Prof. Dr. Andre Heel

Renewable energies in the form of biogas, hydrogen or synthetic methane and their integration are the focus of numerous strategies in a wide range of industries. Due to existing and future decentralized production plants for renewable gases, various secondary products such as H2, CO2, N2, O2 will increasingly influence the gas quality. This calls for the development of an innovative sensor with industrial interfaces for quality assurance in real time.

At UMTEC, our team focuses on the development of a novel and efficient power-to-gas technology for the production of renewable methane. With the newly developed sorption-based methanation technology, it is possible to process biogas into high-quality renewable methane that can be fed directly into a gas grid.

Electrification is an important path towards the decarbonisation of transport. However, batteries cannot currently be used for air transport without further ado, unlike in passenger cars. One alternative is the use of renewable synthetic fuels, so-called SynFuels, which are produced from CO2. UMTEC is researching suitable CO2 sources and new processes for the production of SynFuels in Switzerland.

At UMTEC, our team is focussing on the development of a novel approach to upgrading biogas to biomethanol without the use of electrolysers or H2 infrastructure. With the novel biometh process, it is possible to convert raw biogas into renewable biomethanol at low temperatures and pressures, especially without any H2 input.

Together with the company oxytec AG, UMTEC is developing a new type of plasma technology for the sustainable and cost-efficient treatment of polluted industrial exhaust air. The project is funded by the Federal Office for the Environment's environmental technology programme.

Getting around - on foot, by bike or by car - our mobility is closely linked to modern infrastructure, e.g. paths and roads. At UMTEC, in collaboration with our industrial partner, we are developing a new process to make asphalt production sites sustainable and future-proof in terms of exhaust air purification.

Scientific expertise meets industrial practice. As part of a research project, oxytec AG has entered into a strategic partnership with UMTEC. The ultimate goal is to develop more efficient and sustainable all-electric exhaust air solutions and establish them on the market.

Together we are stronger! Together with the ICP (ZHAW), UMTEC (OST) is developing innovative materials and cell technologies in the field of high-temperature fuel cells for electricity and heat-producing CHP systems for family homes and commercial applications.

In order to balance the global climate, affordable technologies for converting CO2 into stable and storable solids that enable reliable carbon storage (CCS - carbon capture storage) are of interest. In this project, an unconventional CCS technology is being researched that allows direct conversion of CO2 to carbon even at temperatures close to ambient temperature.

Winter needs green electricity! Transferring the summer surplus of renewable energy to the winter months through seasonal storage is imperative for net-zero emissions. Scientists from SPF and UMTEC at OST are working together as part of the REVEAL project to develop a seasonal energy storage technology based on carbon-free aluminium.

Our research team is pursuing the approach of directly reusing CO2 emissions from energy-hungry industries, such as the cement industry, to generate energy. This saves money and causes fewer climate-damaging emissions. To this end, a new type of plasma reactor has been developed that uses waste gases as a recycled fuel and generates energy from them.

SPF has the technical lead in the EU Horizon Europe project reveal. Within this project, a seasonal energy storage cycle is developed that is based on the oxidation and reduction of aluminum as an energy carrier. The main responsibilities of SPF, besides the technical lead, is the development of technologies for Alu-to-Energy conversion: the conversion of energy that is stored chemically within the aluminium into heat and power. This development is in close collaboration with the institute UMTEC of OST. REVEAL is co-funded by the European Unions Horizon Europe Programme and Swiss State Secretariate for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI), and lasts from July 2022 to June 2026.