Research field in the funding period 2010 - 2014

The Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ joined the field of energy research in 2010 and the new Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden- Rossen dorf (HZDR) became a member in 2011. The field is divided into five research programmes:

• Renewable Energies
• Efficient Energy Conversion and Use
• Nuclear Fusion
• Nuclear Safety Research
• Technology, Innovation and Society

The Technology, Innovation and Society Programme focuses on the social, ecological and economic aspects of energy research, thereby contributing to a holistic approach. All the programmes are implemented in interdisciplinary working groups and involve cooperation with international partners. They are all provided with research infrastructure, pilot facilities, resources for large-scale experiments, test systems for large components, high-performance analysis systems and high-capacity computers.

Programmes

For the second period of funding, the Helmholtz centres involved in energy research adapted and expanded their strategy in order to address major challenges. In the future they will not only focus on power generation, but also consider all energy forms across the entire process chain in order to optimise the system as a whole.

Renewable Energies

This programme has broadened its range of research topics, adding work on biomass and solar fuel production to its ongoing focus on power generation through solar and geothermal energy. In the area of photovoltaics, researchers are continuing to develop thin-layer solar cells to increase efficiency up to its theoretical limits while using minimal amounts of materials and energy. Starting around 2030, solar thermal power stations erected in the Earth’s sunbelt could potentially play a substantial role in the global generation of power. Commercial solar power plants have been around for years, but they are based on outdated technologies. Additional cost reductions are needed to successfully market new technologies. In the long term, concentrated solar power systems are expected to produce solar fuels in thermal processes.

Underground geological formations in Germany offer the potential to produce heat and power. Geothermal research is pooling the expertise of the participating centres in an effort to develop optimal technological solutions. The viability and economic efficiency of geothermal power generation is currently being studied in Groß Schönebeck.

Second-generation methods for biogas production and the thermochemical conversion of biomass into energy are becoming more sustainable. A large test plant is being built for the Bioliq process developed by KIT, which offers new potential in this field.

Efficient Energy Conversion and Use

This programme pursues different avenues of research in order to increase the efficiency of renewable and fossil energy sources. Examples include intelligently bridging the gap between energy availability and use through power and heat storage systems, mobile energy storage systems, heat exchangers and synthetic fuels; interconnecting different requirement profiles with technologies such as combined heat and power generation and combined cooling and power generation; and studying thermochemical processes that can convert non-conventional energy sources such as biomass into higher-quality fuels.

The power stations of the future will have to transform these different primary energy sources into useful energy in efficient, environmentally-friendly and reliable processes. Such developments require surges of innovation in the area of components – including turbomachines – as well as innovative materials that are capable of withstanding high temperatures.

CO2 removal should not be “bought” at the expense of an increased consumption of resources. This means CO2 capture from power plants requires research on gas separation methods and the development of new concepts. Over the medium term, solutions must also be developed to retrofit power plants.

In the area of fuel cell technology, the goal of research is to increase lifecycles and performance, cut costs and develop quality-assurance processes as well as new methods and processes for analysing ageing mechanisms.

The development of superconducting components for power grids can help reduce the amount of electrical power lost in transmission. Innovative energy storage concepts are required to make full use of fluctuating energy sources such as wind and the sun.

Nuclear Fusion

The Nuclear Fusion Programme at the Helmholtz Association is currently pursuing two main objectives. First, on Germany’s behalf, it is contributing to the construction and operation of the international ITER project, a Tokamak experiment in Cadarache, France. Second, it is building and operating the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator in Greifswald. The goal of ITER is to demonstrate both the physical and – to a degree – technological feasibility of nuclear fusion under power plant-like conditions. But ITER alone will not be able to provide all the information needed to build the first demonstration fusion power plant (DEMO). Special consideration must also be given to developing suitable structural materials in parallel with ITER.

Scientists have not yet exhausted the potential for improving the magnetic confinement of the fusion plasma. An excellent concept is provided by the stellarator, which in principle opens the way for the continuous operation of a fusion plant and is thus seen as an alternative to the Tokamak. The Wendelstein 7-X experiment is designed to develop the stellarator line to the point where, together with the results from ITER, a DEMO stellarator can be built (around 2040).

Nuclear Safety Research

Nuclear safety research is divided into two fields of inquiry: the safety of nuclear reactors and the safety of nuclear waste disposal. In the area of reactor safety, work is focused on reactor and plant design as well as on the phenomena and processes accompanying design-based and non-design-based accidents. Researchers are studying and shaping international developments with respect to reactor safety, new safety concepts, new technologies and the minimisation of radioactive wastes. Furthermore, developments are being assessed through comparisons with existing reactors.

In the field of nuclear waste disposal, work is directed towards immobilising highly radioactive wastes through vitrification and reducing the radiotoxicity of minor actinides through partitioning and transmutation. In addition, various concepts for final disposal systems are being investigated. An important goal here is the application-linked, site-independent development and verification of geochemically sound concepts for the long-term safety assessment of these final disposal systems.

Technology, Innovation and Society

The goal of this interdisciplinary research programme is to study the ecological, economic, political, ethical and social aspects of new technologies in order to support decisionmaking processes in government, industry and society. The programme’s topics in the area of energy research have been chosen with the aim of establishing a comprehensive view of energy research and energy technologies and of helping to support current efforts to shift the global energy system onto a sustainable footing. The programme examines the entire chain of energy processes, from the extraction of primary energy sources to the conversion, storage, transmission and use of energy. A special focus is on innovation phases. Its goal is to assess technologies and technical systems that provide and use energy and to develop innovation and implementation strategies in accordance with the guiding principle of sustainable development.

Outlook

Now and in the future, the transformation of the energy system will be one of our greatest challenges. The German government’s 6th Energy Research Programme concentrates on the strategies and technologies vital for restructuring energy supplies: renewables, energy efficiency, energy storage and grid technologies. The Helmholtz Association strongly supports the German government’s strategy, and research by Helmholtz scientists is providing a strong foundation for the transition to a sustainable energy future.

However, there are no easy answers when it comes to successfully transforming the energy system. Optimising individual energy sources and specific technologies will not suffice to secure future supplies. This means that researchers need to study a broad spectrum of options and devote as much attention to basic research as to application-oriented studies. This type of approach is crucial to build a sustainable energy system that can be optimised in response to changing conditions. Furthermore, it is essential for future energy research that we take a look at the energy system as a whole. This is why the Helmholtz Association supplements technological research topics with socioeconomic research. Its goal is to optimise the energy system with respect to all social, economic and political factors.