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Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
The transition to a clean energy system is not only about technical solutions, but also about the wider acceptance of these solutions in society. The Bremen Research Center for Energy Systems (BEST) promotes both. One example is the hyBit project. The project wants to transform the hydrogen economy in northern Germany, with a focus on Bremen’s industrial port. The city’s largest CO2 emitter, the ArcelorMittal steelworks, is located there.
The rectangular boxes on the wall of Prof. Dr. Johanna Myrzik’s laboratory hint at the challenges ahead. They are inverters converting electricity from photovoltaic panels or balcony power plants into the alternating current used in the grid. Until recently, a small number of centralized power plants ensured our supply of electricity. In the future, this supply will be decentralized and fluctuating, due to the many different renewable energy sources. What would be the effect on power grids if every roof had its own photovoltaic system? How can grid stability be guaranteed? “We can model this in our Smart Grid lab,” explains Johanna Myrzik.
The head of the Institute of Automation Technology at the University of Bremen speaks of a paradigm shift, a completely new approach to energy that requires a new, holistic way of thinking. This new way of thinking is represented by BEST, the university’s interdisciplinary Bremen Research Center for Energy Systems established in 2022. Myrzik acts as the center’s spokesperson. This research center, which is funded by Bremen State, unites engineers, mathematicians, and physicists, as well as legal, social, and economic scholars from the University of Bremen. It also includes members of other U Bremen Research Alliance institutes, such as the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM and the Leibniz Institute for Materials Engineering (IWT), through cooperation professorships. The primary objective of the association is to consolidate knowledge, establish solutions, augment the visibility of energy research, procure resources for research, and enhance the training of early-career researchers. Its guiding principle is to provide energy for the economy and society.
Dr. Torben Stührmann, head of the Resilient Energy Systems working group at the University of Bremen, was instrumental in BEST’s greatest success to date: the hyBit project. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research is providing 32 million euros in funding for a project that focuses on the ArcelorMittal steelworks in Bremen’s industrial port, which, with more than 3,000 employees, is one of Bremen State’s largest employers. The plant emits six million tons of CO2 per year, which accounts for about half of Bremen’s annual emissions.
There is a huge demand for hydrogen as we move towards carbon neutrality. The Hydrogen for Bremen’s Industrial Transformation project, or hyBit for short, focuses on determining what technical, legal, economic, and ecological prerequisites are needed for developing a hydrogen hub in the industrial port with 50 different companies from a wide range of sectors, and how Bremen’s environmental goals can be achieved.
Hydrogen is the engine of change. The steel industry is one of the first to tackle the transition from coal and natural gas to green hydrogen produced from wind or water power. However, hyBit also aims to drive the development of a northern German hydrogen economy, with hydrogen hubs serving as a catalyst for its development in the region. Bremen’s industrial port with the steel plant is the heart of such a hub, where the production, distribution, and use of hydrogen are going to be combined. Research topics include the development of zero-carbon logistics, the establishment of infrastructures for the transport of electricity, heat, and hydrogen, and strategies for the use of electrolyzers that convert water into hydrogen. Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM specializes in the production, storage, and transport of hydrogen. The German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) is involved in hyBit with modeling and social simulation of the transformation processes, including issues of energy demand, consumption, and mobility.
An exciting article about energy systems and its challenges by researchers from member institutions of the U Bremen Research Alliance was recently published in the science magazine "Impact" of the U Bremen Research Alliance. It can be accessed on the following website:
https://www.bremen-research.de/en/impressions/rethinking-energy
Contact:
Merle El-Khatib
Communication und marketing
Tel.: +49 421 218 60046
merle.el-khatib@vw.uni-bremen.de
About UBRA:
The University of Bremen and twelve federal and state financed non-university research institutes cooperate within the U Bremen Research Alliance. The Alliance includes research institutes of the four major German science organizations, i.e. Fraunhofer Society, Helmholtz Association, Leibniz Association and Max Planck Society, as well as the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence.
Impact - The U Bremen Research Alliance science magazine Issue 11 (in German)
Since 2019 the Impact science magazine provides an exciting insight into the effects of cooperative research in Bremen. "Rethinking Energy" was published in issue 11 (January 2025) (in German).
https://www.bremen-research.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Einblicke/Impact_11/UBRA_Im...
https://www.bremen-research.de/en/impressions/rethinking-energy
Prof. Dr. Johanna Myrzik and Dr. Torben Stührmann in the Virtual Transformation Lab, the hyBit contr ...
Jens Lehmkühler
U Bremen Research Alliance
Johanna Myrzik can simulate the loads on the power grid in her Smart Grid laboratory.
Jens Lehmkühler
U Bremen Research Alliance
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Prof. Dr. Johanna Myrzik and Dr. Torben Stührmann in the Virtual Transformation Lab, the hyBit contr ...
Jens Lehmkühler
U Bremen Research Alliance
Johanna Myrzik can simulate the loads on the power grid in her Smart Grid laboratory.
Jens Lehmkühler
U Bremen Research Alliance
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