{"id":3761,"date":"2024-05-03T13:40:37","date_gmt":"2024-05-03T13:40:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prod.zbt.compositas.io\/zentrum\/"},"modified":"2026-09-08T12:17:34","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T12:17:34","slug":"institute","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/zbt.de\/en\/institute\/","title":{"rendered":"Institute"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Overview of ZBT<\/h1>\n

Application-oriented hydrogen, fuel cell and electrolysis research takes place in Duisburg at ZBT - The Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Center.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Since its foundation in 2001, ZBT has been bridging the gap between fundamental university research and the development departments of industry.<\/p>\n

Over more than 20 years, ZBT has built up comprehensive expertise in application-oriented research in the fields of fuel cells, hydrogen and electrolysis. Thanks to its expertise, ZBT is a sought-after research and development partner, as well as a consultancy service provider.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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ZBT is a non-profit<\/strong> limited liability company (gGmbH); since 2005, the University of Duisburg-Essen has been its sole shareholder.<\/p>\n

The managing director is Dr Peter Beckhaus<\/strong> (left), whilst Prof. Dr Harry E. Hoster<\/strong> (right) holds the position of scientific director. Our commercial director, Jonas Sudhoff, and operations manager, Bernd Oberschachtsiek, complete the management team.<\/p>\n

As a member of the Johannes-Rau-Forschungsgemeinschaft<\/strong> (Johannes Rau Research Association), ZBT receives support from the Ministry for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Action and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.<\/p>\n

The approximately 180 staff members at ZBT have access to an outstanding technical infrastructure<\/strong> , which includes, amongst other things, production facilities, test facilities, chemical laboratories and high-tech analytical equipment. State-of-the-art IT and software tools round off the portfolio.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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Departments<\/h1>\n

In our seven scientific departments<\/strong>, numerous scientists work daily on research and industrial projects addressing practical issues related to fuel cells<\/strong>, hydrogen<\/strong>, and electrolysis<\/strong>. The scope of these projects ranges from functional materials to components and systems, and even extends to entire infrastructures. Manufacturing processes are also being studied and refined to pave the way for cost-effective mass production. <\/p>\n

It’s worth noting that many people in our Technical Services and Business Services departments work hard to keep things running smoothly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Electrochemical Components<\/h4>\n

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Electrolysis<\/h4>\n

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Fuel Cell Systems<\/h4>\n

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Fuel Cells & Stacks<\/h4>\n

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Fuels & Processes<\/h4>\n

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Hydrogen Infrastructure<\/h4>\n

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New Materials & Technologies<\/h4>\n

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Equipment<\/h3>\n

We have just significantly expanded the media supply capabilities in our main laboratory<\/strong> so that we can also conduct testing in higher power classes, such as for mobility applications. We develop and build most of our high-tech test benches<\/strong> ourselves. In addition, we have a wide range of high-performance analytical instruments<\/strong> for material characterisation, such as an X-ray microscope, a 3D microscope, and a thermogravimetric analyser. <\/p>\n

In addition, the ZBT has now established a robust ammonia infrastructure<\/strong> to further develop technologies related to this hydrogen derivative. And at our hydrogen test facility<\/strong>, we can build entire systems, combine them, and study how they interact. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ex-situ analysis\n <\/h3>\n <\/i>\n <\/div>\n
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Subscribe to the ZBT newsletter<\/h2>\n
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Sign up here if you\u2019re interested in news from the ZBT. We send out a newsletter roughly every two months.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n\n

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