Introduction and Objectives of the EduaR&D Project Carried Out by Fh-ISI

Energy plays a central role in the economy of both industrialised and emerging countries. Every country is facing three major energy-related challenges in this century and over the next decades especially: The share of fossil fuels in current primary energy use, amounting to 80% globally and 78% in Europe, is likely to remain high during the next decades given the economics and limited acceptance of nuclear power and the (still) small economic potentials and market shares of renewable energies today and in the near future. This situation conflicts with the pressing need to reduce energy-related CO₂ emissions which are driving global climate change. These emissions cannot be sufficiently absorbed by the geosphere and have thus increased the atmospheric CO₂ concentration by 100 ppm or 35% since 1870. The impacts of climate change are a major threat to mankind in this century (IPCC, 2001, 2007).