1104 TU Vienna Energy and Environment Web

8/2/2019 1104 TU Vienna Energy and Environment Web

1/16

VIENNA


2/16

Preface

Preface Vice Rector for Research

The research strategy of the TU Vienna for

the period 2010 through 2014 is part of the

current development plan and comprises at its

core of the establishment of five new strategic

research focus points. The objective lies in

enhancing our research profile and to improveour international appearance, as well as build-

ing cooperation at all levels. We would like to

expand the collaboration among our faculties,

among other national and international re-

search organisations and with the economic

and private sectors.

The research focus point Energy and Environ-

ment is focused on six research fields and

pursues a technological and interdisciplinary

approach. The competences of the TU Vienna

within the energy sector ranging from the

beginnings in basic research to already existing

applications are complemented with internal

scientific expertise in the areas of climate, envi-

ronment, economy and resources.

Abiding the mission statement of the TU Vi-enna Technology for People holistic solutions

for important future local and global questions

in research, economy and society are devel-

oped, as well as for complex interdisciplinary

research tasks. That makes the TU Vienna a

competent partner for energy and environmen-

tal related demands of the future.


3/16

Research Focus Point Energy and Environment 4

Facts and Figures 6

Energy active settlements and infrastructures 10

Sustainable and low emission mobility 11

Climate neutral, renewable and conventional energy supply systems 12

Environmental monitoring and climate adaptation 13

Efficient utilisation of natural resources 14

Sustainable technologies, products and production 15

Content


4/16

4

Preserving the environment meansdeveloping new ideas

Population growth and worldwide industriali-

sation constantly increase the primary energy

demand new ideas are required. Alternativeenergy sources need to be developed, reli-

able solutions for climate problems are sought

after and serious problems of pollution are still

unresolved. Even if great successes could be

seen in these fields in the recent years, many

open questions still exist which can hardly be

answered by traditional technological ap-proaches.

Answers to environmental problems can never

be found in rejection and scepticism towards

technology and industry. On the contrary: only

with pioneering basic research and modern

technology, real progress can be achieved. The

research topic Energy and Environment cer-tainly belongs to the most important research

fields of our time and reinforces the merging of

futureoriented basic research and practical ap-

plied research. The Vienna University of Tech-nology emphasises the relevance of this topic

and has declared Energy and Environment as

one of its five research focus points.

Energy and Environment


5/16

5

Broad range of competences Technology for people

At TU Vienna a broad range of competences

can be found in the areas of energy and

environment. The research topics range fromquestions about energy generation and energy

storage to ideas of energy-efficient architecture

and regional planning. Additional topics

include the design of intelligent electricity net-

works, and also energy saving measures and

energy policy concepts. In the field of environ-

mental research the main focuses are placedon environmental monitoring reliable data

on the state and change of our environment is

essential for the development of new strate-

gies. At the TU Vienna research is furthermore

concentrated on solutions for the efficient utili-

sation of resources, environment-friendly crea-

tion of products and production processes, as

well as on concepts for low emission mobility.

Many of the research groups at TU Vienna are

key competence experts in Austria and inter-

national renowned triggers for innovation. Inorder to establish excellent research, specific

working groups which network internally,

nationally and internationally are a self-evident

necessity. Often, environmental problems

can only be understood on a global scale and

solved in an international context. However,

at the same time, it is of particular importancefor a country like Austria (with its ecologically

sensitive Alpine- and river regions) not only to

adapt knowledge in the environmental sector

from other countries, but also to pursue future

oriented environmental research with emphasis

on our own specific problems.


6/16

Figure 1

6

Facts and Figures

Strategic research focus points

The strength of the five research focus points

of the TU Vienna are reflected in its ability to

acquire third party funding.

Figure 1 shows the share of the research focus

points in the third party funds within the time

frame 2007-2009. During this period more than

80 % of the incoming third party funds were

invested in research themes related to the five

research focus points. This is an important

indication that a main goal of the profiling

process the promotion of areas with high

scientific and economic potential is continu-

ously implemented.


7/16

7

Energy and Environment

In this research focus point all eight faculties of

the TU Vienna and more than two-thirds of the

54 institutes are represented.

More than 80 research groups are specifically

doing research different aspects of energy and

environment.

Within the six energy and environment

research fields

E1: Energy active settlements and infrastruc-

tures E2: Sustainable and low emission mobility

E3: Climate neutral, renewable and conven-

tional energy supply systems

E4: Environmental monitoring and climate

adaptation

E5: Efficient utilisation of natural resources

E6: Sustainable technologies, products and

production

basic research projects as well as applied

research projects provide latest scientific

findings.


8/16

8

In-kind contribution

The TU Vienna contributes with in-kind activi-

ties to the development of the research focus

points. In addition to the permanent staff

(Figure 2), the funding scheme of InnovativeProjects funds junior scientists and invests in

technical equipment. This initiative is com-

plemented by internal PhD programmes. The

invested budget for these activities amounts to

1.6 million in the three year period between

2007 and 2009.

Facts and Figures

Third party funds and publications

The research output of the individual research

fields is quite diverse illustrated by several in-

dex numbers showing the quantification of the

research activities. Figure 3 indicates the thirdparty funds acquired per habilitated researcher;

figure 4 points out the scientific publications

per habilitated researcher.

Besides the varying accomplishments in the re-

search fields the data also represents the differ-

ent research and presentation cultures. Within

the topics more related to the natural sciences

(e. g. environmental monitoring and climate

adaptation), scientific publishing has a differ-

ent value than within more architectural related

research fields (e.g. energy active settlements

and infrastructures).

Figure 2


9/16

9

All data relates to the time frame 2007-2009

and represents the averages of these three

years.

Figure 4Figure 3


10/16

10

Research topics

Energy efficient buildings

Eco efficient construction

Application of renewable energy systems

Building concepts/resource optimisation Simulation/modelling overall system

Old-building renovation

Intelligent buildings

Monitoring buildings

Building service engineering/distributed

systems

Building automation

Energy management/micro grids

Ecological aspects

Building and real estate assessment

Construction materials

Climate change impacts

Sociological aspects

Consumer behaviour

Well-being environment

Innovative real estate and infrastructure

projects

Holistic planning process

Economic analysis/modelling

Life-cycle-analysis

Future urban and spatial development

Energy active settlements and infrastructures


11/16

11

Research topics

Motor vehicles (2-, 4-wheel, rail)

Optimisation

Alternative propulsion systems (hybrid- and

electro-propulsion systems)

Components

Actuation

Power transmission

Power electronics

Energy supply

Alternative fuels

Energy storage

Energy and grid management

Infrastructure

Rail

Navigation

Charging stations Smart metering, ICT

Traffic concepts and mobility management

Logistics

Traffic systems (public, individual, motorised,

non-motorised) Consumer behaviour

Political framework

Analysis and scenarios

Overall system views

Future scenarios

Energy-, mobility- and emission models

Business models

Sustainable and low emission mobility


12/16

12

Research topics

Renewable energy systems

Hydro power

Solar energy

Geothermal energy Biomass

Power plant optimisation

Modelling

Components/construction

Processes

Materials

Nuclear fusion

Intelligent grids

Operation management

Grid integration of renewables

Distributed control and regulation

Supply Side Management/Demand Side Man-

agement (SSM/DSM)

Peripheral storage systems

Thermal storage

Chemical storage (fuel cells)

Mechanical storage (magnetic bearing, pumpreservoir storage, etc.)

Energy economics

Climate change impact

Environmental economy

Business models

Political strategies

Climate neutral, renewable and

conventional energy supply systems


13/16

13

Research topics

Natural disaster management

Flood water

Water management

Hydraulic engineering Mass movements

Tectonics/earth quakes

Environmental law

Contaminant measurements,

quality analysis

Particulate matter, greenhouse gases

Particles, heavy metals

Dosimetry

Drinking water analysis

Organic elements

Emissions

Noise, etc.

Environmental analysis and modelling

Monitoring and forecast of geological/hydro-

logical/atmospherical processes

Development of intelligent measurementsystems

Bio-chemistry

Mathematical/geometrical data basis

Satellite systems

Environmental statistics

Environmental risk assessment

Environmental monitoring

and climate adaptation

Photo: NASA


14/16

14

Research topics

Renewable raw materials

Biomass

Wood

Ecological construction materials

Starch/cellulose

Recycling/urban mining

Metallic materials

Composites

Construction materials

Minerals

Disposal/processing

Sewage water

Chemicals, etc.

Mass flow analysis

Metals/toxic substances

Air pollutant

Sewage water

Solid waste management

Resource economics

Water supply and distribution

Water body ecology

Watershed management

Ground water economy

Ground water usage

Efficient utilisation of natural resources


15/16

15

Research topics

Resource efficient production and process

optimisation

Production and process management

Modelling, simulation and optimisation

Controlling, regulation and automation

Alternative sustainable methods

Carbon Capture

Hydrogen generation

Green Chemistry

Bio fuels

Materials

Development of Omics-tools

New technologies

Filter

Sensors

Laser

Ultrasonic

Materials research and development

Thermo electrics

Light weight structures

Extreme environments

Fuel cells

High temperature superconductors

Fibre technology

Sustainable technologies, products

and production


16/16

The Research CentreEnergy and Environment

Interdisciplinary network of different

departments

In order to enhance and intensify networking

and communication between the research

groups at the TU Vienna, the virtual Research

Centre Energy and Environment has been

established it is set up free of organisational

boarders such as institutes or faculties, organ-

ised as an open network and bundled up in a

central management node.

The research centre acts as a communication-

and project platform for the researchers at the

TU Vienna in order to enable new ideas andcooperation within innovative interdiscipli-

nary projects and to develop holistic solutions

across faculties. It is anticipated that this initia-

tive will foster internal synergies and increase

public awareness, as well as the awareness of

funding authorities and clients concerning the

competences of the TU Vienna.

Contact:

Dr. Gudrun Weinwurm

Coordination / Project management

T: +43-1-58801-40123

[email protected]

http://energiewelten.tuwien.ac.at

Publisher:Vienna University of TechnologyKarlsplatz 13A-1040 Viennawww.tuwien.ac.at

Editorial office:Research Centre Energy and Environment

Graphic arts:Martin Dunkl, Dunkl Corporate Designwww.dunkl.comTitle illustration:

EVACHROMOSOM / carolinseidler.com

Typeset: typothese-m.zinner grafik/Sanja Jelic

April 2011

Documents

1104 TU Vienna Energy and Environment Web