• Endowed professorship ‘Application and Safety of Hydrogen Technologies’
• Importance of explosion protection in hydrogen technology
• Recruitment process for the professorship currently underway
• Funding of approximately €630,000 over five years

 Waldenburg/Jena, 16 November 2022 - R. STAHL and the Ernst Abbe University of Applied Sciences in Jena, Germany, are stepping up their successful research cooperation with the establishment of an endowed professorship in the safety and application of hydro­gen technologies. The professorship, which is based in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, is limited to five years and will be staffed and begin its work in the coming year. The job announcement for the position was published on 11 November.

Plans call for the new subject ‘Safety and Application of Hydrogen Technologies’ to be integrated into the student curriculum in the third bachelor's semester of the Industrial Engineering and Management program. In addition to the future holder of the endowed professorship, two other professors in the department already have experience in hydrogen technology. The Ernst Abbe University of Applied Sciences is the largest and most research-intensive university of applied sciences in Thuringia. Prof. Dr. habil. Frank Engelmann, who is responsible for coordination of the endowed professorship project on the part of the university, has already implemented a number of projects in the field of application-oriented research in an industrial environment with his scientific working groups.

With the newly-established professorship, hydrogen technologies will become a focal point in research, teaching and further education at the institute in Jena. “With the shift to new hydrogen applications as an energy carrier and storage medium in addition to being a source material for synthetic chemicals, opportunities abound, but so do new scientific questions. Developing and adapting existing safety concepts in this context is not only highly exciting, but also absolutely necessary”, says Engelmann with regard to further intensifying the cooperation with the Hohenlohe-based company.

“For R. STAHL, this was the logical next step in a very successful longstanding research cooperation”, says Dr. Andreas Kaufmann, Senior Vice President Marketing & Innovation at R. STAHL. The cooperation between academia and industry has already produced a broad range of innovative results, which include the EXpressure® series of enclosures. This line of enclosures even received the coveted Research Transfer Award of the Heilbronn-Franken Chamber of Industry and Commerce in 2021. Project support on the part of the explosion protection specialist is the responsibility of Prof. Dr. Thorsten Arnhold, Vice President Technology at R. STAHL, who laid the groundwork for the new endowed professorship together with Engelmann through the many years of cooperation with the University of Applied Sciences in Jena.

For R. STAHL, early contact with young, exceptionally well-trained specialists also pays off. Last but not least, the company hopes to gain an edge in strategic knowledge through its involvement in such research initiatives. The proximity of the University of Applied Sciences in Jena to the so-called chemical triangle in Leuna (Saxony-Anhalt) and Nordhausen in Thuringia, where the Germany-wide “Hydrogen Valley” will be established, guarantees a high level of practical relevance. 

(A picture of signing the contract is available for download at r-stahl.com/en/global/corporate/news/press-material/)

About R. STAHL – www.r-stahl.com
R. STAHL is the world's leading supplier of electrical and electronic products and systems for explosion protection. These products and systems prevent explosions in hazardous areas and contribute to the safety of people, machines and the environment. The portfolio ranges from products used in switching/distributing, installing, operating/monitoring, lighting and signalling/alarming up to automation. Typical customers are the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, the oil & gas industry - including LNG applications - as well as the food and beverage industry. Most of the R. STAHL products are also approved for use with hydrogen. In 2021 global sales amounting to around €248 million were generated by 1,672 employees. The shares of R. STAHL AG are traded on the Regulated Market/Prime Standard of Deutsche Boerse (ISIN DE000A1PHBB5).

About Ernst-Abbe-Hochschule Jena - www.eah-jena.de
The Ernst-Abbe-Hochschule Jena was founded in 1991 as one of the first Universities of Applied Sciences in the new federal states in the eastern part of Germany. Today, 50 different courses attract around 4,400 young people to what is now the largest and most research-intensive University of Applied Sciences in Thuringia. Its fields of study - engineering, business administration, social work and health - are closely interconnected to numerous Partners from science, business and society.

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R. STAHL AG
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