#christopherhebling

🇭2 Hydrogen – the future of heavy-duty mobility🚛? An exciting development is currently emerging in heavy-duty mobility: hydrogen in direct-injection engines. The advantage? Existing diesel fleets could be converted with relatively little effort—through modifications to the powertrain and the use of liquid hydrogen tanks. But is this really the breakthrough for climate-neutral logistics—or just a stopgap solution? In a Zoomposium with Christopher Hebling (Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE), we discuss the bigger picture. 🔍 In focus: • Can hydrogen solve the energy trilemma of sustainability, safety, and economic viability? • What roles do e-fuels, fuel cells, and direct electrification play in comparison? • Is green hydrogen scalable in the long term—even globally (e.g., projects like Desertec)? • And: How realistic is a climate-neutral energy supply given the continuing rise in energy demand? 💡 Key question: Is hydrogen the key to decarbonization—especially in heavy-duty transport, where batteries are reaching their limits? 📺 Interview: https://youtu.be/E62Kij5i_Ck 📎Information: https://philosophies.de/index.php/2024/12/17/wasserstoff-als-loesung/

🚗⚡ E-Fuels – The Future of Combustion Engine Fuels Explained How much longer do internal combustion engines have left? An intriguing answer is: perhaps much longer than is often assumed—thanks to e-fuels and hydrogen. Because even as mobility becomes increasingly electrified, one thing remains crucial: 👉 Energy in the form of molecules This is exactly where synthetic fuels come in. E-fuels are artificially produced, carbon-neutral fuels that can be used in existing internal combustion engines – without having to replace the engine itself. 💡 Alongside direct electrification, this creates a third central pathway for the energy transition: 🔹 Battery-powered electric mobility 🔹 Hydrogen technologies 🔹 E-fuels as a molecular form of energy Hydrogen, in particular, plays a key role here—not only as an energy carrier but also as a feedstock for synthetic fuels. In the Zoomposium with Christopher Hebling, Director at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE and Board Member of the Forum for Future Energies e.V., it becomes clear: 🌍 The energy transition is not a simple replacement of one technology—but a complex interplay of environmental sustainability, energy security, and economic viability. This “energy trilemma” determines how quickly new technologies such as “Power-to-X,” “green hydrogen,” and e-fuels will actually gain traction. 🚀 The key question remains: Are e-fuels a temporary solution—or a permanent part of future mobility? The answer may be more nuanced than many expect. 📺 Interview: https://youtu.be/E62Kij5i_Ck 📎Information: https://philosophies.de/index.php/2024/12/17/wasserstoff-als-loesung/

⚡ Germany’s Energy – 50–70% Imports by 2030 🛢️ Germany will continue to source a large portion of its energy from abroad in the future. Studies estimate that between 50 and 70% of total energy demand will need to be imported by 2030—across all sectors: electricity, transportation, heating, and industrial processes. This means that, despite the energy transition, Germany will remain an energy-dependent country. While the share of fossil fuels can be reduced and “greened” through renewable sources, complete self-sufficiency is unrealistic in the foreseeable future. The key, therefore, is not “imports or domestic production,” but a smart combination of regional solutions and international partnerships. The two are not mutually exclusive—on the contrary: they complement each other. In our Zoomposium series “Energy and Climate” (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRP2MUtBGr8xweQ7h-IpjgjSEl17Lmcqq), we are conducting an interview with Christopher Hebling that will address precisely these questions about the future. Hebling is a physicist, has been one of the leading experts on solar and hydrogen technologies for decades, and serves as Director of International Affairs at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg—Europe’s largest solar research institute. His work focuses on renewable energy, energy storage, the hydrogen economy, and global energy systems of the future. His work focuses on renewable energy, energy storage, the hydrogen economy, and the global energy systems of the future. In our conversation, we discuss, among other things: • How can rising energy demand be reconciled with climate protection? • What role do solar energy and hydrogen play for Germany? • Can green hydrogen become a global energy source? • How do we solve the energy trilemma of environmental sustainability, security of supply, and economic viability? • Are projects like “Desertec” or “E-Fuels” viable in the long term? The energy supply of the future will be global, technologically diverse, and politically challenging—and it will play a decisive role in shaping the economy, prosperity, and climate protection. 📺 Interview: https://youtu.be/E62Kij5i_Ck 📎Information: https://philosophies.de/index.php/2024/12/17/wasserstoff-als-loesung/