Team from the Max Planck Institute in Magdeburg receives Hugo Junkers Prize for Research and Innovation - Key technology for improved storage of renewable energies
Key technology for improved storage of renewable energies is awarded the research and innovation prize of the state of Saxony-Anhalt.
On June 11, 2026, a team from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems in Magdeburg was awarded the Hugo Junkers Prize for Research and Innovation of the state of Saxony-Anhalt. The team received first place in the category "Special Prize: Most Innovative Projects and Initiatives for Adapting to Climate Change".
The Minister of Science of the State of Saxony-Anhalt, Prof. Dr. Armin Willingmann , presented the award to the winners Prof. Dr.-Ing. Kai Sundmacher , Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ronny Tobias Zimmermann , Luisa Peterson and Alexander Geschke for the project “CoSeCats – a scalable, load-flexible catalyst-reactor system for the chemical storage of renewable energy”.
The developed catalyst-reactor system enables the efficient use of surplus renewable energy from sources like solar or wind power to produce energy storage molecules through chemical processes . This approach is not only highly innovative but also offers a high degree of applicability. Thanks to the special catalyst pellets, it is possible to develop flexible, safe, and cost-effective processes that enable the large-scale production of chemical energy carriers, such as methane.
An undesirably high temperature increase is prevented by the multi-layered structure of the catalyst pellets . Such temperature peaks can occur during dynamic load fluctuations due to the highly variable availability of renewable energies in the processes.
The CoSeCats project impressively demonstrates that fundamental research can deliver crucial key innovations for the success of the energy transition if scientists are given sufficient time and creative freedom to pursue unconventional ideas. The development of CoSeCats took place over a period of eight years in interdisciplinary collaboration within the Process Engineering Department at the Max Planck Institute in Magdeburg, headed by CDS member Prof. Dr.-Ing. Kai Sundmacher . The research activities ranged from the synthesis of initial catalyst samples and their evaluation on a laboratory scale to successful demonstration in an industry-like pilot plant.