Brief portrait of researchers involved and contact details
Research Focus
- The vkm institute focuses its research on the usage of hydrogen
- for fuell cell systems (FCS) and
- in internal combustion engines directly in form of e-fuels.
- The vkm institute works on these topics with the aid of simulation tools and by using the institute's own test benches
- Innovative, multicriteria drivetrain operating strategies – Development of operating strategies utilizing (global) optimal control and predictive driving information in real-time targeting H2 consumption, efficiency, degradation, comfort, etc.
- Fuel cell system & powertrain optimization – Optimization of component dimensioning and vehicle operation for a variety of vehicle applications (Passenger cars, Light- & Heavy-Duty, refuse vehicle, etc.) using related real life route data.
- Thermal management & thermal system design – Optimal re-use of waste heat from all powertrain components using a scalable and modular thermal system at the FCS testbed supported by simulative investigations.
- Innovative fuel cell development methodology – Self-developed climate box for low temperature investigations down to -7 °C through cooling down the FCS and peripherals before operation and continuously conditioning during operation in order to emulate an in-vehicle warm-up phase.
- The vkm institute is currently setting up a x-in-the-loop FCS test bed for FCS up to 160 kW system power. The test bed allows the real-time co-simulation of high sophisticated system and component models via a FCS-in-the-Loop approach substituting the virtual FCS model with a real FCS. In addition, the test bed allows the conditioning of all media, e.g. air and cooling water, the representation of different battery and electric powertrain characteristics using a battery simulator as well as the investigation of thermal systems under extreme conditions using the so-called Thermolab (see EU-REACT) and self-developed climate box.
- The hydrogen powered internal combustion engine (H2-ICE) is particularly suitable for use in Heavy-Duty trucks and industrial engines. The vkm institute deals with the assessment of the implementation of the H2-ICE for different applications and its related control strategies. The main focus is on zero emission especially regarding NOx and the operation with stochiometric mixture.
- CO2-neutral fuels based on hydrogen are produced using green hydrogen in the first production step. They are an important component for climate-neutral mobility. The vkm institute investigates the use of so-called efuels, e.g. of Oxymethylene ether (OME) for Diesel engines as well as synthetic gasoline, using a single cylinder research engine or full engines at test beds or in vehicle application.
- As part of the Matched PhD program, the universities of TU Graz and TU Darmstadt are working together to develop digital twins for components of hydrogen-powered vehicles. These are built in MATLAB and AVL CruiseM and linked via AVL Model.CONNECT. TU Graz is focusing on the fuel cell stack, and TU Darmstadt on the fuel cell system. For the validation of the models, a corresponding test bench for the X-in-the-loop application will be built at each of the two universities. The goals of the project are to find the optimal system design for different vehicle applications, to develop aging models for the components and to improve durability and vehicle efficiency via the operating strategy and thermal management.
Contact
Internal Combustion Engines and Powertrain Systems
Department of Mechanical Engineering
beidl@vkm.tu-…
Research Focus
- Material caharacterization
- Solid state NMR (ssNMR)
- In situ NMR
- Hyperpolarization
Contact
Physical Chemistry of Condensed Matter
gerd.buntkowsky@tu-…
Research Focus
Research at the Institute for Reactive Flows and Measurement (RSM) focuses on chemically reactive flows with relevance for mobility, energy conversion and process engineering applications. Our goal here is to increase the efficiency of technical systems while minimizing pollutant emissions.
To achieve these goals, we use advanced optical measurement methods to gain a detailed understanding of the underlying physicochemical processes involved in transport, chemical conversion, and multiphase phenomena. Our experimental data contribute to a better understanding of the underlying processes. In cooperation with numerous research institutes, mathematical models describing chemically reactive flows are improved and meaningful data sets are obtained, which are used to validate numerical simulations.
For the usage of hydrogen as an energy carrier thermochemical conversion in combustion engines and gas turbines is investigated. We are also looking into electrolysis for the production of hydrogen and the use of alternative energy carriers such as ammonia, e-fuels or iron, which offer potential for efficient storage and transport of hydrogen.
Contact
Institute for Reactive Flow and Diagnostics
Departement of Mechanical Engineering
dreizler@rsm.tu-…
Research focus
Research at the EST comprises several areas of energy technology and production of hydrogen or other basic chemicals or synthetic fuels. The focus is on the development, optimization and scale-up of several energy supply processes as well as the development of measurement technology for the quantitative assessment of theses processes.
Sustainable energy supply is defined by a targeted decarbonisation and emission reduction in the energy sector as well as improved availability and cost effectiveness of the processes in use.
To reach these goals, research at the EST is structured into the three areas “Gasification & Innovative Energy Conversion Crocesses”, “CO2 Capture”, and “Power Plant and Fluidized Bed Technology”.
Methods
The methods include numerical approaches, such as process simulations and CFD, as well as experimental investigations. One highlight is our unique 1 MWth pilot plant that has been used for the investigation of various processes under industrial conditions.
Contact
Institute for Energy Systems and Technology
Department of Mechanical Engineering
bernd.epple@est.tu-…
Research focus
In the etzoldlab the challenges arising with the needed global energy change and future sustainable feedstock supply for chemical industry are the major research guideline. From the perspective of chemical engineering, a multidisciplinary approach is employed to provide scientific solutions for these challenges, especially for the complex interplay of catalytic materials within a full process or device. In the scientific approach, generic experiments play a dominant role. They allow controlling process conditions from highly idealized towards technically realistic and are combined with diagnostics providing in-situ information. Chemical reaction engineering simulations complement the experiments, giving especially insights into complex mass transfer phenomena and, therefore making a more holistic picture possible. As a future sustainable energy and chemical industry will need a concerted interaction of electrochemical and classical heterogeneous catalyzed processes both are studied. Based on this strategy, the research of the etzoldlab can be divided in three strongly interacting sub-groups: Advanced Catalytic Materials – Electrochemical Energy Conversion Processes – Heterogeneous Catalysis and Processes.
Contact
bastian.etzold@tu.darmstadt.de
Research Focus
For the use of the energy carrier hydrogen the focus is on electrochemical (e.g. fuel cells) and thermo-chemical (e.g. hydrogen gas turbine) conversion processes. The Institute STFS investigates thermo-chemical conversion processes of solid, liquid and gaseous energy carriers. Here, gaseous chemically reactive flows play a central role, possibly interacting with fluids (e.g. sprays, wall films) and solids (e.g. pyrolysis of biomass particles, heterogeneous catalysis). At the Institute STFS we anaylze, model and simulate chemically reactive flows. This requires an interdisciplinary approach rooted in mechanical engineering and linking fundamentals of (technical) chemistry, mathematics and computer sicence.
STFS can contribute to the following hydrogen topics of your project:
- Thermo-chemical conversion of hydrogen
- Thermo-chemical conversion of gaseous energy carriers (e.g. liquefied natural gas) with variable hydrogen admixture
- Use of hydrogen for the production of carbon-neutral fuels or conventional fuels
- Stability analysis of hydrogen lean combustion processes (thermo-diffusive instabilities, thermoacoustics)
- Modelling of the hydrogen direct reduction of metal oxides (e.g. in steel production)
Further project ideas about the thermo-chemical conversion of hydrogen is possible. We are looking forward to your inquiries!
Contact
Simulation of reactive Thermo-Fluid Systems
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christian Hasse
Dr.-Ing. Arne Scholtissek
scholtissek@stfs.tu-…
Research focus:
The mission of the Institute Surface Science at the TU Darmstadt is to improve the fundamental understanding of chemical and physical processes and their dynamics at interfaces and surfaces of materials for energy conversion and storage.
The group uses sophisticated methods of surface analysis with the aim to measure interfaces with high temporal and spatial resolution and chemical specificity. The aim is to better understand chemical processes of charge and mass transfer.
We operate integrated UHV systems combining several methods, such as photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS, UPS), scanning probe microscopy (STM, AFM), vibrational spectroscopy (TFIR, HREELS) and electron diffraction with the preparation of thin film model systems. Besides investigation under well-defined conditions we also measure samples under realistic operating conditions (in situ/in operando) with modern synchrotron spectroscopy and diffraction techniques.
Contact
Department of Materials and Earth Sciences
hofmann@surface.tu-…
Research Focus
We focus on the development of ideal precious metal free catalysts for energy applications, such as low-temperature fuel cell, photolysis of water or metal oxygen batteries. Besides the development of catalysts, we work on the structure determination, to draw conclusions from structure-property relationships for the optimization. Our main field is the group of M-N-C catalysts which achieve very good fuel cell characteristics with very low metal contents.
Contact
Research group: Catalysts and Electrocatalysts
kramm@ese.tu-…
Research focus
- Expertise in thermal, electrochemical and photochemical nitrogen activation, water oxidation and oxygen reduction
- Hydrogen storage in secondary materials, such as ammonia and hydrocarbons
- Prediction of catalyst properties through computational chemistry and theoretical spectroscopy
- Calculation of thermodynamic and kinetic profiles of catalysts, including targeted optimization
- Computational chemistry and quantum chemistry with single- and multi-reference methods; prediction and analysis of electronic structures in transition metal compounds
Contact
Theoretical Inorganic Chemistry
krewald@chemie.tu-…
Research Focus
The Computational Multiphase Flow group develops simulation methods for the computer-aided prediction of transport processes in multiphase flows. By means of detailed simulations the group is seeking to understand fundamental properties of multiphase systems. For this, high-fidelity simulation methods for the computer-aided prediction of the involved transport processes are developed. The scientific focus is on the open-source C++ library OpenFOAM for computational continuum physics and multiphysics, where the group is concerned with methods particularly suited for scale-bridging and/or coupled processes at interfaces. The overarching goal is to enable simulations of systems with realistic material properties and under real operating conditions – going beyond Computational Fluid Dynamics.
H2 related Reserach Topics
- Water transport in low temperature PEM fuel cells
- Bubble detachment at electrodes in electrolyzers
Methods
- Sharp & diffuse interface capturing methods
- Moving mesh interface tracking methods
- Fluid solid interaction
- Adaptive and hybrid approaches
Contact
holger.marschall@tu-…
Research Focus
The IMS conducts research on various topics at the intersections between the different energy sectors of electricity, heat and mobility. The use of hydrogen is becoming increasingly important in this context. Hydrogen-related research at the IMS focuses on fuel cell vehicles as well as stationary energy systems based on hydrogen. Also higher-level effects of combined systems are investigated. The research is carried out in the context of different use cases, such as industry or residential buildings. For this purpose, simulation and optimization tools are developed and used.
Contact
Mechatronic Systems in Mechanical Engineering
Department of Mechanical Engineering
rinderknecht@ims.tu-…
Research focus
- Heterogeneous catalysis
- Transformation of renewable raw materials (bio-based platform chemicals and C02) for a sustainable chemical production
- Porous and functional materials as innovative catalysts, adsorbents and membrane materials
Expertise
- Catalyst preparation and characterization
- Reaction engineering
- Kinetic and mechanical investigations (experiment and modelling)
Contact
rose@tc2.tu-…
Research Focus
The research interests of the group Materials and Resources are advanced synthesis techniques including microwave-heated, plasma-based, and soft chemistry methods as well as the development of (self-)regenerative properties of the materials during dynamic energy conversion processes. The in-house designed energy conversion materials cover the fields of thermoelectrics, power-to-X, and photo(electro)catalysis.
Contact
Department of Materials and Earth Sciences
Anke.weidenkaff@mr.tu-…