Sponsorship prizes awarded | Karl Kolle Prize and Leipzig Energy Prize awarded for outstanding graduation theses

Jan Schubert, Team Leader Heat, Asset Management at Netz Leipzig GmbH, presented Anastasia Gedicke (Energy, Building and Environmental Engineering, Bachelor's thesis 2019) and Martin Hafemann (Energy, Building and Environmental Engineering, Master's thesis 2019) with the Leipzig Energy Prize for their final theses in the field of energy technology. The prizes are endowed with 500 euros for Bachelor's theses and 1,000 euros for Master's theses.

KARL KOLLE Prize 2019/2020 | The award winners & their theses

Kevin Becker is currently studying for a Master's degree in General Management at the HTWK and works part-time in sales at Siemens AG.

He was awarded the KARL KOLLE Prize 2019 for his bachelor's thesis entitled "Preparation of a market analysis on the use of large water meters in the German drinking water industry". The thesis was supervised by Prof. Dr Andreas Hebestreit, Professor of Measurement and Sensor Technology at the Faculty of Engineering at HTWK Leipzig.

The aim of the bachelor's thesis was to analyse the market for the use of large water meters by drinking water suppliers in Germany in order to develop a future concept for Siemens AG. In addition to the measuring principles used, data transmission options and software solutions, this also includes the advantages and disadvantages of the respective variants. This analysis is based on the evaluation of interviews with 20 employees, 17 competitors and 11 selected customers of Siemens AG in order to provide a broad picture of water suppliers in Germany. The sales staff can use the information to compare measuring principles, data transmission options and software solutions for customer presentations. Determining the requirements for measuring devices for network monitoring and billing measurement played an important role. By analysing the survey, it was possible to obtain information on customer requirements for the corresponding products. Trends for future products were derived from the analysis. The work provides recommendations for marketing strategies, portfolio extensions and product enhancements. These can be taken up by employees in development and product management and used to create a future strategy for large water meters in Germany.

Lorenz Ziche is currently in his third semester of a Master's degree in mechanical engineering (Faculty of Engineering HTWK Leipzig) and is working as a research assistant in Prof Stephan Schönfelder's working group in the field of linking FE simulation and AI. He will be writing his Master's thesis in the coming semester at the Faserinstitut Bremen e.V. in the field of lightweight production technology.

He was awarded the KARL KOLLE Prize 2020 for his bachelor's thesis "Investigation and validation of methods for spatially resolved temperature determination within a weld seam during electrical resistance welding" . His thesis was supervised by Prof. Dr Eckhard Scholz, Professor of Software Technology and CAD in Mechanical Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering at HTWK Leipzig.

The bachelor's thesis at the Centre for Lightweight Production Technology at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Augsburg focuses on application-oriented basic research. In the thesis, electrical resistance welding is being further developed as a fast and clean joining process for the two-dimensional joining of carbon fibre-reinforced high-performance thermoplastics for use in aviation. As part of the development of a stable process control system, methods for spatially resolved temperature determination in the weld seam are being investigated and validated. In addition to carrying out practical tests, developing an automated data evaluation system and providing support through FE simulations, fundamental proposals for further optimisation of the process are being developed and experimentally validated.

The results are directly applied in the further development of the technology and raise new questions, which are already the basis for further research and final theses.

Robert Fromm is currently a doctoral student (HTWK doctoral scholarship) in the team of Prof Dr Faouzi Derbel, Professor of Smart Diagnostics and Online Monitoring in the Faculty of Engineering at HTWK Leipzig. His dissertation topic is "Investigations into the use of optimised wake-up receivers for the continuous reception operation of wireless sensor nodes".

He was awarded the KARL KOLLE Prize 2019 for his bachelor's thesis "Development and testing of a concept for the realisation of a miniaturised multi-sensor platform for the synchronous acquisition of multi-channel video and sensor data". The thesis was supervised by Prof. Matthias Sturm and Dr Mirco Fuchs from the Faculty of Engineering at HTWK Leipzig.

The aim of this bachelor's thesis is to develop and implement a concept for an embedded system platform that enables the synchronised acquisition of multiple video channels and various sensor data. The resulting data should be stored on the mobile system and transferred via an interface that is also to be realised. The platform is to be developed with regard to the requirements of a mobile system, in particular also taking into account the integration into a portable overall solution, such as a baseball cap. Such a system opens up completely new access to personal behavioural data, the collection and evaluation of which is of central importance in the areas of process analysis and market research, for example. At present, such information in these areas is mainly obtained on the basis of questionnaires, interviews, etc. and is therefore subject to various restrictions.

Maximilian Henkel, now a project engineer at EW Eichsfeldgas GmbH, was awarded the KARL KOLLE Prize 2019 for his master's thesis "Power to Gas: Potential and framework conditions for efficient sector coupling in the network area of EW Eichsfeldgas GmbH". The thesis was supervised by Prof. Dr Michael Kubessa from the Faculty of Engineering at HTWK Leipzig.

As part of his master's thesis, Maximilian Henkel adequately assessed the feasibility of a power-to-gas (PtG) plant in the EW Eichsfeldgas GmbH grid area from both a technical and economic perspective.

This technology offers the possibility of converting volatile electricity generated from renewable energies into "green gases" via the process steps of electrolysis and methanisation and storing it. With the help of the existing gas infrastructure and intelligent sector coupling, this energy can be utilised in the areas of electricity, heat and mobility.

By developing individual model concepts and business models at selected locations and taking into account the legal and authorisation-relevant framework conditions, Henkel was also able to show under which conditions the use of sector coupling technology makes sense and whether a PtG plant could already be operated economically today. To this end, a corresponding calculation tool was developed and a cost-benefit and sensitivity analysis was carried out with regard to various influencing parameters.

Henkel's master's thesis thus deals with one of the central challenges for the reorganisation of companies in the gas industry and represents an essential decision-making aid for the company involved in the future handling of the PtG process.

Leipzig Energy Award 2019/2020 | The award winners & their theses

Anastasia Gedicke is currently in the final stages of her Master's thesis, which will be submitted in February. The topic of the thesis is "Technically economical analysis of low-emission system concepts for gas preheating using the example of the gas pressure control and measuring systems of the Berlin ring pipeline system of ONTRAS". As the title suggests, she is writing her thesis at ONTRAS Gastransport GmbH.

She was awarded the Leipzig Energy Prize 2019 for her bachelor's thesis entitled "Investigation of electrical energy cost savings at the above-ground facility of the Katharina underground natural gas storage facility", which was supervised by Prof. Dr Michael Kubessa from the Faculty of Engineering at HTWK Leipzig and M.Sc. Philipp Ulbricht from Erdgasspeicher Peissen GmbH.

In her bachelor's thesis, Anastasia Gedicke investigated various options for reducing the energy costs of the Katharina underground gas storage facility (UGS), which is operated by Erdgasspeicher Peissen GmbH. The focus here was on the integration of renewable energy generation plants to cover the electrical base load of the OTA. Specifically, energy generation using photovoltaic and wind energy systems was analysed, with the main technical equipment required for integration at the OTA being specified. In addition to the design calculations carried out on the basis of the electrical base load, a detailed profitability analysis was carried out for the aforementioned in-house energy generation systems. In addition to the own energy generation, the cost saving potential in electricity trading by switching to short-term intraday trading was analysed. Based on the calculation results, the plant variants were compared and a final investment recommendation for the operator was derived.

Martin Hafemann is a research assistant in the team of Prof. Dr Jens Schneider, Professor of Networked Energy Systems at the Faculty of Engineering at HTWK Leipzig.

He was awarded the Leipzig Energy Prize 2019 for his master's thesis entitled "Energy-related structural change of an industrial estate towards an intelligent, networked and sustainable energy supply". The thesis was supervised by Prof. Dr Jens Schneider.

In his master's thesis, Martin Hafemann analysed the influence of various load management measures on the emissions and behaviour in the energy system of energy-intensive consumers using the example of a (fictitious) industrial estate. The aim was to identify generic control approaches for reducing emissions and making the behaviour of energy-intensive consumers more conducive to the system. In the first step, the energy structure of the industrial estate was modelled and evaluated in the EnergyPLAN software. Decentralised energy generation from volatile, renewable sources was then added to the system. This resulted in a fluctuating energy supply to which the energy system was to be adapted with load management measures (introduction of electrical and thermal storage systems, power-to-heat applications for the provision of process and heating energy, etc.). Sensitivity analyses were carried out for the individual load management measures with regard to their specific final energy costs in the energy system of the industrial estate. Using the data, networked models with various load management measures were created, analysed again and statements were made about possible conversion paths for the energy system.

KARL KOLLE FOUNDATION

The founder Karl Kolle saw it as his life's work to be involved in the social and community environment. The declared aim of the foundation is therefore very much the "education and upbringing" of young people, both at home and abroad.
The foundation was established in 1998 by Dortmund entrepreneur Karl Kolle. The foundation's assets are based on the company KODA Stanz- und Biegetechnik GmbH - a supplier to the automotive industry.
In addition to education, the most important areas of support include "science and research". In this combination, the foundation awards scholarships for particularly outstanding students and prizes for excellent scientific work.
Since 2006, the Karl Kolle Foundation has supported HTWK Leipzig students on study visits abroad and honours students for outstanding technical and scientific theses.
The Executive Board and the Board of Trustees of the KARL KOLLE Foundation jointly decide on the awarding of grants. The Board of Trustees comprises representatives from science, business and social fields of activity.