Understanding and managing global change is a task in which the Max Planck Society is committed. This is also reflected in the reorientation of the Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung. The Düsseldorf-based institute has been studying how to optimize steel and other metals for applications in energy, mobility, infrastructure, manufacturing and medicine for several decades. In recent years, researchers have increasingly focused on how steel and other metallic materials can be produced with minimal costs. greenhouse gas emissions, as well as maximizing the efficiency of limited raw materials for electronic devices, electric motors and generators. To reflect this change in research focus, the Institute has changed its name to the Max Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials.
The Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung becomes the Max Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials. Image credit: Sustainable Materials
About twenty percent of global greenhouse gas emissions are caused by the production of materials that people need for buildings, infrastructure and various products. The steel industry alone accounts for eight percent of CO2 emissions. At the same time, many raw materials needed for modern societies and a climate-friendly economy are in limited supply or are extracted under environmentally and socially questionable conditions. Examples include aluminum, used for light bodywork, the production of which produces toxic red mud: lithium, essential for batteries, and coming from a limited number of places in the world; and rare earth metals, vital for smartphones, electric motors and wind turbines, but also facing shortage issues.
Solutions for a sustainable metallurgical industry
“Metals, semiconductors and many other materials form the foundation of global society. Without them, there would be no housing, cell phones, transportation and infrastructure – in short, society as we know it today would cease to exist. However, the production and use of such materials contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions and environmental deterioration,” explains Dierk Raabe, Managing Director of the Max Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials. “In our Institute, we face precisely this challenge: how can we establish a new industrial base in a short period of time? The ongoing reorientation reflects the change in our areas of intervention. We work on fundamental questions about how our modern industrial society can become more sustainable overall. «
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute in Düsseldorf are investigating ways to produce iron and steel from ores using hydrogen, with the aim of replacing coal in the process. They are studying how to improve metal recycling techniques, particularly for rare and energy-intensive metals. Additionally, they aim to reduce the environmental impact of the metal industry in general, such as the development of low-CO2 steel derived from red sludge, a toxic waste from aluminum production. In the development of new materials, they are increasingly using artificial intelligence to develop new materials.
“Climate change and securing our livelihoods are among the greatest challenges facing humanity today,” says Patrick Cramer, president of Max Planck. “The Max Planck Society is committed to helping find solutions to these challenges. The current reorientation of the Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung towards research into sustainable materials underlines this commitment and reaffirms its commitment to scientific and social progress.
Source: MPG
Originally published in The European Times.
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