SAFE – Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry Explained focuses on the targeted networking of science and society. The emphasis here is on cooperation, joint design and joint production of knowledge between researchers, industry players, political decision-makers and practitioners. To make this possible, a special framework in the form of a living lab is being created. A living lab is a freely accessible area where research meets practice and where everyone can explore, experience and actively learn. To this end, an approximately 1.5-hectare site at the Montanuniversität Leoben is being converted into a communication and science location for sustainable technologies related to soil health, diversity and the sustainable use of resources. This location is particularly well suited due to its proximity to the university’s newly established research centre for hydrogen and carbon.
In addition, the site offers direct access to heavily frequented cycling and hiking trails and is located within the city limits of Leoben.
The SAFE Living Lab shall include:
SAFE is intended to serve as a regional flagship project for direct exchange and, through the implementation of a living lab, act as a bridge between research, industry and society. With these goals in mind, SAFE aims to make a significant contribution to:
The key to success lies in engaging, inspiring, and actively involving a broad range of people, mobilizing them to participate in content-driven participatory and educational processes. These individuals will, in turn, act as multipliers, spreading knowledge and competences within their own communities.
Project Partners:
This research project is funded in whole or in part by the “Connecting Minds” initiative of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) 10.55776/CMW2614425.
The project aims to produce hydrogen and synthesis gas as sustainable energy sources on the one hand, and high-quality carbon on the other, based on the pyrolysis of biomass and subsequent conversion of the pyrolysis gas in a metal bath reactor.
The carbon captured from the atmosphere by plants during photosynthesis is permanently captured as elemental solid carbon through the combined pyrolysis and thus no longer returns to the atmosphere.
Project content:
Applications of high-purity carbon include:
Partners for future work limited to basic research with the help of the requested funds are: voestalpine AG, Ministry of Agriculture, Schunk Carbon Technology, Marienhütte Stahl- und Walzwerks GmbH, Montanwerke Brixlegg, Industriepark Arnoldstein, RHI Magnesita, Primetals Austria AG, OMV, CEMTEC GmbH, etc.
Impact:
For the Upper Styria region, a positive impact is expected for the hydrogen-using industry, as well as an incentive for companies involved in the use of high-purity carbon in high-tech applications and agriculture to settle in the area. In addition, an innovative research and development facility will also greatly enhance the location of the Montanuniversität Leoben in Upper Styria and create extensive new opportunities in the field of hydrogen and carbon research.
This project is funded by the Just Transition Fund (JTF) of the EU. Detailed information on the EFRE- & JTF funding programmes can be found under www.efre.gv.at
On 3 June, the new educational project MOSA – short for Montanuni Outdoor Science Activities – was officially launched. Numerous interested visitors, including pupils from the Leoben district as well as students and staff from the Montanuniversität, accepted the invitation to participate. Together, they planted 1,600 plants in carbon-enriched soil along the newly created nature trail next to the university’s research center for hydrogen and carbon.
MOSA stands for practical learning outdoors with all senses. The project brings research from the university directly to the field and demonstrates in an exciting way how resources can be used effectively. Through stations along the new nature trail, students, teachers and the interested public can interactively experience how new technologies, circular economy, biodiversity, carbon applications and renewable resources intertwine.
On the newly created area, the Montanuniversität Leoben enables active understanding of different future scenarios and thus also makes a significant contribution to the implementation of sustainable technologies.
Sustainable Carbon Supply and Energy Mining based on Methane decomposition is seen as a major contribution to a future carbon footprint reduction while maintaining a sustainable supply with raw materials and green energy.
Natural gas is the fossil fuel containing the least impurities with an estimated global resource of around 800 trillion m³. Although the composition of natural gas can vary to some extent, its primary component is methane, CH4. By endothermic decomposition (methane pyrolysis) methane can be split into its components carbon and hydrogen (H2) where especially hydrogen is of interest as a future alternative for various industrial applications. Additionally, there is a high potential for various large-scale applications of carbon, especially in construction and agriculture, if the carbon is available at a lower price than from presently available resources.
