Urban trees filter pollutants from the air, cool their surroundings, and promote stress release. In the project URBORETUM, sensors on 240 trees in Karlsruhe will now provide more information on the effects of dry periods, heat, soil pollution and compaction as well as invasive pests. Measurements will also be taken in Freiburg, Mannheim and Heidelberg to provide a broader data basis. The field research will be supplemented with computer models of digital twins of the urban trees. The aim is to improve the management practice of urban forests - particularly with regard to the selection of new tree species, the inventory and regular monitoring of the tree population as well as tree care, says project manager Somidh Saha.

KIT

Concrete production is responsible for 6 to 9 percent of global anthropogenic CO₂ emissions. With the launch of a pilot plant for belite cement clinker, KIT researchers are now testing an important component for the production of net-zero circular concrete. “The plant is based on the idea of recycling concrete,” says Rebekka Volk who is involved in developing the resource cycle. “Instead of depositing high-grade concrete waste in landfills or using it for road construction, we can use buildings at the end of their life cycle as a resource to produce new high-quality construction materials.” Especially fine-grained concrete waste can now be used to produce cement clinker. Compared with conventional clinker production, the overall energy consumption is 40 percent lower.

Jingyuan Xu was awarded the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences' Ecology Prize for her research into sustainable thermoacoustic technologies for cooling, heating, and power generation. Her work includes cooling, cryogenics, power generation, heat pumps and multi-generation systems and focuses on renewable energy sources and waste heat. The technology converts thermal energy into acoustic energy in the thermoacoustic engine. The acoustic energy is used to pump heat via a thermoacoustic heat pump or to generate electricity via a generator. The thermoacoustic technology works without harmful ozone-depleting gases or mechanically moving parts and offers the possibility of a cost-effective installation based on simple components.