A survey of energy-related research projects in the last five years at university departments and COMET centers affiliated with the Montanuniversität Leoben (MUL) identified a total of more than 160 projects. These projects employ the equivalent of more than 150 full-time staff, with total funding of approximately €50 million and a total project volume of approximately €80 million.
The following figure clearly shows where the focal points in the energy sector lie at the Montanuniversität Leoben. The greatest strengths lie in the area of materials development for chemical and electrical energy storage, followed by the research field of industrial process development. Other strengths include, for example, the areas of electricity, gas, and hydrogen networks, demand-side management and efficiency improvements in industry, process optimization and the conversion and storage of green energy sources.

Key areas of selected chairs in the field of energy engineering

Energy Network Technology: The Multi Energy Systems (MES) research area focuses on integrated, hybrid energy networks, which will become increasingly important in the future energy system as energy sectors become more interconnected. The Industrial Energy Systems research area focuses on optimizing industrial energy systems with the goal of transforming them in the context of climate neutrality.

Process Technology and Industrial Environmental Protection: The objective of the Energy Process Engineering research group is to integrate renewable energy into industrial production processes, utilize CO₂ as a raw material, and develop energy process engineering methods to close material cycles. The Renewable Materials Processing working group focuses on converting biogenic materials into renewable raw materials.

Thermal Processing Technology: The High-Temperature Process Engineering Working Group addresses specific metallurgical and process engineering challenges at temperatures above 1000 °C. A key focus is on energy-intensive industries (iron and steel, cement, glass, and others). Projects are often supported from the theoretical stage (mathematical modeling and simulation) through implementation on a laboratory scale to the industrial pilot plant.

Physical Chemistry: The research focuses on functional ceramics for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs), and catalytic processes on heterogeneous catalyst surfaces in the fields of renewable energy and chemical energy storage and conversion. Key research questions include material design, mass and charge transport properties, electrochemistry, and degradation mechanisms of SOFCs and SOECs.

General and Analytical Chemistry: The Corrosion Working Group focuses on basic research and technological developments in the field of chemical and mechanical corrosion to gain a deeper understanding of corrosion mechanisms. This research has a significant impact on the development of materials with improved corrosion resistance, which is particularly important in the areas of hydrogen and CO₂ transport and storage.

Ferrous Metallurgy: The Metallurgical RedOx Processes research group is dedicated to investigating and advancing processes for iron and steel production. The research focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in both conventional process routes and the development of new low-carbon processes.

Physical Metallurgy: The Computational Materials Science research group focuses on computer-aided materials modeling, with an emphasis on modeling the crystallographic phases of metals, intermetallic phases, or precipitates, as well as modeling nanostructures. The Advanced Steels research group works on the development and optimization of high-performance steels. In both cases, the goal is to develop new materials and steels for the energy and transportation sectors in order to increase energy efficiency.

Reservoir Engineering: The areas of focus for the Chair of Reservoir Engineering include geothermal energy, geological hydrogen storage and hydrogen methanation in the subsurface, geological CO₂ storage for the decarbonization of hard-to-abate industrial emissions, and the optimization of oil production.