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Current projects


Stack design with compound bipolar foils enables cost-effective and seal-free production of PEM electrolyzers

PEM electrolysis stack © Fraunhofer UMSICHT
PEM electrolysis stack © Fraunhofer UMSICHT

Project goals
Industrialize the production of electrolyzers

"PEP.IN" is part of the hydrogen lead project H2 Giga of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The abbreviation stands for industrialization of PEM electrolysis production. In other words, the project partners are optimizing processes and devices in order to mass-produce electrolysers and electrolysis stacks.

 

Further information can be found on the homepage:

https://www.umsicht.fraunhofer.de/en/projects/h2giga-pem-electrolysis.html

The Leuna100 project makes industrial history

In 1923, the world's first commercial methanol facility was built in Leuna. The Leuna100 project continues this success story by completely reinventing the methanol production process at the same location exactly 100 years later.

Leuna100 paves the way for the efficient use of renewable raw materials to produce green methanol on an industrial scale.

 

https://www.umsicht.fraunhofer.de/en/press-media/press-releases/2024/decarbonization-methanol-production.html

 

 

Further information can be found on the homepage:

https://forschung.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/de/reco2nwert

Establishing a fast track towards processing and evaluation of materials for energy conversion

The research project DIMENSION is concerned with the development of new precious metal-free functional materials for electrochemical energy conversion by establishing a fast track for processing and evaluating materials.

https://materials-chain.com/research/dimension

Project partner

  • Ruhr-Universität Bochum
  • Universität Duisburg-Essen
  • Zentrum für Brennstoffzellen Technik GmbH (ZBT)
  • Fraunhofer-Institut für Umwelt-, Sicherheits- und Energietechnik (UMSICHT)
  • Max-Planck-Institut für Chemische Energiekonversion (MPI-CEC)
  • Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung (MPI-K)
  • Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH (MPI-E)

Funding information
The project »DIMENSION« is funded by the Mercator Research Center Ruhr within the excellence funding line.

Material development along the entire value chain, from raw material to industrial hydrogen production plant

The aim of the MAT4HY.NRW cooperation platform is networking and close cooperation in the field of materials development for hydrogen technologies. Various cooperation and transfer formats are used to strengthen networking between partners along the entire value chain and promote collaboration.

https://mat4hy.de

https://www.umsicht.fraunhofer.de/de/projekte/mat4hy-wasserstofftechnologien.html

Project partner

  • Ruhr-Universität Bochum
  • Universität Duisburg-Essen
  • Westfälische Hochschule Gelsenkirchen
  • Zentrum für BrennstoffzellenTechnik GmbH
  • Institut für Umwelt&Energie, Technik&Analytik e.V.
  • Fraunhofer UMSICHT
  • ProPuls
  • HSWmaterials

Funding information
The “MAT4HY.NRW” project is funded by the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia as part of the Cooperation Platforms 2022 program.  

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Automatisch generierte Beschreibung

 

 

Cyclam based transition metal complexes and their performance in established and new application areas

Project Goals
The goal is to explore novel bioelectrochemical systems and to enhance the efficiency of value-added chemicals production. A model reaction is used to study various principles of coupling sophisticated biochemical systems to electrosynthesis:
Understanding of the prevailing mechanisms of O2 and CO2 activations in more details and exploring the potential of the cyclam based metal complexes in a wide range of new application areas.

  1. Development of efficient (electro)catalysts for CO2 reduction, substrate oxidation reactions and oxygen evolution reaction
  2. Trapping of reactive intermediates by spectroelectrochemical or stopped-flow techniques
  3. Development of bimetallic cyclam based systems and investigation of their possible cooperative effects
  4. Pyrolysis of complexes to obtain defined inorganic materials and test their performance as heterogeneous electrocatalysts

Project partner

  • Ruhr-Universität Bochum
  • Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

Funding information
The project »Cyclam« is funded by the German Research Association within the research grants funding line.

Power to value-added products through separated anode/cathode reactions

Project Goals
The goal is to explore novel bioelectrochemical systems and to enhance the efficiency of value-added chemicals production. A model reaction is used to study various principles of coupling sophisticated biochemical systems to electrosynthesis:

  • On the anode side, an enzyme cascade oxidizes methane all the way to CO2, driving the reaction. This reaction will produce NAD+ which acts as a redox mediator, transferring charge between the anode and the enzymes.
  • On the cathode side, E.coli cells equipped with hydrogenase and methane monooxygenase enzymes will oxidize methane to methanol. For this process, NADH is needed which will be restored by hydrogen supplied from the electrolyzer cell.

The goal of this project is to demonstrate the feasibility and applicability of such systems, combining enzyme and whole cell biocatalysis, coupled by an electrolyzer.

 

Project partner

  • Ruhr-Universität Bochum
  • RWTH Aachen

 

Funding information
The project „BioPower“ is funded by the German Research Association within the Priority Programme 2240.

Project Goals
The goal of EnzyElReac is to develop an enzyme-based bioelectrocatalytic nitrate ammonification system (also known as dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium, DNRA) that quantitatively transforms nitrate into nitrite and further into ammonium, at first separately but ultimately in an integrated setting. For this, nitrate reductases and nitrite reductases will be coupled with tailored 3D-porous electrodes and integrated into advanced bioelectrochemical reactors to achieve high conversion rates. The three main objectives are:

  • Design of nitrate and nitrite reductases with high catalytic activity, suitable binding sites for immobilization on the electrode.
  • Development of 3D porous electrodes that allow for efficient enzyme-electrode interaction and electron transfer.
  • Implementation of enzyme-electrode assemblies into zero-gap electrolyser cells.

Projektpartner

  • Ruhr-Universität Bochum
  • Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg

Funding information
The project „BioPower“ is funded by the German Research Association within the Priority Programme 2240.

 


 

Projektlogo von H2Organic.

Project Goals
The aim of the project is to develop production routes for using lignin as a raw material for monomers and multifunctional chemical products. To achieve this goal, it is essential to unify the broad variety of lignin monomers. Overall, the following objectives are to be fulfilled:

  • Coupling chemical lignin cleavage with an electrochemical conversion of the obtained products
  • Developing new catalyst materials for both processes towards industrial readiness
  • Scale-up of the process to a technical stage
  • Developing an efficient separation concept for product mixtures
     

Project benefit
Lignin, a renewable resource constituting about 30% of the dry mass of wood, is a biopolymer made up of highly functionalized, phenolic macromolecules. Despite its abundance as a byproduct in the wood and pulp processing industries, lignin is primarily used for energy generation at production sites. This project seeks to exploit this renewable carbon source as a chemical feedstock, promoting a resource-efficient circular economy and enhancing lignin’s value.
By applying electrocatalysis to convert lignin into valuable chemical intermediates, the project significantly enhances biomass utilization efficiency. Electrochemical conversion allows selective oxidation and reduction of the intermediate products (phenolic monolignols) from biomass breakdown, achieving substantial value addition without the need for stoichiometric amounts of oxidizing and reducing agents. This process, powered by renewable energy, produces highly functionalized chemical feedstocks from renewable resources, supporting resource and energy efficiency within a sustainable circular economy and significantly increasing the value of lignin products.
For the first time, this technology enables the transformation of complex lignin-based byproducts into a homogeneous mixture of various phenol derivatives, which can then be used to produce polymer resins, among other applications. This enhancement generates significant added value for lignin, providing the chemical industry with renewable aromatic building blocks. Currently, these aromatics are almost exclusively derived from fossil sources, and no industrial route exists for producing polyphenols from renewable resources. By bridging this gap, ElektrALig introduces a novel, sustainable pathway for lignin valorization, fostering industrial innovation and environmental sustainability.


Project partner

  • Industrial Electrochemistry (Prof. Apfel), Ruhr University Bochum
  • Carbon Sources and Conversion (Prof. Müller), Ruhr University Bochum
  • Mercer International Inc.
  • Borregaard Deutschland GmbH
  • Covestro Deutschland AG
  • Heraeus Group

Project duration
1.5.2023 – 30.4.2026


Funding information
The project »ElektraLig« is funded by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwitschaft).

Funding indicator: 2221NR098X


Contact
Prof. Dr. Thomas Müller
Prof. Dr. Ulf-Peter Apfel