Research focus Resources

We research ...

… on bio-based materials for a sustainable circular economy.

… on digital methods to make technical systems safer, more sustainable and more efficient.

… FAIR data as a resource for knowledge and transparency.

  • We develop methods to assess the recyclability of paper products.
  • We improve recycling processes in order to use a greater proportion of valuable, bio-based materials in cycles.

We advise on product development in order to develop products that are as recyclable as possible.

In several, smaller projects, we further develop the methodology to assess the recyclability of paper-based products and gain knowledge about the effects of different functional materials on the cycle (e.g. coatings that make paper waterproof). We use these findings to improve reprocessing processes and to develop innovative and sustainable products (such as a sustainable trade fair construction system in the PapierEvent project) and also to create the basis for improved legislation.

Project “PapierEvents”:

Duration: January 2022 to December 2024

Funding amount: 280.000 Euro (funded by The German Federal Environmental Foundation)

Contact at the Mechanical Engineering Department: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Samuel Schabel

Project website

  • We develop methods to generate reliable predictions for the service life of components from real-time data.
  • From the atom to whole components: How can the behavior of materials be modeled across scales?

With the foundation of the "Center for Reliability Analytics (CRA)”, the scientific basis for a digital transformation of reliability assessment in mechanical engineering will be created and its transfer to industrial application secured. The new research building will create the infrastructure for a digital transformation of materials and component testing to a computer-aided reliability assessment in real time using virtual material and component representations. Through the interdisciplinary collaboration of researchers from computer science, electrical engineering and information technology, materials science, civil and environmental engineering and mechanical engineering, the reliability of components in mechanical and plant engineering – in the sense of structural durability – is to be specifically influenced and validly predicted with the help of new digital methods.

Duration: January 2020 to December 2024

Funding amount: 38.829.000 euros

Contact at the Mechanical Engineering Department: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Matthias Oechsner

Project website

  • We develop distributed control strategies for the operation of water supply infrastructure in order to be able to maintain the water supply even during critical events with the help of digitalisation.
  • Using methods of mathematical optimisation, we show which resources are at least necessary to compensate for failures of components in the water supply system and to ensure the water supply.

The LOEWE Centre emergenCITY focuses on Emergency Responsive Digital Cities and their autonomous emergency operation. The resilience of various urban infrastructures in the phases of response, reconstruction and planning is examined from an engineering and sociopolitical perspective. We will focus on the resilience of the water infrastructure and its interaction with other infrastructures, such as energy supply.

Duration: January 2020 to December 2023

Funding amount:no details

Contact at the Mechanical Engineering Department: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Peter F. Pelz; Michaela Leštáková M.Sc.; Kevin Logan M.Sc.

Project website

  • We use satellite data to record the spatial and temporal expansion of slums.
  • We use the collected data to describe the development of slums with the help of data-driven models.
  • We describe scenarios to be able to determine infrastructure needs and their development.

Around one billion people worldwide live in slums, often without urban infrastructure such as electricity or water. To change this, the number of inhabitants and their development must first be known. To do this, slums in several cities are recorded at different times using satellite data. Then it will be investigated whether their development can be described with simple mathematical models such as those otherwise used to describe physical processes. Such new data-driven models could be used to understand how slums, and especially the needs of the people who live in them, will develop in the future.

Duration: January 2022 to December 2023

Funding amount: 198.472 Euro

Contact at the Mechanical Engineering Department:: Dr.-Ing. John Friesen

Project website

The “Transient Sieves” research group is working on separating substances that are in a liquid – either in a dissolved or “suspended” state. The aim is to develop the basis for a new concept of substance separation. The special feature of the new process is that transient pores are used for sieving. This means that the pores of a transient sieve change their properties as the material passes through. Such separation processes can have many advantages over conventional methods, among other things they are characterised by improved energy consumption. This may be useful for various applications in the future, for example when it comes to filtering antibiotic residues from wastewater.

Duration: März 2024 bis Februar 2028

Funding amount: 3.468.648,00 Euro

Contact at the Mechanical Engineering Department: Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Steffen Hardt

Project website

FAIR data is the raw material of the 21st century. It is an enabler for transparency (costs-to-society; value-to-city), sustainability (sustainable systems design), science (scientific method) and business (digital services)… More in the video!

In the Center for Reliability Analytics, which is due to be occupied in 2024, we want to shape the digitalisation of mechanical engineering with regard to predicting the reliability and service life of mechanical engineering parts and components… More in the video!

The construction sector is the largest producer of CO2 emissions in Germany and worldwide and a consumer of large quantities of inorganic materials. Future-proof, sustainable solutions are needed here, preferably made from renewable and recyclable materials… Find out more in the video!

Research Field of the TU Darmstadt