At the Institute for a sustainable Hydrogen Economy (IHE), research activities on the storage, storage and transport of hydrogen from the nanoscale to the system level are being driven forward and closely interlinked.

The IHE-1- ‘Catalytic Interfaces’ (nanoscale) department investigates the role and interactions of atoms and molecules in processes such as catalysis and other reactions. The optimal design of catalysts is the focus of the work in IHE-2 - ‘Catalyst Materials’ (mesoscale) in order to make them suitable for use in large-scale plants. Researchers at IHE-3 - ‘Reaction Engineering’ (reactor scale) investigate how chemical reactors can be made more efficient, for example by optimising heat and flow control. For this purpose, the Team is developing special models, components and concepts. The scientists at IHE-4 ‘Process and Plant Engineering’ (system scale) are investigating how different methods of hydrogen production and storage can be optimally integrated into an overall industrial system.

This cross-scale approach is based on the understanding that materials, equipment, and processes that can contribute to innovations for a sustainable and infrastructure-compatible hydrogen economy must be developed on different length and time scales. These range from extremely fast processes at catalytic interfaces to the system stability of a plant network over many years.