Project Centers & Profile Sectors
New fields of research with great scientific and social relevance can often only be developed by interdisciplinary research. Project centers carve out this interdisciplinary approach to support the researchers in their daily work.
The profile sectors are targeted towards interdisciplinary themes which enable the RWTH Aachen to work on significant research projects and major projects in the respective fields of research.
Energy, Chemical & Process Engineering (ECPE)
The basic supply of sustainable energy and materials is certainly one of the most important global challenges.
The goal of the Profile Area's activities is to achieve a status of being an internationally recognized, leading German research centrum to explore sustainable material and energy transformation from the detailed technical level up to a holistic level until year 2025.
The profile sector ECPE deals with two of the most important factors to reach this goal: Improvement of energy and material efficiency as well as the change towards renewable resources.
Center for Automotive Catalytic Systems Aachen (ACA)
The ACA establishes ties between chemistry, physics and mechanical engineering in the interdisciplinary field of research of the catalytic exhaust gas after treatment for mobile purposes.
The goal of the project center is the adjustment of the exhaust gas catalysis as a key technology for efficient and eco-friendly power units for future challenges. For this, materials and production methods as well as adjusted operating strategies are developed whereas the ACA is the main contact for international cooperation partners of industry and science.
Competence Center Power to Fuel (P2F)
Considering declining natural resources, alternative energy sources represent an ever-increasing growth potential. However, electricity from renewable energy sources is accompanied by a high fluctuation and partly unused energy. This leads to an inefficient use which depends on factors like weather conditions, inappropriate energy demand for existing offer or insufficient large-scale storages, which are extremely difficult to calculate. These questions are addressed to the Competence Center Power to Fuel ( P2F).
Technology-based Energy System Analysis (TESA)
Drawing on scientific and technical expertise, TESA displays the potential and limits of currently available and new technologies in accordance with ecological, economic and social criteria. Crucial for the evaluation of technological innovations are the databases used, as well as the methods for the depiction of complex system structures, taking into account all relevant interdependencies.
The primary focus is the transformation of the energy supply in favor of renewably-generated energy. In addition to the complementary project activities, a self-standing, interdisciplinary and holistic institution – the Integrated Interdisciplinary Institute I³ – for energy system analysis will be created.