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TU-Clausthal Sino-German-Energy

Goals and functions

Goals

The German-Chinese cooperation group forms a cooperation network in which scientists from China and Germany come together who are interested in the field of underground storage. Due to the environmental and economic challenges in both countries, the focus of the cooperation group is on the storage of carbon dioxide and the storage of energy in the geological underground.

Smaller, thematic working groups are to be formed under the umbrella of the cooperation group to jointly develop and apply for German-Chinese research projects.

Several steps are planned to achieve this goal.

To get to know each other, a specialist conference was held in Beijing in 2010 at which Chinese and German researchers presented their research work. This conference was followed by visits from various Chinese projects.

During the conference and the subsequent trip, groups were formed based on common thematic interests.

The newly established contacts were then consolidated through reciprocal visits by individual scientists, during which initial ideas were further developed.

In parallel to the reciprocal visits of the leading scientists, exchanges of young scientists were organized so that the basis of the collaboration could be slowly broadened and the process consolidated.

In spring 2011, the first joint applications were submitted under the umbrella of the cooperation group, and further project outlines are currently being converted into applications, with different groups of scientists working at different speeds.

In addition to scientific collaboration, the joint development of the necessary scientific personnel is also an important goal of the cooperation group. In March 2011, not only were students selected to continue their studies at TU Clausthal, but Bachelor students were also introduced to the problems involved in reducing the emission of climate-relevant gases. The introduction to the topic took place via a series of seminars at Sichuan University, which was very well attended.

In May 2011, specialist colloquia in Germany were used to draw the attention of a wider circle of scientists to the possibility of German-Chinese cooperation and to cautiously expand the circle of scientists involved.

The cooperation group's network is now also used to specifically approach scientists from the partner country and invite them to work on their own projects.

In 2013, there will be another major specialist conference at the Energy Research Center of Lower Saxony in Goslar, where the working groups that have been formed will present the initial results of their joint work, but also where other interested parties in the topic of "underground storage ofCO2 and energy" can present their research results in order to initiate partnerships for future cooperation.

Functions

  • Regular organization of mutual meetings to promote academic exchange and organize international cooperation projects
  • Select, develop and test the young scientists joining the research group
  • Regularly publish the basic information and research results of the two sides on the topic of "underground storage ofCO2 and energy" and stimulate interest in other institutes with the aim of arousing the desire for cooperation there in order to expand the scientific network
  • Providing research facilities and a joint database for scientists from both sides
  • Sino-German workshops on the topic of "Underground storage ofCO2 and energy" in China in 2010 and in Germany in 2013
  • Mutual academic visits of the participating scientists and short-term academic exchange of young scientific staff within the framework of joint research. Promotion of the participation of young doctors in the cooperation group as post-docs so that they can use the impetus of mutual cooperation in the energy sector to intensify research collaboration
  • Joint supervision of doctoral students in the disciplines of the cooperation group, inclusion of graduates and students from the joint "2+2 Project Geoenvironmental Engineering" in the research projects with the aim of strengthening future research forces
  • Scientists from the other nation are to be involved in ongoing projects, both in academic exchange and in the junior researcher program
  • Joint publication of papers in qualified international journals. Joint participation in important international events and increasing the visibility of the cooperation group
  • Regular discussions of the cooperation group via internet-based means of communication, such as video and telephone conferences, e-mail contact, internet forums and wikis
  • Establishment of a website and a database, as well as the realization of data collection and the exchange of research information. Publication of this information to motivate other scientists to participate in this platform