In this project, the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences will analyse the availability of brewer's grains and the sustainability of procurement and processing. The design of a suitable electrochemical electrolysis cell will be carried out at Robert Gordon University.

Project management at the H-BRS

The aim is to develop and test new methods and instruments for institutionalised transfer cooperation between non-university research institutions (AUF) and universities of applied sciences (HAW), using the example of global climate and environmental change and associated in-depth effects. A continuous multi-stage transfer chain from basic research via applied research and teaching - as a "transfer hinge" - to society, the economy and politics will be developed. Suitable and innovative formats will be analysed and implemented to create a sustainable system of transfer and knowledge transfer into practice, and an accompanying transfer study will be conducted.

Project management at the H-BRS

In 2019/2020, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia developed the Curriculum 4. 0.nrw funding line, which is intended to support the Bonn-Rhine-Sieg University of Applied Sciences in using the opportunities offered by digital teaching. In the Department of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Technical Journalism, one aim of this funding line is to further develop the Master’s program Sustainable Engineering, which addresses the topics of the funding line such as technical innovation and digitization. In addition, three new modules will be further developed for the Bachelor’s degree programmes (“Power Hardware-in-the-Loop”, “Praktikum Controller Hardware-in-the-Loop” and “Control of grid-connected inverters”). The new format will start in the winter semester of 20/21 and the summer semester of 2021 under the lead of the visiting professor Prof. Dr. Jean Patric Da Costa from the University Tecnologica Federal Do Parana and Prof. Dr. Marco Jung. Here, the first approach of a “P-HIL RemoteLAB and Lecture” is integrated. For this purpose, a Hardware-in-the-loop (HiL) laboratory system will be set up, which will be accessible via remote access and the Internet and thus enable students to carry out practical laboratory tests. In addition, a corresponding platform “Open Energy Gym” (e-Gym for short) will be set up for teaching. This will include different models – which can be used in the Remote-LAB – instructions for remote access and the possible tests to be performed. Furthermore, the results of the executed experiments will also be shown here. Thus, thanks to the Remote-LAB, the practical part of the further developed courses can also be executed. In future semesters, the implemented laboratory system and the tests will be expanded and partly carried out in presence. The experiments to be developed should include the following topics in the respective courses: Course “Power Hardware-in-the-Loop” The behaviour of a battery inverter or a DC fast charging station over the development stages (simulation => laboratory => reality) Optimization of the P-HIL feedback loop (e. g. simulation time step, dynamic system behavior, delay) and their impact on the results Course “Control of grid-connected inverters” Development and testing of fault network detection of PV inverters (e. g. system must be switched off in case of a long voltage drop) Through the feature of remote access, the e-Gym platform can be accessed from all over the world. Thus, not only students of the H-BRS but also other partner universities and research institutions can access it. At the same time, this will also allow coupling with their infrastructure, creating a geographically distributed laboratory.  For this purpose, the Remote-LAB will be set up as described above. The second step will be the coupling of the infrastructures of the UTFPR in Brazil and the Fraunhofer IEE in Kassel. For this, the time difference with Brazil will also be advantageous, since the students of the universities will use the systems with a time delay, which will ensure high utilization and utilization. 

Project management at the H-BRS

Providers of electric power from renewable sources e.g. photovoltaics or wind turbines underlie seasonal and weather-related variations. This demands a significant expansion of energy storage capacities. A possible solution is storage in the form of hydrogen, especially in metal hydride tanks.

Project management at the H-BRS

EnerSHelF – Energy Supply for Healthcare Facilities in Ghana As in many developing and emerging countries, power outages occur again and again in Ghana. Added to this is the instability of the power grid. Both of these factors are causing considerable damage to the healthcare sector, as the light in the operating room may go out or life-saving medical equipment may fail. Although photovoltaic (PV) power could help, the PV market in Ghana is still relatively underdeveloped. In the German-Ghanaian joint project EnerSHelF, experts from science and industry of the various disciplines work together on both technical and politico-economic questions to improve and disseminate marketable PV-based energy solutions for health facilities in Ghana. Lack of access to energy and healthcare The young democracy of Ghana is one of a group of countries with a (lower) middle income, and has achieved significant developmental successes in the last two decades. However, these are at risk due to limited access to energy. Since 2011, there are repeated blackouts (“dumsor”) and the public power grid is unstable. The energy crisis has a significant negative impact on the performance of the Ghanaian health sector, thereby reinforcing existing problems in accessing health services. The current Ghanaian government has committed itself to ensuring universal access to energy by the end of the current 2021 legislature. Renewable energies, especially photovoltaics (PV), are regarded as important solutions. Despite good irradiation conditions, the solar market in Ghana is still relatively undeveloped. Although PV technologies were introduced in Ghana back in the 1990s, distribution of these systems has been low. The Ghanaian health care sector is a particularly interesting target market from a business perspective: PV systems typically become financially viable due to the high cost of electricity and unstable networks and the use of diesel generators as back-up. The healthcare sector could also serve as an opening to further establish PV in the Ghanaian market. However, the viability of approaches also depends on the consideration of country and sector-specific factors in system planning and operational management optimisation, and requires a better understanding of demand structures and local variability of existing solar resources as well as a good understanding of the institutional framework conditions.

Project management at the H-BRS

The institute TREE operates the TREE-Energy Lab (TRE3L) in the university's Center of Applied Research (ZAF)  with it's industrial partners GKN Driveline and GKN Sinter Metals. In the three sub-labs Powder Fabrication-Lab, Mobility-Lab and Hydrogen-Lab the three partners work on innovative techniques in powder metallurgy and recent topics of environment friendly mobility and energy-efficiency. These labs are supported by a Simulation-Lab.

Project management at the H-BRS

As part of the NRW-Ghana Partnership and the funding programme "NRW Partnerships for the Promotion of Technical Universities in Ghana", the Ministry of Innovation, Economics and Research (MIWF) has been funding the university partnership project "Partnership for Applied Sciences - PASS" between Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences (consortium leader), Cologne University of Applied Sciences, Bad Honnef International University of Applied Sciences and the two Ghanaian universities Kumasi Technical University and Cape Coast Technical University through the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) since 2017. The project has a duration of four years.

The development of sustainable electromobility is one of the social challenges our time, which is considered in the research project eTa. The energy efficiency of vehicles is addressed in aerodynamic projects and optimized operating strategies. In particular, non-classic vehicle concepts are in focus. Alternative mobility concepts based on non-fossil fuels need new supply structures. The optimized expansion of the loading infrastructure is therefore another issue. But even the best mobility concept is useless if it is not accepted by society and implemented by politics and business. Therefore, acceptance questions are a central element of eTa, which will be further developed. The following areas are addressed primarily by the need to reduce energy consumption: Efficiency of the vehicles Alternative mobility concepts Efficiency of mobility concepts Technical acceptance In particular, these are questions which arise only from the combined consideration of these subject areas and are usually not fully answered in classical manner. Examples of this are optimization of hybrid controls for muscle-electric hybrid light vehicles and study of the aerodynamics of ultralight vehicles where results of the classic wind tunnel tests often do not correspond to the results of the practice. Other topics that we are dealing with are predictive operational strategies for electric combustion hybrid vehicles and loss optimization, optimization of multi-stage placement of charging stations, acceptance of alternative mobility concepts.

Project management at the H-BRS

The project is about the idea of a quick retrofit for conventional cars and buses, in order to reduce fuel consumption, related costs and CO2 emissions by using photovoltaic panels on the roof which are connected to the existing vehicle power supply network. This reduces the load on the alternator and leads to a reduction in fuel consumption. Tasks The main task of this project is to find out if the suggested PV system is applicable and profitable particularly with regard to sustainability: Theoretic calculations Experimental tests Analysing the results Impact estimations

Project management at the H-BRS

In the scope of this project an LED Flasher will be developed that enables the controlling of intensity, spectral distribution of energy density, and angle of incidence. This helps the measuring of the situational energy yield in the laboratory. This project is supported by the Germany Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy within the programm ‚Zentrales Innovationsprogramm Mittelstand‘ (ZIM).

Project management at the H-BRS