COMET-Programme
The strategic objectives of COMET are: developing new expertise by initiating and supporting long-term research co-operations between science and industry in top-level research, and extablishing and securing the technological leadership of companies. By advancing and bundling exting strengths and by integrating international research expertise Austria is to be strengthened as a research location for the long term.
The competence center BEST - Bioenergy and Sustainable Technologies GmbH is funded by BMK, BMAW and the federal states Vienna, Lower Austria und Styria within the scope of COMET - Competence Centers for Excellent Technologies. The program COMET is managed by the FFG.
As a link between academic research and industrial technology development, our vision is to develop and demonstrate sustainable and circular biorefinery processes and technologies for producing green gases, green liquid fuels, and green products, all of which will support the transition to a climate-neutral, zero-fossil-carbon economy. Consequently, the resource basis will be extended to include organic residues, wastes, and carbon dioxide. Conversion technologies will be enhanced or redesigned to ensure their efficient and economical operation, and to allow the value cycles based on new feedstocks to be integrated into the system. By using our excellent experimental facilities, ranging from lab to pilot and demonstration scale plants, our goal is to conduct applied research of the highest scientific quality.
We apply advanced digital methods for technology development, and for the basic automation, optimization, and monitoring of the operation of individual technologies and entire plants. With the help of holistic and technology-neutral planning tools, we ensure that biorefineries and energy supply technologies are optimally integrated into a sustainable, renewable energy system.
Success Stories
Due to the increased integration of renewable, mostly volatile energy and the increasing coupling of different sectors (electricity, heat, mobility), there is the need for an integrated energy system in which all components interact efficiently. The Styrian COMET Center BEST - Bioenergy and Sustainable Technologies GmbH researches and develops optimization-based, predictive control strategies for this purpose.
Smart control of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in microgrids by utilizing renewable energy technologies.
Raw material testing, carbon product production, technology development, energy integration, demonstration, monitoring.
In the project BIO-LOOP, innovative technologies are combined to develop a new concept for producing green hydrogen from biomass and solid waste.
In the BIO-LOOP project, biomass as well as oxygen carrier particles are utilised during chemical looping processes. Therefore, modeling their converion plays a central role for simulating real-world applications in fixed bed and fluidized bed reactors.
The aim of the BIO-LOOP project is to produce energy from biomass, while indirectly removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The project team searches for an ideal osygen carrier for chemical looping combustion to achieve this aim.
Intelligent digitalization solutions support the efficient operation of waste incineration plants and reduce pollutant emissions.
Construction has started on a new pilot plant in Vienna, Austria, which will demonstrate the conversion of waste materials into eco-friendly and carbon-neutral fuels.
Local and sustainable production of alge for use as healthy food ingredients. This is the aim of the "Algae4Food" project led by BEST - Bioenergy and Sustainable Technologies GmbH.
The application of an innovative control strategy for biomass boilers ensures savings in fuel and pollutant emissions.
The CleanAir by Biomass Project has shown that user training can reduce pollutant emissions from biomass heating systems by over 50 %. Launched in november 2019, the Citizen Science project CleanAir II is set to explore this topic in more detail for the province of Styria.
Economically optimized control and operating mode of complex energy networks of future city districts.
Evaluating real life emissions of biomass heating systems in a styrian model region in Austria.
BEST successfully completed a research project regarding mixed alcohol synthesis
with an international consortium. This is a further step from laboratory towards industry,
to use regional available biomass as feedstock for production of goods for the chemical
industry and of transportation fuel.