Contact: Nikolai Benz / Simon Paas

Funding: Carl Zeiss Foundation

The process industry accounts for around 11% of electricity consumption in Germany and thus plays a central role in the success of the energy transition. The aim of the project is to flexibly adapt chemical and biotechnological production processes to the fluctuating supply of renewable energies. A particular focus is on making batch processes more flexible, which are challenging but widespread due to their variable electricity requirements. The research work takes an interdisciplinary approach and combines expertise from chemistry, process engineering, energy technology, production management and sustainability. New technologies are tested in laboratory demonstrators and generic methods are derived. An industry-led advisory board accompanies the project to ensure its practical orientation. The holistic approach encompasses technological, economic and ecological aspects. Making processes and networks more flexible is intended to improve resource efficiency and enable sustainable operation. The project strengthens the interface between natural sciences, engineering and economics at RPTU University Kaiserslautern-Landau.

The project ‘Smart batch processes in the energy system of the future’ is funded by the Carl Zeiss Foundation.

www.carl-zeiss-stiftung.de/uebersicht-projekte/detail/smarte-batchprozesse