Less carbon dioxide for a cleaner future!
DLR opens new institute for low-CO2 industrial processes in Zittau.
Yesterday, March 10, 2021, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) opened the Institute for Low-Carbon Industrial Processes in Zittau. It issued the following press release on this occasion.
Research for Environmentally Friendly Production Facilities
How can industrial processes be designed to produce fewer harmful greenhouse gases? And how can existing facilities be adapted to meet the challenges of decarbonization? These are the questions being researched by the Institute for Low-Carbon Industrial Processes at the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The Zittau site of the new institute was officially opened on March 10, 2021, with a virtual event. In addition to this site in Saxony, another is being established in Cottbus (Brandenburg).
"With its scientific research, our new institute in Zittau will help to achieve the national climate protection targets. This is because the decarbonization of energy-intensive processes will avoid emissions on a large scale," explains Prof. Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla, Chairwoman of the DLR Executive Board. "Our employees are motivated by the scientific challenge of transforming industrial processes in an ecologically and economically sustainable way. They are looking for solutions that also take regional characteristics and structures into account."
”The DLR is thus expanding its expertise in the field of energy research in the Lausitz region. The aim is to significantly reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) and pollutant emissions from industrial plants and power stations. The work concentrates on decarbonization in industrial sectors that have a high demand for energy. At the same time, there is a focus on the efficient use and storage of sustainably generated electricity.
Saxony's Minister President Michael Kretschmer says:
"Saxony was an industrial state, is an industrial state and should remain so, but without harming the environment. With its research and innovative spirit, the new DLR Institute for Low-Carbon Industrial Processes in Zittau will also make a central contribution to this goal. Low-carbon industrial processes help to gradually move closer to environmentally friendly and climate-neutral production. The close interaction between science, industry and politics will enable the Free State of Saxony to provide significant impetus on the path to a decarbonized economic and energy system."
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Collaboration with Universities and Industry
The DLR Institute for Low-Carbon Industrial Processes supports regional science and industry in the development of new technologies. In this way, it can actively contribute to structural change in the region and help create jobs. There is already close collaboration with the universities in Zittau/Görlitz and Cottbus-Senftenberg, as well as partnerships with local industrial companies. This ensures the transfer of knowledge from basic research to applied research for industrial use.
"As officer for the new federal states, I am delighted that the DLR Institute with its two locations in Zittau and Cottbus will make a substantial contribution on the way to low-CO2 industries of the future. As part of the industrial strategy of the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, low-CO2 industrial processes are important for the future of industry in the new and old federal states. They support the positive regional structural change, particularly in the new federal states, as industry is still the most important driver of economic development here," says Marco Wanderwitz, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy.
”The Zittau location plans to have 60 employees in the long term. Since the institute was officially founded by the DLR Senate in June 2019, the staff has been working on the campus of the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences and is expected to move to the Mandauhöfe in Zittau in June. A hall has been leased to set up a research facility. A new building with a large test hall for the institute is scheduled to be constructed near the Zittau University Library in the coming years.
"The opening of the DLR Institute of Low Carbon Industrial Processes with its branch in Zittau comes at the right time. Climate-friendly industrial processes are a global concern. Climate-neutral living and working is a wonderful vision. This institute will provide significant impetus for this with excellent research as well as economic and ecological innovations. Its impact will extend far beyond Lausitz and Saxony. DLR, the federal government and the Free State of Saxony are establishing a beacon with international appeal in Zittau. Saxon companies in particular are called upon to carry out joint research papers with the new DLR institute. This can give them a valuable head start in pioneering technologies," explains Martin Dulig, Saxon State Minister for Economic Affairs, Labor and Transport.
”Use of Water Vapor and Hydrogen Produced from Renewable Sources
Research in Zittau focuses on two main areas: “High-Temperature Heat Pumps” and “Low-Carbon Reducing Agents.” The third focus area, “Simulation and Virtual Design,” is based at the Cottbus location. Developments in novel high-performance heat pumps aim to provide CO₂-neutral high-temperature process heat. Industry’s significant demand is currently met primarily with fossil fuels. High-temperature process heat is indispensable in industries such as food processing, paper manufacturing, the chemical industry, and automotive manufacturing. The challenge here lies in efficiently generating heat from renewable electricity. The research facility in Zittau, for example, uses water or steam.
Hydrogen plays a central role in the “Low-Carbon Reducing Agents” research area: Here, researchers are investigating how processes can be adapted to avoid process-related CO₂ emissions. This could be achieved through the use of renewable hydrogen or, in some cases, waste biomass.
