news 2020
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Environment - Materials Science - 09.12.2020 
New research project on environmental and safety aspects of stationary energy storage
By Christoph Pelzl The SABATLE project coordinated by TU Graz focuses on the sustainability and safety of redox flow technologies, which are of immanent importance for the stabilization of the power grid. The increasing use of battery technologies in the mobility sector and in stationary applications has been leading to increasing efforts in battery research of operational safety and battery recycling.
Environment - Electroengineering - 09.12.2020 
Enhancing Production of Hydropower Plants and Eco-Friendly Electricity Generation
By Helmut Benigni The EU's Green Deal and Austria's efforts to generate the total demand for electricity in Austria based on renewable energies call for a boost of advancement in the hydropower industry. At present, hydropower is the only technology capable of storing and generating renewable electrical energy on a large scale, on-demand and in large capacities.
Chemistry - Environment - 08.12.2020
Chemistry - Environment - 05.12.2020 
Time for plan A
By Dr. Daniela Müller Oil, gas and coal were yesterday. Hydrogen could be the key to a green future. Its versatility has made hydrogen a research core area at Graz University of Technology for 50 years. What was that again about hydrogen, symbol H, a chemical element in the periodic table? That made the Hindenburg explode, removes hair dye and powers a few vehicles? Usually very little of what we learnt at school is remembered about it, apart from the oxyhydrogen gas reaction.
Environment - Research Management - 16.11.2020 
Sustainable shotcrete mix-designs for tunnels with longer service-life
By Christoph Pelzl A project jointly initiated by the Austrian Society for Construction Technology (ÖBV), TU Graz and OTH Regensburg provides a more systematic understanding of shotcrete applications and forms the basis for new, even more durable concrete mixes and thus for more durable tunnels. The service life of tunnels today is designed to last at least for one hundred years - in the case of the Brenner basis tunnel it is even 200 years.
Earth Sciences - Environment - 20.10.2020 
New sediment archive for historical climate research
By Christoph Pelzl Geological investigations of low-temperature young deposits on the Styrian Erzberg provide paleoclimatology with new data on the earth's history and its development. Additional at the end of the text How has the climate changed in the course of the earth's history? Which climatic processes have influenced the earth and its atmosphere? Paleoclimatology seeks answers to such questions in order to better understand climate changes and to derive forecasts for future climate scenarios.
Materials Science - Environment - 07.10.2020 
New findings pave the way to environmentally friendly supercapacitors
Similar to batteries, supercapacitors are suitable for the repeated storage of electrical energy. TU Graz researchers have presented a particularly safe and sustainable variant of such a supercapacitor in Nature Communications. Additional at the end of the text Limited safety, sustainability and recyclability are key drawbacks of today's lithium-ion battery technology, along with restricted availability of starting materials (e.g.
Materials Science - Environment - 01.10.2020 
Ecological power storage battery made of vanillin
By Christoph Pelzl Researchers at TU Graz have found a way to convert the aromatic substance vanillin into a redox-active electrolyte material for liquid batteries. The technology is an important step towards ecologically sustainable energy storage. Additional at the end of the text "It is ground-breaking in the field of sustainable energy storage technology," says Stefan Spirk from the Institute of Bioproducts and Paper Technology at Graz University of Technology.
Materials Science - Environment - 01.10.2020 
Ecological power storage battery made of vanillin
Researchers at TU Graz have found a way to convert the aromatic substance vanillin into a redox-active electrolyte material for liquid batteries. The technology is an important step towards ecologically sustainable energy storage. Additional at the end of the text "It is ground-breaking in the field of sustainable energy storage technology," says Stefan Spirk from the Institute of Bioproducts and Paper Technology at Graz University of Technology.
Environment - 07.09.2020 
Producing leather-like materials from fungi
Biofabrication includes upcycling of low-cost agricultural and forestry by-products Leather is used as a durable and flexible material in many aspects of everyday life including furniture and clothing. Leather substitutes derived from fungi are considered to be an ethical and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional bovine leather.
Life Sciences - Environment - 28.07.2020 
Microbial interactions stabilize carbon in the soil
Soils play a major role when it comes to the long-term storage of CO2 and the resulting reduction of this gas in the atmosphere - therefore they can contribute to slowing down climate change. In order to gain a better understanding of these mechanisms, it can be helpful to look at the microscopic level of soil microorganisms.
Environment - History / Archeology - 23.07.2020 
Flood data from 500 years: Rivers and climate change in Europe
A major international research project led by TU Wien (Vienna) shows for the first time that flooding characteristics in recent decades are unlike those of previous centuries Overflowing rivers can cause enormous problems: Worldwide, the annual damage caused by river floods is estimated at over 100 billion dollars - and it continues to rise.
Environment - Innovation - 13.07.2020
Life Sciences - Environment - 27.05.2020 
The evolutionary puzzle of the mammalian ear
How could the tiny, tightly connected parts of the ear adapt independently to the amazingly diverse functional and environmental regimes encountered in mammals? A group of researchers from the University of Vienna and the Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research proposed a new explanation for this evolutionary puzzle.
Paleontology - Environment - 22.05.2020 
First fossil nursery of the great white shark discovered
Paleo-kindergarten ensured evolutionary success millions of years ago An international research team led by Jaime A. Villafaña from the Institute of Palaeontology at the University of Vienna discovered the first fossil nursery area of the great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias in Chile. This discovery provides a better understanding of the evolutionary success of the largest top predator in today's oceans in the past and could contribute to the protection of these endangered animals.
Chemistry - Environment - 21.04.2020 
Water replaces toxins: Green production of plastics
Although organic plastics are not harmful to the environment themselves, toxic substances are often used during their synthesis. TU Wien shows - there is another way. Many materials that we use every day are not sustainable. Some are harmful to plants or animals, others contain rare elements that will not always be as readily available as they are today.
Physics - Environment - 09.03.2020 
Atomic Fingerprint Identifies Emission Sources of Uranium
Uranium is not always the same: depending on whether this chemical element is released by the civil nuclear industry or as fallout from nuclear weapon tests, the ratio of the two anthropogenic, i.e. man-made, uranium isotopes 233U and 236U varies. These results were lately found by an international team grouped around physicists from the University of Vienna and provides a promising new "fingerprint" for the identification of radioactive emission sources.
Materials Science - Environment - 30.01.2020 
Sustainable 3D-printed super magnets
By Christoph Pelzl Magnetic materials play important roles in electrical products. These materials are usually manufactured by means of established production techniques and use of rare earth metals. Several research teams at TU Graz are working on alternative, more environmentally friendly production methods.
Environment - Transport - 21.01.2020 
New exhaust gas measurement registers ultrafine pollutant particles for the first time
By Christoph Pelzl Together with international partners, researchers at Graz University of Technology have developed a measurement method that measures particles below 10 nanometres for the first time and will contribute to the implementation of future, stricter emission standards. Additional at the end of the text A few days ago, the European Commission presented its Green Deal, which aims to make the EU climate neutral by 2050 in order to protect the environment and improve people's health and quality of life.
Environment
Results 1 - 19 of 19.
By Christoph Pelzl The SABATLE project coordinated by TU Graz focuses on the sustainability and safety of redox flow technologies, which are of immanent importance for the stabilization of the power grid. The increasing use of battery technologies in the mobility sector and in stationary applications has been leading to increasing efforts in battery research of operational safety and battery recycling.
By Helmut Benigni The EU's Green Deal and Austria's efforts to generate the total demand for electricity in Austria based on renewable energies call for a boost of advancement in the hydropower industry. At present, hydropower is the only technology capable of storing and generating renewable electrical energy on a large scale, on-demand and in large capacities.
Hydrogen: Electricity Storage of the Future?
By Birgit Baustädter If our energy system is to become more eco-friendly, there is no way to avoid hydrogen as an energy carrier. Researchers around the world are certain of this. Hydrogen is the first element in the periodic table. Not only here does it occupy a prominent place, but also in the discussion about an eco-friendly energy system of the future.
By Birgit Baustädter If our energy system is to become more eco-friendly, there is no way to avoid hydrogen as an energy carrier. Researchers around the world are certain of this. Hydrogen is the first element in the periodic table. Not only here does it occupy a prominent place, but also in the discussion about an eco-friendly energy system of the future.
By Dr. Daniela Müller Oil, gas and coal were yesterday. Hydrogen could be the key to a green future. Its versatility has made hydrogen a research core area at Graz University of Technology for 50 years. What was that again about hydrogen, symbol H, a chemical element in the periodic table? That made the Hindenburg explode, removes hair dye and powers a few vehicles? Usually very little of what we learnt at school is remembered about it, apart from the oxyhydrogen gas reaction.
By Christoph Pelzl A project jointly initiated by the Austrian Society for Construction Technology (ÖBV), TU Graz and OTH Regensburg provides a more systematic understanding of shotcrete applications and forms the basis for new, even more durable concrete mixes and thus for more durable tunnels. The service life of tunnels today is designed to last at least for one hundred years - in the case of the Brenner basis tunnel it is even 200 years.
By Christoph Pelzl Geological investigations of low-temperature young deposits on the Styrian Erzberg provide paleoclimatology with new data on the earth's history and its development. Additional at the end of the text How has the climate changed in the course of the earth's history? Which climatic processes have influenced the earth and its atmosphere? Paleoclimatology seeks answers to such questions in order to better understand climate changes and to derive forecasts for future climate scenarios.
Similar to batteries, supercapacitors are suitable for the repeated storage of electrical energy. TU Graz researchers have presented a particularly safe and sustainable variant of such a supercapacitor in Nature Communications. Additional at the end of the text Limited safety, sustainability and recyclability are key drawbacks of today's lithium-ion battery technology, along with restricted availability of starting materials (e.g.
By Christoph Pelzl Researchers at TU Graz have found a way to convert the aromatic substance vanillin into a redox-active electrolyte material for liquid batteries. The technology is an important step towards ecologically sustainable energy storage. Additional at the end of the text "It is ground-breaking in the field of sustainable energy storage technology," says Stefan Spirk from the Institute of Bioproducts and Paper Technology at Graz University of Technology.
Researchers at TU Graz have found a way to convert the aromatic substance vanillin into a redox-active electrolyte material for liquid batteries. The technology is an important step towards ecologically sustainable energy storage. Additional at the end of the text "It is ground-breaking in the field of sustainable energy storage technology," says Stefan Spirk from the Institute of Bioproducts and Paper Technology at Graz University of Technology.
Biofabrication includes upcycling of low-cost agricultural and forestry by-products Leather is used as a durable and flexible material in many aspects of everyday life including furniture and clothing. Leather substitutes derived from fungi are considered to be an ethical and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional bovine leather.
Soils play a major role when it comes to the long-term storage of CO2 and the resulting reduction of this gas in the atmosphere - therefore they can contribute to slowing down climate change. In order to gain a better understanding of these mechanisms, it can be helpful to look at the microscopic level of soil microorganisms.
A major international research project led by TU Wien (Vienna) shows for the first time that flooding characteristics in recent decades are unlike those of previous centuries Overflowing rivers can cause enormous problems: Worldwide, the annual damage caused by river floods is estimated at over 100 billion dollars - and it continues to rise.
Shipping: Making the blue ocean greener
By Birgit Baustädter Even without living directly by the sea, researchers at TU Graz and the LEC are concerned about the environmental compatibility of merchant shipping and are researching wind and hydrogen-powered ships. "Modern shipping is on a par with air traffic in terms of CO2 emissions.
By Birgit Baustädter Even without living directly by the sea, researchers at TU Graz and the LEC are concerned about the environmental compatibility of merchant shipping and are researching wind and hydrogen-powered ships. "Modern shipping is on a par with air traffic in terms of CO2 emissions.
How could the tiny, tightly connected parts of the ear adapt independently to the amazingly diverse functional and environmental regimes encountered in mammals? A group of researchers from the University of Vienna and the Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research proposed a new explanation for this evolutionary puzzle.
Paleo-kindergarten ensured evolutionary success millions of years ago An international research team led by Jaime A. Villafaña from the Institute of Palaeontology at the University of Vienna discovered the first fossil nursery area of the great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias in Chile. This discovery provides a better understanding of the evolutionary success of the largest top predator in today's oceans in the past and could contribute to the protection of these endangered animals.
Although organic plastics are not harmful to the environment themselves, toxic substances are often used during their synthesis. TU Wien shows - there is another way. Many materials that we use every day are not sustainable. Some are harmful to plants or animals, others contain rare elements that will not always be as readily available as they are today.
Uranium is not always the same: depending on whether this chemical element is released by the civil nuclear industry or as fallout from nuclear weapon tests, the ratio of the two anthropogenic, i.e. man-made, uranium isotopes 233U and 236U varies. These results were lately found by an international team grouped around physicists from the University of Vienna and provides a promising new "fingerprint" for the identification of radioactive emission sources.
By Christoph Pelzl Magnetic materials play important roles in electrical products. These materials are usually manufactured by means of established production techniques and use of rare earth metals. Several research teams at TU Graz are working on alternative, more environmentally friendly production methods.
By Christoph Pelzl Together with international partners, researchers at Graz University of Technology have developed a measurement method that measures particles below 10 nanometres for the first time and will contribute to the implementation of future, stricter emission standards. Additional at the end of the text A few days ago, the European Commission presented its Green Deal, which aims to make the EU climate neutral by 2050 in order to protect the environment and improve people's health and quality of life.
