Hands-on sustainability

Steinbeis pupils explore recycling and energy for the future on Tuttlingen Campus

What do plastics have to do with sustainability? How can solar energy and waste heat be utilised together? What role do batteries and hydrogen play in a sustainable energy supply? During the ‘Sustainable Teaching and Research at HFU’ project day, pupils from the Ferdinand-von-Steinbeis School gained practical insights into current teaching and research projects at Furtwangen University. A lecture on plastics engineering, physics and chemistry experiments, three presentations by the Energy Storage Systems (ESS) research group, laboratory tours and hands-on experiments brought future technologies to life.

The Tuttlingen campus provided the ideal setting for this. As an ‘Industry Campus’, it combines practice-oriented teaching and application-oriented research with close collaboration between the university and regional industry. Modern laboratories and short distances between the various departments make it possible to convey technical developments clearly and link them directly to future societal issues.

Plastics technology and sustainability?

The morning kicked off with a lecture on plastics technology by Internal link opens in the same window:Maren Gernsheimer and Internal link opens in the same window:Prof. Dr. Ulrich Gloistein, which provided a fascinating insight into the world of plastics. The focus was on their enormous importance in our everyday lives and their impact on the environment. The participants learnt why plastics, due to their widespread use and long decomposition times, represent one of the key challenges of our time. At the same time, the fundamental properties of various plastics were explained and the possibilities offered by plastics recycling were highlighted. Innovative approaches such as bioplastics were also presented and discussed in terms of their potential and limitations.

The session then moved from theory to practice − through a series of exciting physics and chemistry experiments presented by Internal link opens in the same window:Dr. Jawad Slieh, participants were able to experience the natural sciences first-hand. Fluorescent colours created dazzling effects, whilst it was impressively demonstrated how sound waves generated by music can visibly influence flames. The fascinating stroboscopic effect also showed just how easily our perception can be deceived. The experiments not only left participants in awe, but also brought scientific concepts to life in a clear and entertaining way. In this way, the morning combined in-depth knowledge with hands-on experiences and sparked enthusiasm for the natural sciences in a modern way.

Three presentations from the ESS working group

The ESS working group provided another highlight of the project day with three coordinated presentations. Internal link opens in the same window:Prof. Dr. Ulrich Gloistein and Internal link opens in the same window:Prof. Dr. Frank Allmendinger, professors from different disciplines, were involved in organising the project day. Prof. Gloistein contributed his perspective from the fields of materials science and climate protection, while Prof. Allmendinger shared his expertise in the area of energy storage systems.

Internal link opens in the same window:Dimitri Schultheis, a research assistant on the AuToS SW-BW project, kicked off the afternoon session. He presented the new teaching experiment ‘Harvesting the Sun Twice: Water-cooled photovoltaics with Stirling waste heat utilisation’. The concept was developed in collaboration with Prof. Gloistein and Internal link opens in the same window:Victoria-Katharina Martinelli. The experiment combines the cooling of a photovoltaic module with the utilisation of the heat dissipated in the process. Whilst a cooled module is compared with an identical, uncooled module, the heat recovered powers a low-temperature Stirling engine. In future, students will be able to measure electrical power, temperatures and heat flows, and investigate how PV yield and waste heat utilisation can be optimally coordinated. On Sustainability Day, the approval of the teaching experiment was also announced. This means the demonstrator can now be used for lectures, student projects and dissertations.

In the second presentation, Internal link opens in the same window:Stefan Raiber presented findings from the completed Internal link opens in the same window:BLITZ research project and provided an outlook on the new MBC – Maritime Battery Cockpit project. The BLITZ project investigated how lithium-ion cells can be heated from within at low temperatures using electrical pulses. The experiments achieved a temperature increase of up to 13 degrees Celsius; after 400 heating cycles, the State of Health of the cells under investigation remained at 99 per cent. MBC focuses on electric mobility on the water. The project is developing a range predictor for electrically powered boats which, in addition to battery capacity and boat characteristics, also takes into account factors such as wind, waves, currents and water depth. An app is designed to assist with route planning, display the state of charge and visualise the expected range.

The third presentation was given by Prof. Allmendinger who explained the fundamentals of various energy storage systems and assessed their societal significance for climate protection, security of supply and a sustainable energy supply. As renewable energies are not always available to meet demand and energy generation and consumption do not always occur simultaneously, storage technologies play a central role. Among other things, they enable targeted load shifting and help to balance out time differences between generation and consumption. The three presentations demonstrated, from different perspectives, how technical innovation, innovative teaching and social responsibility work together.

Experiencing hydrogen technology and virtual reality

The pupils not only listened to fascinating talks, but also visited the relevant laboratories on the Tuttlingen campus. A particular highlight was the hydrogen laboratory at the Internal link opens in the same window:Tuttlingen Innovation and Research Center (IFC). There, students Sarah Keser and Georg Paul Vogel spoke about their work with the hydrogen training system (WaSS). The system simulates the entire cycle from water electrolysis through hydrogen storage to reconversion into electricity in a fuel cell.

Keser provided insights into her further development of the WaSS Companion, which reads measurement data directly from the system and visualises, amongst other things, electrolysis, storage, fuel cell operation and cooling circuits. Vogel presented the XR extension, which is designed to allow users to experience otherwise invisible processes such as ion transport and energy flows in three dimensions. In this way, WaSS combines real-world technology, live data and virtual representations to create a practical learning and training concept.

The work had been presented by Allmendinger just a few weeks earlier at the  Internal link opens in the same window:ees Europe international trade fair in Munich. Now the pupils were also able to try out the VR headsets for themselves. They listened attentively, asked numerous questions and took the opportunity to actively explore the laboratories and technical facilities. Victoria-Katharina Martinelli accompanied the project day organised by the working group on science communication and public relations.

The project day provided a vivid insight into how interdisciplinary collaboration is put into practice at the Tuttlingen campus − lecturers, staff and students combine materials science, energy storage, hydrogen technology and science communication to create engaging educational and knowledge-transfer programmes. The curiosity of the young audience showed that sustainability is particularly inspiring when it is not merely an abstract concept, but can be explored, discussed and tested together.