The CAMPFIRE alliance was selected by a jury of experts as one of 20 East German innovation initiatives that will implement strategic innovation concepts over the next five years and develop new fields of technology from them. As part of the pilot programme "WIR! - Change through Innovation in the Region", the Federal Ministry of Education and Research is initially funding the project with up to eight million euros. CAMPFIRE is researching the decentralised production of green ammonia from renewable energies. Ceramic thin-film membranes, which are highly efficient and durable, are a fundamental component of the new process.
"We are delighted that the jury has chosen our concept, which we have been working on intensively for more than seven months and which has enabled us to create a broad knowledge alliance," says project manager Dr Angela Kruth from the Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (INP) in Greifswald. CAMPFIRE now has 31 partners, almost two-thirds of which are companies. The concept was developed and coordinated by the INP, IKEM – Institute for Climate Protection, Energy and Mobility, and Stralsund University of Applied Sciences (HOST). Important impetus was also provided by external partners, the Centre for Fuel Technology (ZBT) and the Institute for Competence in Automobility (IKAM). The alliance aims to establish a new, promising economic sector in the north-east project region by developing innovative energy technologies and linking the local energy sector with the maritime and chemical industries. This region stretches from Rostock to Szczecin in Poland.
The expertise has been available there for many years and is now being brought together for the first time in the CAMPFIRE alliance to form a new technology path: The north-east is home to successful companies in special shipbuilding and energy production, and large shipping companies and fertiliser producers have also settled there. The participating scientific institutions are researching nanotechnologies and fuel cells for the energy sector, among other things.
The innovation concept focuses on the decentralised production of green ammonia from air and water; the energy required for this comes from wind and solar power plants. Ceramic thin-film membranes, which are highly efficient and durable, serve as a fundamental component of this new process. This makes the production processes economically viable for the first time. However, these materials still need to be developed – an initial research project for CAMPFIRE. In parallel, CAMPFIRE experts are conducting technological and economic studies for the sustainable production of ammonia and its use as a fuel. Legal frameworks also need to be adapted and complex approval procedures prepared. The alliance is also campaigning for a sustainable policy framework ( ) that will create the economic conditions for the project. "We need realistic CO2 pricing that also reflects long-term climate costs. Instead of subsidising fossil fuels, climate-neutral fuels must become economically viable. Appropriate CO2 pricing will help here," says IKEM Managing Director Simon Schäfer-Stradowsky. The higher the price, the faster the transition to new technologies will be.
Experience in ammonia production dates back 150 years. The combination of nitrogen and hydrogen is one of the most widely produced chemicals and a raw material for fertilisers, among other things. However, ammonia has other important properties that are now coming to the fore: it is an excellent carbon-free energy storage medium, can be easily liquefied and has a high energy density. This makes green ammonia valuable for use in zero-emission propulsion systems, which will be developed for shipping in the coming years. It can also be used to produce sustainable fertilisers, which will help secure global food production. Ammonia can also be fed into stationary energy supply systems. "The new ammonia technologies are key to meeting the social challenges of the future," says Kruth. Another goal is to export the high-tech solutions developed in the region worldwide.
Scientific Contact:
Sprecherin CAMPFIRE:
Dr. Angela Kruth
Leibniz-Institut für Plasmaforschung und Technologie
Tel.: +49 3834 554 3860
E-Mail: angela.kruth@inp-greifswald.de
More informations:
https://www.wir-campfire.de
