Visit of the Mayor of Zittau to the DLR Institute of Low-Carbon Industrial Processes
On July 19, 2021, the Mayor of the city of Zittau, Thomas Zenker, took a look at the ZiRa pilot plant at the DLR Institute of Low-Carbon Industrial Processes of the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Against the backdrop of the energy transition, the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions is one of the greatest challenges of the future. An economically viable transformation of industrial processes into low-carbon technologies also plays a decisive role in this. To this end, the DLR Institute of Low-Carbon Industrial Processes at its Cottbus and Zittau sites is researching the industrial use of high-temperature heat pumps.
Mayor Thomas Zenker joined two representatives of the Saxon State Ministry of Economics, Labor and Transport in Zittau to find out both about the construction progress in the Mandauhöfe, where the institute will be housed from 2022, and about the ZiRa pilot plant. The name ZiRa is derived from Zittau and the Rankine process of thermodynamics, which will be the basis for the plant's operation. The scientists are using the pilot plant to conduct extensive research. Their goal is to advance the heat transition in industry with innovative technology and to demonstrate a way to decarbonize energy-intensive industrial sectors. The ZiRa pilot plant is currently still under construction and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2022.