Research and Transfer
This objective is one of the major challenges facing our world: Energy supply and consumption should be more climate-friendly. Sustainability and environmental compatibility play an important role for the research field of Renewable Energies and Resource Efficiency at Ostfalia. In this interview, the Professors Holger Brüggemann and Lars Kühl talk about what projects they are working on and who benefits from them. And they explain why the research field enriches their work.
Holger Brüggemann and Lars Kühl at the Institute of Production Engineering at the Wolfenbüttel
Campus
Professor Brüggemann, Professor Kühl, how much energy can companies save in production?
Holger Brüggemann: In our projects we have found that companies can reduce their consumption by up to 30 percent. In Niedersachsen the areas of industry, trade, commerce and services account for more than 40 percent of the total energy consumption. This shows how great the potential is that we have not exploited.
Why is it important that we use energy more economically?
Holger Brüggemann: We have set ourselves high climate protection goals. The master plan for the greater Braunschweig area foresees that we wish to reduce energy consumption by half by the year 2050 and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 95 percent. There are similar plans for Niedersachsen and Germany-wide. In order to achieve these goals, there are basically only two ways. First of all, we need more renewable energy sources. And secondly, we have to significantly increase energy efficiency – and that is precisely what I work on in the production environment.
Lars Kühl: I am working on the use of renewable energies in buildings – the supply of heating, cooling and electricity. Geothermal and solar thermal systems, heat pumps and photovoltaics: These are just a few of the headings for the large range of topics that we cover with our research projects. And that we also bring to teaching: We pass the findings from our projects on to the students. Again and again, lectures take place on site in businesses and buildings. With ongoing processes, students can follow optimization measures – so to speak live and in color. This close proximity of research and teaching makes our projects so exciting.
Why don’t more companies concern themselves with renewable energies and energy efficiency?
Holger Brüggemann: Many underestimate what opportunities there are to save energy. You know that compressed air tools are not particularly efficient and leaks are a waste of resources. But they are surprised to hear that exchanging a pneumatic screwdriver for an electric screwdriver uses 90 per cent less energy. Many small and medium-sized companies are also very burdened already. They often lack the time to address this subject.
And this is where you come in?
Lars Kühl: Yes, it is also up to us to inform them about the potential savings there are and how to use them. We will go into operational buildings and offices and residential buildings, equip them with measurement technology and record the consumption of electricity, heat and cold. We then explain how renewable energies and efficiency measures can improve the energy consumption figures. We also develop concepts for the energy supply of entire buildings. The new construction of the Braunschweiger Oeding printing plant is an energy-plus building, which generates its own energy. Ostfalia made a significant contribution to the planning of the building.
What else have you worked on?
Holger Brüggemann: The expansion of the Niedersachsen learning factory for resource efficiency at Ostfalia. This project gave rise to a non-profit organization in which many partners are actively involved and many employees from companies have been trained. In this way we have shown many companies new ways and means to improve energy efficiency. In the field of robotics we have worked with the Volkswagen AG to determine which influences affect energy consumption. If you change the programming of the robot, you can save up to 40 percent of the energy.
Who is involved in your field of research?
Lars Kühl: Our research field involves first and foremost the Ostfalia faculties of mechanical engineering, supply engineering and automotive engineering and electrical engineering. Because electromobility is important issue: We can integrate storage capacities from vehicles in the energy supply of buildings. We are also well networked outside of Ostfalia: via the contact with other colleges, industrial enterprises, planning offices and residential property developers and municipalities we can integrate issues such as building construction and architecture, control and measurement engineering. Thus we work at the state of the art in real projects and align ourselves to the needs of the users.
Holger Brüggemann: It helps us that the themes of digitization and Industry 4.0 play a major role in businesses. Whoever digitalizes production also quickly sees substantial progress already after a short time. Our research field benefits from the fact that Ostfalia has positioned itself quite strongly in digitization.
Lars Kühl: It is important that there is an interface to the social scientists. So, we examine how the optimization measures and the use of modern technologies can meet with the necessary acceptance by the users.
Why does the research field enrich your work?
Holger Brüggemann: Because I can contribute to ensuring that we achieve our climate protection goals. And because investments in the energy efficiency of machines and plants generally lead to increased productivity. So with declining energy consumption we can also improve the competitiveness of companies. In my eyes, this is a very sensible task …
Lars Kühl: …especially since we do not just implement the energy-saving measures. But also convey the many possibilities offered by renewable energy and energy efficiency to our students in teaching. So we ensure that our research has a sustainable impact.
