Fields of Research

In the field of cogeneration, a variety of different fuels are used, such as natural gas, biogas, biogenic liquid fuels, products from the thermochemical gasification of biomass with different qualities or even synthetic fuels such as hydrogen (H₂).

Particularly when new types of fuels are used, the exhaust emission behaviour has not yet been fully researched. In order to reduce emissions, the entire CHP process is being considered and optimised, from the fuel to the internal engine processes to the exhaust gas aftertreatment.

The overall objective of the research work is to increase the electrical and thermal efficiency of CHP systems through:

• Internal engine improvements
• Optimisation of peripheral components
• Waste heat conversion
• Micro-CHP

The use of biogenic fuels as fuel for CHP systems is being investigated as part of this field of action.

• Adaptation and further development of combustion engines for use with biogenic fuels
• Ignition jet technology
• Hot air turbine processes for biomass CHP plants

The increasingly decentralised provision of energy requires the further development of the CHP system as a whole. This includes:

• Networking of CHP plants for the intelligent provision of electricity and heat
• Integration of storage technologies into CHP systems to balance out fluctuating electricity and heat demand.
• Provision of control energy to stabilise the grid in view of the increasing use of renewable energies.

Of particular interest for application-oriented research are innovative and forward-looking technologies, such as:

• Use of fuel cells in the area of combined heat and power generation
• Micro-expansion turbines for CHP processes and micro-steam processes based on organic fluids (Organic Rankine Cycle)