Energy and Resources Research

In the research field Energy and Resources, scientists are seeking to safeguard and assure both resources and energy supplies over the long term in a sustainable manner in order to find economically and ecologically viable solutions for these challenges.


Flexible Processing for the Future: FlexiPlant

One of the challenges confronting our society today is the sustainable use of our resources. The concept of a circular economy, in which products, materials and componen­ts are reused and recycled within a loop, thus generating hardly any waste, is intended to meet this challenge. In order to reco­ver raw materials of all kinds (e.g. rare earth elements) in an energy-efficient and function-preserving way, it is necessary to develop a new generation of adaptive and flexible ­techno­logies and digital platforms for the processing and recycling. FlexiPlant will be a globally unique research infrastructure, to develop and test scientific models, methods and ­techno­logies for the mechanical processing of raw material in a pilot scale. The digitalization and automation of the processing system are required for transferring the processes to industrial scale. As an open transfer platform, FlexiPlant will provide a variety of research and cooperation opportunities for interested partners from academia, industry and society.

A production by Knitterfisch on behalf of the HZDR, published in February 2023.


Magnetohydrodynamics: "Magnetic Fields in the Cosmos and in Steel Casting"

The interaction between flows of molten metal and electromagnetic fields can be studied and utilized for technical processes on earth. At the HZDR's LIMMCAST test facility, researchers are analyzing the use of magnetic fields in steel casting.

More on Magnetohydrodynamics at HZDR


X-ray tomograph ROFEX: "Making Invisible Flows Visible"

Researchers at the HZDR also deal with visualizing flows in industry. One of their tools, which was developed by the scientists themselves, is the ultra-fast X-ray tomograph ROFEX. There is no other scientific imaging device in the world like ROFEX which can take up to 10,000 images per second.

More on ROFEX


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