Research Center

Future Energy Materials and Systems

Finding sustainable materials for the energy applications of the future is the objective of the Future Energy Materials and Systems research center. Its focus is on exploring fundamental properties and processes relevant to the production and application of complex materials. The aim is to create key components for a sustainable energy system and, at the same time, to replace energy-intensive procedures for producing and processing materials with regenerative approaches.

Prof. Dr Christof Schulz, Director

Portrait of Prof Dr Christof Schulz from the University of Duisburg-Essen.

“The urgency of the energy transition is becoming clearer by the day. Both in terms of reducing CO₂ emissions and independence from fossil fuels, it is now undisputed that a dramatic change in the energy system is imminent. Electrification will be the first step, conversion to chemical storage and transportation media the second.

High-performance functional materials are needed for these technologies. Because their use will increase dramatically, these functional materials must be based on available raw materials. Take hydrogen production, for example: The precious metals previously used for catalysis will no longer be available in sufficient quantities; instead, new multi-element materials will be required, the selection of which will be supported by theory. The functional materials must be integrated into optimized component architectures. The materials must be durable and cost-effective to manufacture and enable species and energy conversion with high levels of efficiency. This requires not only a detailed understanding of the production and processing routes, but also the elucidation of structures and ageing using high-resolution microscopic methods.

At the Research Center Future Energy Materials and Systems, we look at new materials in a systems context and develop them further in an interdisciplinary team. We cover the entire knowledge and value chain in order to develop solutions for the future using accelerated and semi-automated methods.”

Focus and Interdisciplinarity

Cutaway of a person shining a flashlight into the opening of a laboratory apparatus

The Research Center focuses on the development of sustainable materials for the energy transition. The aim is to research high-performance functional materials that are based on available raw materials and are cost-effective, durable and energy-efficient. Numerous disciplines from the natural sciences and engineering work together on an interdisciplinary basis: material science, physics, chemistry, information technology, mechanical engineering, process engineering and electrical engineering.

Infrastructure

View of the research building ‘Centre for Interfacially Dominated High Performance Materials’, a modern, cuboid building on the campus of the Ruhr University Bochum.

Centre for Interface-Dominated High Performance Materials (ZGH)

View of the facade of the NETZ research building with flags of the institutes located in the foreground on the Duisburg campus of the University of Duisburg-Essen.

NanoEnergyTechnologyCenter (NETZ)

Joint Projects

The innovative research endeavors of the Research Center Future Energy Materials and Systems are based on the successful, cross-location cooperation taking place in numerous collaborative research centers (CRCs) and transregios (TR):