DLRmagazine 171 (November 2022)

Awakening the sleeping giant

Heat pumps, thermal wind energy systems and the use of lime for heat storage, DLR scientists are conducting research in various areas for the energy transition. The cover story in this issue of the DLRmagazine gives an overview of the different aspects and potential of heat. This DLRmagazine also features a 'League of extraordinary robots' and the question of why the Arctic is warming up much faster than the rest of the planet.

Editorial

Until now, the energy transition has largely revolved around electricity; sustainable heat has been sidelined for quite some time. However, current uncertainty over energy supply is beginning to change this. For a while now, DLR scientists have been working on this sleeping giant, conducting research into various technologies and concepts for climate-friendly heat using renewable sources, including heat pumps, thermal wind energy, energy systems analyses and the use of lime for heat storage. The cover story of issue 171 of the DLRmagazine gives an overview of the different aspects and potential of heat. We also interview Christian Sattler, Divisional Board Member for Energy and Transport, to understand whether we are facing a 'heat problem'.

Incidentally, an entirely different issue with heat has been developing in the Arctic, a region that is warming up much faster than the rest of the world. An international research team has travelled to the North Pole to study the phenom of Arctic amplification and the effects that this warming could have on the rest of the planet. It is not just human researchers who are busy at DLR. In the ARCHES project, a team of robots journeyed to one of the most inhospitable areas in Europe – Mount Etna. In this issue, you can read about why they explored this Sicilian volcano and the special skills each individual team member brought to the project.

Other highlights of this issue include a focus on Mars' two moons – Phobos and Deimos – which are finally to be explored in detail with a new mission, and an interview with DLR transport researcher Laura Gebhardt, who investigates whether e-scooters, e-bikes and pedelecs are environmental saviours or mere nuisances. You can also discover how artificial intelligence integrates the reactions of a concert audience into a musical piece, and much more.

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Cover story from the DLRmagazine

DLR conducts research for the heat transition

Awakening the sleeping giant

DLR conducts research for the heat transition

More articles from the DLRmagazine 171

On no moon's land

The Martian Moons eXploration mission aims to solve the mystery of how the Red Planet's moons formed

League of extraordinary robots

Today Etna, tomorrow the Moon – in the ARCHES project robots explore together

Deep into the forest

A combination of remote sensing data grants new insights into the structure of forests

A polar hot spot?

The Arctic is warming more quickly than the rest of the planet – a research team is trying to find out why

What Tower?

Remote Tower control airports from a distancex

Here to stay?

DLR is investigating new forms of transportation

Robot workmates

Humans and machines work efficiently together in aircraft assembly

Tuning in

Acoustic testing allows statements to be made about the properties and resilience of new materials

AI adds feeling to the music

An artificial intelligence transforms an orchestral piece using live audience reaction

The Space Station in the classroom

DLR_School_Labs go online

Hot ideas

Students are developing concepts to fight forest fires from the air

Climate Change and the economy

An economic and socio-scientific perspective

No stone unturned

The grand finale of the Apollo project

More content from the DLRmagazine 171

Research for the ports of the future

Infographic

Research for the ports of the future

A spectacle of light

A special lighting effect was required to take this picture at DLR’s QUARZ Centre in Cologne. Light is reflected from the mirrored surfaces of a test stand for solar receiver tubes. These tubes are a key component in the solar collectors used in parabolic trough power plants. Their mirrors concentrate solar irradiation in a tube – the receiver tube – mounted onto the focal line, in order to generate high temperatures. The power plant uses these high temperatures to generate electricity by means of a turbine. The receiver tubes of a typical power plant with an electrical output of 50 megawatts in southern Spain have a total length of around 90 kilometres. The more effectively they absorb the sunlight and convert it into heat, the higher the yield of the solar power plant. Researchers at the DLR Institute of Solar Research have developed innovative testing methods for the mirrors and receivers used in solar power plants. In the OptiRec test stand at the QUARZ Centre, receiver tubes four metres long are irradiated in their entirety with artificial sunlight. This makes it possible to precisely determine and compare their quality and optical performance. This is crucial information for securing investments in solar power plants. The testing methods developed by DLR together with industrial companies have been recognised and published by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) as an international standard.

Download the DLRmagazine 171

DLRmagazine 171 – Awakening the Sleeping Giant

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Heat pumps, thermal wind energy systems and the use of lime for heat storage, DLR scientists are conducting research in various areas for the energy transition. The cover story in this issue of the DLRmagazine gives an overview of the different aspects and potential of heat. This DLRmagazine also features a 'League of extraordinary robots' and the question of why the Arctic is warming up much faster than the rest of the planet.

Contact

Julia Heil

Editorial management DLRmagazine
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Communications and Media Relations
Linder Höhe, 51147 Cologne