New publication “Decarbonization potential and economic viability of chemical recycling for China’s transformation towards carbon neutrality: Case analysis of global warming potential and costs of municipal solid waste gasification for methanol production” by Prof. Roh Pin Lee with co-authors Dr. Raoul Voss, Dr. Florian Keller, Dr. Qiuliang Huang and Prof. Magnus Fröhling in the Elsevier journal Resources, Conservation and Recycling. This article comparatively evaluates the decarbonization and economic potential of gasification-based chemical recycling of municipal solid waste against conventional waste treatment (i.e., landfilling and waste incineration). The publication is available under: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.107613

On Thursday 25^th April 2024, as part of this year’s BTU Open Day Program, Prof. Lee shared insights into the plastic waste challenge as well as alternative routes for its sustainable management, either as resource via mechanical and chemical recycling, or as a fuel in the form of refuse-derived-fuel (RDF).

On Thursday 11th April 2024, Dr. Jens Hannes, R&D Head for Circular Economy at RWE Power AG, shared insights into the systemic & multidimensional aspects faced in the transformation of carbon intensive industries based on the example of RWE. The guest lecture by Dr. Hannes is the first session in the module 14132 “Multidimensional Approaches for Technology Assessment” which is offered by the Chair of Decarbonization and Transformation of Industry (DTI) in the 2024 summer semester. 

On Wednesday 10^th April 2024, the NK2 Network (Network for a Circular Carbon Economy) hosted a workshop on “Concepts for decarbonization and circularity by integrated chemical sites” at the LEUNA Chemical Complex. NK2 partners from science and industry (e.g., IEC, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Fraunhofer IKTS, LyondellBasell, Synthos, RWE, Air Liquide, Dow, Inovyn, TAF) came together with infrastructure providers (i.e., InfraLeuna, PCK Schwedt, Infraserv, Currenta) as well as public agencies (KEI, UBA) for a discussion on opportunities and challenges for the sustainability transformation of integrated chemical sites. Besides an overview of their strategy and projects for decarbonization by the four infrastructure providers, Dr. Pascal Freund from KEI also shared information about the upcoming funding program “Bundesförderung Industrie und Klimaschutz” (BIK) to support the decarbonization of energy intensive industries in Germany.  Following an interactive discussion in world café format focusing on feedstocks, technological innovations and regulatory frameworks moderated by Prof. Bernd Meyer, Prof. Martin Gräbner and Prof. Roh Pin Lee respectively, workshop participants also had the opportunity for a technical tour of the LEUNA chemical complex, in addition to gaining insights into the operation of the POX/methanol complex by TotalEnergies.

On Tuesday 9^th April, Prof. Lee visited the Institute of Energy Process Engineering and Chemical Engineering (IEC) at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg together with colleagues from KEI Think Tank as well as KEI Project Sponsor (Projektträger). In addition to a technical tour of IEC’s bench-scale and pilot-scale facilities for circular carbon technologies, another focus of the visit was to experience the Carbon Discovery Trail which was developed by IEC in collaboration with Prof. Lee in 2021 to raise public awareness and interest in IEC’s R&D activities as part of the institute’s science communication activities.

Between 19^th January and 8^th April, Prof. Roh Pin Lee was invited as guest researcher at the Singapore Management University (SMU) where she worked together with her SMU collaborator Prof. Jochen Reb on their joint research project on recycling perceptions, attitudes, judgments and decisions in Singapore, and engaged with other SMU faculty to identify other potential collaboration opportunities. Additionally, she also engaged in exchanges with the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), the National Environment Agency (NEA), the Public Utilities Board (PUB) as well as the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) on the opportunities and challenges for “Waste-to-Products” in Singapore while she was onsite, in addition to technical site visits to the Waste-to-Energy Research Facility, a biogas facility for farm waste as well as a biogas test facility for the processing of sewage sludge in combination with food waste.

Between 18^th to 22^nd March 2024, Prof. Roh Pin Lee (BTU Cottbus) was invited to join an expert delegation together with Prof. Martin Gräbner and Antonia Helf from the Institute of Energy Process Engineering and Chemical Engineering (IEC), TU Bergakademie Freiberg to the Highsun Holding Corporation/HSCC coal gasification facility – one of the most modern coal gasification facilities in operation in China – in Fujian (China) for a technical tour of its coal gasification activities for the production of hydrogen for downstream ammonia synthesis as well as caprolactam production. Goal is to gain insights into the current state-of-the-art for such technologies and their implementation in China, and engage Chinese gasification experts in dialogue on the potential for transference to chemical recycling in the form of waste gasification to support the decarbonization and circularity transformation of China’s chemical industry.

On 5^th March 2024, Prof. Roh Pin Lee was invited to give an impulse presentation on decarbonization at the Kick-Off Meeting of the Federal-State Working Group on Funding for Industry and Climate Protection at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK). During her online presentation, Prof. Lee shared her multidimensional approach for the decarbonization of carbon intensive industry based on the case of chemical recycling. Subsequently, she engaged the participants from the economic and environment ministries at federal and state levels on the potential and challenges associated with chemical recycling as a decarbonization pathway for the chemical sector. 

New publication “Life cycle assessment of chemical recycling: Recommendations for a systemic assessment of its contribution to the circular carbon economy and zero waste transition” by Prof. Roh Pin Lee, Dr. Florian Keller and Dr. Raoul Voss in the book Towards Net-Zero Carbon Initiatives:  A Life Cycle Assessment Perspective (World Scientific Publishing). In this book chapter, methodological issues are identified and suggestions for overcoming challenges associated with the application of life cycle assessment (LCA) in the chemical recycling context are provided. Additionally, checklists are introduced to support practitioners in their LCA evaluation of chemical recycling technologies in the form of waste pyrolysis and waste gasification. The publication is available under https://doi.org/10.1142/9789811275661_0007.

On 11. December 2023, the 3. Fachforum Chemie was organized by the German Competence Centre on Climate Change Mitigation in Energy Intensive Industries (KEI), focusing on the topic of “Acceptance strategies in the transformation of the chemical industry”. Besides Dr. Jörg Rothermel (Head of Energy, Climate Protection and Resources at the German Chemical Association/VCI) and Dr. Utz Tilllman (Senior Advisor Industry at Agora Energiewende), Prof. Roh Pin Lee (Chair of Decarbonization and Transformation of Industry, BTU Cottbus) also contributed an impulse presentation on a multidimensional approach to support a holistic evaluation of the transformation of the chemical industry towards circularity and carbon neutrality. Following the presentations, the three speakers were joined by Dr. Indira Dupuis (Division Head of Work Transformation, Work and Environment Foundation of the IGBCE) and Dr. Franziska May (Research Associate in the Group Energy Transition and Public Policy at Research Institute for Sustainability/RIFS Potsdam) for a panel discussion on multifaceted aspects related to public, market, political as well as employee acceptance in the sustainability transformation of the chemical industry.

More Information under: https://www.klimaschutz-industrie.de/veranstaltungen/3-kei-fachforum-chemie/

On 30.11.2023, the BMBF organized the China Competence Conference to promote networking amongst actors who are active in and contributing to the development of China competences in Germany. The interactive event enabled the identification of existing China competences as well as China-focused research projects in Germany to support the generation of potential synergies and cooperation opportunities.  

On Thursday 9^th November 2023, the 4^th Lausitzer Conference 2023 brought together key actors from science, industry and politics in Cottbus for an intensive discussion about opportunities and challenges for energy intensive industries on their way towards climate neutrality in Germany. In addition to addressing the question required solutions to enable and accelerate sustainable production and process chains, speakers also shared about their current developments and project deployments for producing climate-friendly production. The 2023 Lausitzer Conference was organized by the Cluster Decarbonization in Industries (CDI) – founded in November 2021 by the Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU), the Fraunhofer Research Institute for Energy Infrastructures and Geothermal Systems (IEG), the Institute of Low-Carbon Industrial Processes at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) as well as the Competence Center on Climate change Mitigation in Energy Intensive Industries (KEI).

More information under https://www.cluster-dekarbonisierung.de/de/newsroom/details/4-lausitzer-fachkonferenz-praxisbeispiele-veranschaulichen-nachhaltige-industriedekarbonisierung.html

On 7^th November, Dr. Christopher Jones from the University of Portsmouth (UK) held a guest lecture on social acceptance of technology in the course “Communication of Science & Technology” at the BTU Cottbus, sharing his work in factors affecting public acceptance of technology and his experience in engaging the public on controversial energy project deployments.

On 1^st November, the Zeit Veranstaltungen, in cooperation with the Cluster Decarbonization in Industries (CDI), kicked started the first of its series “ZEIT Campus Zukunftsfragen: Grüne Jobs von Morgen” at the BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg. Following a welcome by Prof. Grande (President of BTU Cottbus) as well as a short interview with Andreas Findeisen (Head of the CDI), Prof. Lee (Chair of Decarbonization & Transformation of Industry, BTU) discussed about opportunities for young adults to contribute to the green transformation of the industries together with Dr. Erik Blasius (Project manager of Renewable Energies, BASF Schwarzeheide), Sebastian Kießling (Co-founder and General Manager of Prof. Dr. Berg & Kießling) and Rico Schneider (Head of Transformation, SIEMENS Energy) in the panel discussion.

More Information under: https://www.cluster-dekarbonisierung.de/de/events/details/zeit-campus-zukunftsfragen.html

We welcome Prof. Dr. Roh Pin Lee at the BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg this coming winter semester. As head of the research division Technology Assessment at the Institute for Energy Process Engineering and chemical Engineering (IEC) at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg, she has had an impressive scientific and professional track record. Born in Singapore, Ms. Lee is trilingual (German-English-Chinese) nd has been in Germany since 2005. Her scientific background encompasses psychology, decision-making and international resource and environmental management. In 2022, she also completed her habilitation in the field of technology assessment at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) with the thesis “Multidimensional Assessment for a Carbon Transition in Carbon Intensive industries”.

With a strong international network from science and industry in the energy, chemical, waste management, recycling and engineering sectors, she additionally acts as the scientific coordinator of the German National network for a Circular Carbon Economy (NK2).

“My focus is the integrated social-technological-economical-ecological-political (abbreviated: STEEP) assessment of decarbonization and transformation options for the industry. Together with BTU students and colleagues, I aim to provide grounded systemic information and insights to inform/quality/support socio-political dialogues and decision-making processes for the sustainability transformation. My vision is to connect different disciplines, sectors and interests so as to promote transdisciplinary and cross-sector collaboration at the interface of science, industry, politics and society.”