Dissertation by InES scientist receives award

The Solarenergieförderverein Bayern e. V. (SeV) awarded a prize to Dr Mathias Ehrenwirth's dissertation entitled "Theoretical and Experimental Analysis of Polymer-Based Solar Thermal Drain Back Systems". As part of his doctoral thesis, Dr Ehrenwirth investigated the extent to which polymers can contribute to cost-effective solar thermal collectors and systems. This project was embedded in a research project funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, which was carried out together with the company Roth Werke GmbH at the Institute for New Energy Systems (InES). The central result is that solar thermal collectors made of polymers can lead to significant savings, especially if the surrounding system takes their special requirements (for example, low pressure and temperature stability) into account.

The PhD project was carried out cooperatively between the TU Munich and the TH Ingolstadt. The basis for this was the TUM Applied Technology Forum, in which outstanding researchers at universities of applied sciences were given a structured doctoral path at TU Munich. The good experiences from this programme have also been incorporated into the Bavarian Science Forum. At the TH Ingolstadt, the work was supervised by Prof. Wilfried Zörner, head of InES: "I am very pleased about this award for Mr. Ehrenwirth, as it underlines the practical relevance of our application-oriented research in the field of heat supply with renewable energies".