FOGI advisory board meeting in Herzogenrath
On February 20 and 21, 2024, the semi-annual advisory board meeting of the Research Association of Industrial Furnace Manufactures (FOGI) took place at OWI Science for Fuels gGmbH in Herzogenrath. Almost 50 participants from research institutions and companies involved in research and development as well as the construction and operation of thermal processing plants came together to discuss research projects that FOGI supports in the field of industrial furnace construction.
The participants oft he FOGI advisory board meeting. (Photo: OWI)
At the beginning of the meeting, OWI Managing Director Dr. Wilfried Plum gave a review of the business activities of the research institute, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, as well as an outlook on the research activities of the future. These will be characterized above all by the integration of sustainable energy sources into production processes and innovative technologies to increase efficiency. In addition to tapping further potential for the electrification of furnace processes, combustion technologies will remain indispensable in thermal process technology, but in future they will be operated with new green energy sources such as hydrogen or ammonia. Existing energy-saving potential can be leveraged by systematically increasing efficiency through the integration of energy storage systems, process optimization using thermoacoustic sensors and adapting material compatibility to new energy sources.
The Advisory Board meeting focused on reports on recently completed and current research projects as well as the presentation of new project proposals. The program was rounded off with a tour of the research laboratories of OWI Science for Fuels and its parent company TEC4FUELS GmbH, which operates in the immediate vicinity of OWI as a research service provider for sustainable energy sources and efficiency technologies in mobile and stationary applications.
