CDI Workshop Series “Future Thinkings” – Workshop 2 @ BTU 08.-09.04.2025
On 8th and 9th April, Prof. Lee hosted the second workshop in the CDI (Cluster Decarbonization in Industries) Workshop Series “Future Thinkings” – together with the workshop organizer Ellery Studio and the CDI – at the BTU IKMZ. About 20 CDI partners participated in this workshop. To kick-off the event on 8th April, Prof. Uwe Riedel – Director of the DLR Institute for Low Carbon Industrial Processes – provided an overview of DLR’s research focuses and activities in Cottbus, before leading the participants on a technical tour to DLR’s pilot plant CoBra (reverse Brayton High Temperature Heat Pump), an innovative technology developed to support the transition in the industrial heating sector.
On the afternoon of 8th April, Prof. Lee used the example of chemical recycling to illustrate how the STEEP (Socio-Technological-Economical-Ecological-Political) approach could support a multidimensional evaluation of opportunities and challenges for the transformation of the carbon-intensive chemical and waste sectors. Following her presentation, workshop participants had the chance – via a World Café Format – to try their hands on using the STEEP approach for a systemic and structured identification of multidimensional aspects associated with the decarbonization of the German industry. After this group activity, Ellery Studio transferred the STEEP analysis to scenarios and showed how STEEPfactors identified could be structured across an Impact-Uncertainty-Matrix. On the second day of the workshop, participants also practiced how to transfer the insights from the previous day to construct scenarios by themselves.
New Publication: Journal Article in Technology in Society on Public Attitudes towards Gasification Technologies in the UK, Germany and China and their Susceptibility to the Nast Effect 03.04.2025
New publication “Public attitudes towards gasification technologies in the UK, Germany and China and their susceptibility to the Nasty Effect” by Prof. Lee together with co-authors Dr. Chris Jones and Dr. Daphne Kaklamanou from the University of Portsmouth, UK. This article comparatively evaluates how public perception and attitudes towards gasification technology – an established technology for coal but an emerging technology for waste – differ in the three countries assessed, and whether public perception and attitudes are susceptible to the “nasty effect”. The publication is available under https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2025.102891
Exchanges with Pupils at the Future Day @ BTU 03.04.2025
At the Future Day @ BTU on 3rd April, Prof. Lee gave a talk on “Plastic Waste – Resource or Fuel?” to pupils who visited BTU to find out more about the university and its research activities. During the interactive session, the pupils had the chance to find out more about how plastic is being produced from conventional fossil resource (i.e., oil), how plastic waste is currently being disposed of in Germany, and what are alternative routes for producing plastics from sustainable sources and also for its recycling.
Joint Meeting between DTI and KEI Think Tank 02.04.2025
Since 1st April, two new research associates – Franziska Kusche and Anouk Kruschinski – have joined the team at DTI to support the teaching and research activities at the Chair. On 2nd April, the new DTI team members are being introduced to the colleagues from the Think Tank division of KEI (Competence Center on Climate Change Mitigation in Energy-Intensive Industries) to further intensify the exchanges between DTI and KEI Think Tank.
Technical Exchanges and Site Tour of IEC, TU Bergakademie Freiberg with Felix Schöller 31.03.2025
On 31st March, Prof. Lee visited the Institute for Energy Process Engineering & Chemical Engineering (IEC), TU Bergakademie Freiberg together with colleagues from Felix Schöller for technical exchanges on alternative recycling processes for waste streams from the paper industry. The colleagues from Felix Schöller also used the opportunity for a technical tour of IEC’s lab, bench-scale and pilot facilities.
Jury Meeting for the Innovation Competition Energie.IN.NRW 19.-20.03.2025
From 19th to 20th March, over 15 scientific experts – including Prof. Lee – came together for the jury meeting for the 2025 Innovation Competition Energie.IN.NRW. Objective was to evaluate funding applications for their funding worthiness and eligibility and make recommendations for shortlisted projects under the “Innovations for the energy systems of the future, a climate-neutral industry, and climate- and resource-friendly construction within the framework of the ERDF/JTF NRW program 2021-2027”.
Technical Exchanges and Site Tour of IEC, TU Bergakademie Freiberg with REPSOL 05.03.2025
On 5th March, Prof. Lee visited the Institute of Energy Process Engineering and Chemical Engineering (IEC) at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg together with colleagues from REPSOL – a Spanish multinational energy and petrochemical company – for technical exchanges as well as a site visit of IEC’s laboratory, bench-scale and pilot scale facilities for thermochemical conversion and chemical recycling.
Climate Guide Brandenburg: Panel discussion with Prof. Roh Pin Lee from BTU 28.02.2025
Who researches what? This question is now answered by the Brandenburg Climate Guide. It summarises all the climate protection-related activities of research institutions in the state. The publication was accompanied by a panel discussion in which Prof. Roh Pin Lee from BTU also took part. Prof. Lee had previously given the keynote speech.
In 2024, the state adopted an overall strategy for climate neutrality and sustainability with its climate plan. This has now been supplemented by the Brandenburg Climate Guide, which provides an overview of the research institutions' activities relevant to climate protection. It is intended to serve as a guide for stakeholders from politics, administration, business and society in their search for scientific contacts when designing and implementing climate protection measures.
"Climate guide is a central element of the climate plan"
Dr Friederike Haase, State Secretary at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour, Energy and Climate Protection, opened the event to present the publication on 28 February 2025 at the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) in Potsdam. She said: "The climate guide is a central element of the climate plan and therefore of the state government's overall climate policy strategy. It creates transparency and not only enables faster and better networking between stakeholders from business and science. The climate guide will help to ensure that innovative solutions are put into practice more quickly and thus also accelerate the transformation. The Berlin-Brandenburg metropolitan region has an outstanding scientific landscape and we need science, politics, business, administration and society to work together to achieve climate neutrality by 2045. The climate guide is another step in the right direction."
Keynote speech and panel discussion with Prof. Roh Pin Lee from BTU
After the opening, Prof. Roh Pin Lee from BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg gave the keynote speech on the topic: "Decarbonisation of carbon-intensive industry in Brandenburg". This was followed by a panel discussion in which the question "How can science and practice work together effectively to implement the Brandenburg Climate Plan?" was discussed. Tobias Dünow (State Secretary in the Brandenburg Ministry of Science, Research and Culture), Prof. Dr Hermann Lotze-Campen (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, board chairperson of the Brandenburg Scientific Climate Council), Prof. Dr Roh Pin Lee (BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, member of the Brandenburg Scientific Climate Council), Michael Knape (Mayor of Treuenbrietzen/ Energy and Climate Protection/ Economic Development), Prof. Dr Sophia Becker (RIFS Potsdam (member of the Brandenburg Scientific Climate Council)) engaged in lively discussions. The event was moderated by Julia Miosga ("Die Digitallandschaftsgärtnerin").
BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg in the Brandenburg Climate Guide
The Brandenburg Climate Guide is divided into ten subject areas: (1) Energy and hydrogen, (2) Building, housing and heating, (3) Climate-neutral economy and industry, waste and recycling management, (4) Transport and mobility, (5) Agriculture and food, (6) Land use, forestry and sink effect, (7) Bioeconomy, (8) Greenhouse gas-neutral state administration, municipal climate protection and climate governance, (9) Citizen participation, climate education and sustainable consumption and (10) Climate system research.
On the BTU side, the Energy Innovation Centre (EIZ) and the DLR e.V. - Institute for Low-Carbon Industrial Processes, Simulation and Virtual Design department are listed in topic area 1. In topic area 2, the Infrastructure and Mobility Planning Chair at the Institute of Urban Planning is presented and in topic area 3, Prof. Lee's Decarbonisation and Transformation of Industry at the Faculty of Business, Law and Society.
Also available under https://www.b-tu.de/en/news/article/28471-climate-guide-brandenburg-panel-discussion-with-prof-roh-pin-lee-from-btu
Meeting with EWI Network Members from Wacker Chemie, ERVIN and KRONOSPAN for Exchanges on Science Communication Materials by BTU Students focusing on the Meissen Region 27.02.2025
Rounding up their collaboration as part of the “Communication of Science & Technology” module in the WS 2024/2025, members of the EWI Network (Energy and Hydrogen Alliance in the Meißen Industrial Arc) namely M. Slomic from Wacker Chemie, R. Spandler from ERVIN, and J. Pfeiffer from KRONOSPAN visited Prof. Lee at the BTU for exchanges about the science communication activities by the BTU students. Specifically, as part of the module, BTU students were tasked with developing short 2min science communication videos and also a 10min group presentation focusing on opportunities and challenges associated with the transformation of the Meissen region from the perspectives of young adults. The creative products by BTU students provided EWI Network partners valuable insights into aspects of the Meissen regions which are viewed as push and pull factors from the perspective of potential future skilled workers.
Exchanges with the Institute of Philosophy and Social Sciences during the Network Meeting of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation at the BTU 26.02.2025
On 26th February, the Institute of Philosophy and Social Sciences (IPSS) hosted 11 Humboldt scholars for exchanges during Network Meeting of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation at the BTU. Besides 5 short presentations by Humboldt Scholars from Brasil, Kenya, UK and USA sharing their work and research focuses during their stay at host universities in Germany, the three Professors at IPSS – Prof. Roh Pin Lee from the Chair of Decarbonization & Transformation of Industry, Prof. Melanie Jäger-Erben from the Chair of Sociology of Technology & the Environment, as well as Prof. Astrid Schwarz from the Chair of Technoscience Studies – also used the opportunity to share about their R&D activities to provide the international scholars insights into their activities especially in the areas of decarbonization and sustainability transformation.
CDI (Cluster Decarbonization in Industries) Strategy Meeting 18.02.2025
On 18th February, the Steering Committee members – namely Prof. Mario Ragwitz and Dr. Thorsten Spillmann (Fraunhofer IEG), Prof. Uwe Riedel (DLR Institute of Low-Carbon Industrial Processes), Jakob Fletcher (Competence Center on Climate Change Mitigation in Energy-Intensive Industries/KEI) and Prof. Roh Pin Lee from the BTU Cottbus – came together with the CDI team for a review of past activities in 2024 as well as a discussion of planned activities in 2025 and ideas for the further development of the CDI network.
Kick-off Workshop of CDI’s “Futures Thinking” Workshop Series in Ellery Studio 16.01.2025
On 16th January 2025, the kick-off event of the “Futures Thinking” Workshop Series by the Cluster Decarbonisation in Industries (CDI) took place in Ellery Studio in Berlin. Focus of the workshop series is on alternative strategies and methods for evaluating possible futures/routes for decarbonizing Germany’s industries. Over 20 CDI partners took part in the first workshop which utilized a highly interactive approach incorporating both small group discussions and joint brainstorming. Drawing on their personal experiences as well as diverse developments in their sectors, the dynamic discussions amongst participants from industry, science and associations enabled multifaceted and practical insights into the trends and factors which are influencing and/driving industrial transformation today, as well as associated opportunities and challenges.
In the next workshop, participants will delve deeper into methods for evaluating alternative futures/routes for decarbonization. The workshop series is conceptualized and organized by Ellery Studio and scientifically accompanied by Prof. Roh Pin Lee (BTU) on behalf of CDI.
More information under: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/cluster-dekarbonisierung-industrie_in-der-inspirierenden-atmosph%C3%A4re-des-berliner-activity-7287090880081977344-YytM/?utm_source=social_share_sheet&utm_medium=member_desktop_web