Die technischen Grundlagen für die Normung von Methanol-Kraftstoffen in Europa zu erstellen, ist der Gegenstand eines aktuellen Forschungsprojekts, das ein Konsortium aus Hochschulen, Forschungseinrichtungen, Industrieunternehmen sowie kleinen und mittelständischen Unternehmen durchführt. Damit wollen die Partner des Projekts „Methanol Standard“ den Weg zur Zertifizierung und Markteinführung von Methanol-Kraftstoffen ebnen. Das Potential von Methanol-Kraftstoffen, bereits mittelfristig einen signifikanten Beitrag zur Reduktion der CO2-Emissionen im Straßenverkehr zu leisten, bewerten die Forschenden als hoch.

In a current research project, OWI Science for Fuels gGmbH is looking for a cost-effective method to derive valid information on the long-term stability of liquid fuels and combustibles with the aid of sensors and suitable parameters. For this purpose, the research institute is testing various sensors that could provide an indication of the remaining storage time of tank contents by continuously recording measurement data. The aim is to make it possible to predict the shelf life of a fuel stock from the measurement data in order to derive recommendations for further use of the fuel.

A short film summarizes the most important results of the research and development work in the EU project "Residue2Heat", which was completed at the end of 2019. It was produced by the Biomass Technology Group (BTG) in the Netherlands. OWI Science for Fuels was technical coordinator in the international project consortium. According to the researchers, the use of fast pyrolysis bio-oil (FPBO) for the production of domestic heating is in principle feasible from a technical, environmental and socio-economic point of view.

A relative increase in the electrical efficiency of biogas-operated combined heat and power (CHP) plants by 7% is possible by using a modified gas engine. This is the central result of a research project in which the project partners ECC Automotive GmbH, OWI Science for Fuels gGmbH and the Chair of Technical Thermodynamics at the University of Siegen have modified a gas engine for hydrogen-containing fuel gases and supplemented it with a novel reformer module and successfully operated it with biogas model gases.

OWI Science for Fuels gGmbH and TE4FUELS GmbH offer an insight into their current research and development activities in their newly published activity report 2018/ 19. The question discussed in the context of climate protection activities, with which possible energy sources we will be mobile in the future, is also the subject of the activities of the two research institutes. The main topic of the current report therefore deals with liquid fuels of the future with low greenhouse gas emissions.

Dipl.-Wirt.-Ing. Elmar Pohl, Managing Director of OWI Science for Fuels gGmbH, successfully defended his dissertation at the Institute for Industrial Furnaces and Heat Engineering (IOB) at RWTH Aachen University on June 26, 2020.