Project highlights Advanced Thermal Management

ELa

Energy-saving glaze with stabilized silver nanowires for transparent low-e wall coatings

The aim of the project is to develop a transparent, low-emissivity (low-e) energy-saving glaze based on stabilized silver nanowires. This glaze can improve the insulation performance of buildings by up to 25% with virtually no change to the visual appearance of the color, by significantly reducing heat radiation from wall surfaces due to its low emissivity. For this purpose, the glaze is specifically applied to the interior side of exterior walls (exposed concrete, plaster, etc.), particularly in older buildings.
The resulting product, which is to be marketed in the future under the name HeiQ Xpectra by the project partner HeiQ RAS AG, received the “German Sustainability Award 2026” for products in the Climate Transformation field. The award recognized its “[…] ability to make a significant contribution to energy savings and emission reductions with minimal material use and effort […]”.

Funding body: BMFTR, funding code: O3DPS12O8A
Duration from 01.09.2024 to 28.02.2026

White surfaces on facades and roofs, as often found in southern countries, heat up little during the day when exposed to sunlight.

PaRaMetriC

Passive radiation cooling

Almost 20 % of the global electricity consumption is caused by cooling systems. As the demand for cooling is expected to grow tenfold by 2050, improving the efficiency of cooling systems plays a critical role in addressing the global climate challenge.
Passive Radiative Cooling (PRC) materials, which can dissipate heat into the surrounding as thermal radiation (especially through the atmospheric infrared window between 8 µm and 13 µm) have recently emerged. Hence, the EU-project PaRaMetriC (Metrological Framework for Passive Radiative Cooling Technologies) aims to develop a comprehensive metrological framework with standardized performance indicators and testing protocols to enable comparable evaluation of their cooling performance on-site and the determination of potential energy savings that could derive from the deployment of such technologies.

EU funding code: 21GRD03 PaRaMetriC
Duration from 01.10.2022 to 30.09.2025
The project 21GRD03 PaRaMetriC receives funding from the European Partnership on Metrology, co-financed by the European Union's Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme and from the Participating States.

Hi-TRACE

Industrial process optimization through improved metrological methods for determining thermophysical properties. Many industries, such as aerospace, power generation, and glass and ceramics, operate equipment at temperatures above 1500 ºC. In order to optimize these processes, improve energy efficiency and increase competitiveness, new, more temperature-resistant materials are being developed for which precise knowledge of the relevant parameters under the operating conditions is necessary. The aim of the project is therefore to create a metrological infrastructure to provide traceable measurement data of thermophysical properties such as temperature Tf, contact resistance Rc, thermal diffusivity a, heat capacity Cp and emissivity up to 3000 ºC.
This includes the development of highly accurate reference equipment, new measurement techniques, reliable calibration methods, validated uncertainty budgets, and traceable reference materials for the high-temperature range for the determination of thermal and infrared optical properties as well as for the non-contact recording of the adhesion properties of coating systems.

EU funding code: 17IND11 - Hi-TRACE
Duration from 01.07.2018 to 31.12.2021
This research was funded by EMPIR program co-financed by the Participating States and from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (funding code 17IND11 - Hi-TRACE).

PCM-Metro II

Dynamic behavior and aging of PCM components

The PCM-Metro II project investigates the dynamics and aging of PCM components. The basis for a permanent, effective use of PCM components as thermal storage and buffers is the behavior of the components in dynamic processes and the knowledge about the aging of PCMs and their encapsulation.

Funding body: BMWK, funding code: 03ET1584A
Duration from 01.10.2018 to 30.09.2021
This research was funded by Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) on the basis of a decision by the German Bundestag (funding code: 03ET7082A).