Research

Cooperations

There are numerous opportunities for companies to pursue research-and-development projects related to energy engineering: From the generation, storage and distribution of energy to its applications. Much of our work is based on experiments and the use of numerical methods, often complemented by field studies and monitoring campaigns on components or systems under operational conditions.

Direct R&D assignments are often advisable for product development with shorter project durations. They may include consulting, expert opinions and studies; metrological investigations for weak-point analysis and product characterization; and model-based and numerical evaluations for optimization potentials, among others.

Cooperation projects with additional companies and research institutes are suitable for multi-year, complex problems involving more extensive research and including, for example, lab measurements, field studies, monitoring campaigns, system development and complex numerical simulations.

Facilities

INES is located at the Research and Innovation Center of Energy Technology (RIZ Energie) on the main campus in Offenburg. In addition to an office tract, the building houses a 900-m² lab center, providing ample space for large-scale equipment, test benches and larger laboratory units for the research projects performed at the Institute.

Research Projects

Title HyPErFarm: Hydrogen and Photovoltaic Electrification on Farm
Short Name HyPErFarm
Short Description HyPErFarm joins multiple types of actors with the objective to optimize viable agrivoltaic business models as well as test the marketability of the products, via inclusion of new innovative PV technologies (PV H2-production, bifacial PV-panels), radically new crop production systems, stakeholder innovation workshops, and citizen-consumer acceptance, public perception analysis and farmer adoption studies. HyPErFarm also develops and demonstrates new ways of utilizing and distributing the energy produced on-farm via heat pumps, e-robots, hydrogen production, storage and use, and e-driven pyrolysis of biomass side-streams that captures carbon while also improving soil quality. The project’s impact is that agrivoltaic systems are moved upwards to TRL7-8, and attractive new business models are accessible for farmers. Within the project Offenburg University is involved in three workpackages focusing on PV technology.
Year Of Acquisition 2020
Start Date 2020-11-01
End Date 2024-10-31
Project Managers Kray, Daniel, Prof. Dr.
Faculties M+V
Institution INES
Public Funders EU
Title HyPErFarm: Hydrogen and Photovoltaic Electrification on Farm
Short Name HyPErFarm
Short Description HyPErFarm joins multiple types of actors with the objective to optimize viable agrivoltaic business models as well as test the marketability of the products, via inclusion of new innovative PV technologies (PV H2-production, bifacial PV-panels), radically new crop production systems, stakeholder innovation workshops, and citizen-consumer acceptance, public perception analysis and farmer adoption studies. HyPErFarm also develops and demonstrates new ways of utilizing and distributing the energy produced on-farm via heat pumps, e-robots, hydrogen production, storage and use, and e-driven pyrolysis of biomass side-streams that captures carbon while also improving soil quality. The project’s impact is that agrivoltaic systems are moved upwards to TRL7-8, and attractive new business models are accessible for farmers. Within the project Offenburg University is involved in three workpackages focusing on PV technology.
Year Of Acquisition 2020
Start Date 2020-11-01
End Date 2024-10-31
Project Managers Kray, Daniel, Prof. Dr.
Faculties M+V
Institution INES
Public Funders EU

Publications

Since the Institute's founding in 2012, all of its research groups have published prolifically. A full and searchable list of all INES authored publications is available on Hochschule Offenburg's OPUS publication server. Click here for access.