
  • Master thesis

For more information, please do not hesitate to ask us or follow this link.
The research group also offers PhD positions based on collaborative research projects. If you are interested in a PhD position, please contact Prof. Dr. Jan Lohbreier for ongoing or planned research activities.