We all face the task of developing the knowledge for the great challenges of humanity. Business as usual is hardly possible any more. We need new ways, ideas and solutions to leave our children and grandchildren a world worth living in. In this context, the research area E+E at TU Darmstadt sees itself as a research incubator for answers to energy and environmental problems, because we network the competences of engineering, natural sciences, humanities and social sciences, act holistically and demonstrate feasibility in concrete terms.
With our cluster project “Clean Circles” we offer answers to major scientific and societal questions of our time together with research-strong partners. The scientific core of the cluster project is an innovative energy-material cycle as a central building block of the energy transition. Electrical energy from renewable sources is chemically stored in iron with a high energy density and thus made storable and transportable.
Research is not just about knowledge and understanding. We are about developing solutions to pressing problems. That's why we think ahead. We develop visions and approaches, and bring them to implementation maturity.
To solve complex problems, we need the power that lies in networking interdisciplinary teams, because in exchange and friction lies our disruptive energy for unknown new approaches and paths. Because only together will we overcome these challenges. But it's not just the ideas that are important to us, but also their feasibility. Feasibility is what sets us apart and makes us stand out.
We think ahead, connect approach and people and develop solutions for a future worth living.
THINK stands for thinking ahead. It encompasses idea generation, scientific conception, analysis as well as the evaluation of materials, technologies and concepts. A wide variety of methods are used here for in-depth understanding: customised basic experiments, empirical studies, theoretical models and virtual, numerical simulations.
LINK stands for the conviction that successful solutions must be researched and developed together, integrating different perspectives. The analysis covers the complete product life cycle of materials, technologies and the future interaction of society and technology. This also involves the development of reference systems for social costs and sustainability with the participation of science, industry, society and politics.
DO stands for doing, realising and implementability. Joint living labs, test phases and demonstrators are developed. We scale up from the laboratory application to the pilot plant. The hurdles to implementation are identified and made surmountable. This is done both in cooperation with business and industry but also with projects and representatives from society and politics, because only if we succeed in implementing the ideas will we as a society be helped in solving energy and environmental problems.