Projects of the institute

Third-party funded projects - DFG funded

Third-party funded projects

  • HyNEAT - Hydrogen Supply Networks‘ Evolution for Air Transport
    Larger commercial aircraft powered by green H2 are a promising alternative for more climate-friendly aviation. The use of H2 can only contribute to climate protection if it is produced from renewable energy sources. In addition to the need to develop new propulsion systems and aircraft concepts, one of the greatest challenges is the deployment of a corresponding green and liquid H2 infrastructure that enables competitive costs for the operation of such aircraft.
    Led by: Dr. Etti Winter
    Team: M. Sc. Tobias Müller, Malte Gerberding
    Year: 2023
    Funding: Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung
  • Diversifizierung mit Hilfe von Agroforstsystemen: Wie gelingt in Deutschland der Wandel zu mehr Resilienz?
    Diversifizierte Landwirtschaftssysteme wie Agroforstsysteme gewinnen in den letzten Jahren wieder zunehmend an Bedeutung. Allerdings sind sie in Deutschland bisher kaum etabliert. Während viele Vorteile dieser Systeme für den Klimaschutz, den Erhalt der Biodiversität oder die Ernährungssicherung längst bekannt sind, stellt sich die Frage, warum nicht mehr Agroforstsysteme implementiert werden. Sind die Investitions- und Managementkosten zu hoch? Oder fehlt einfach das Wissen über Agroforstsysteme? Und tragen Agroforstsysteme in der Praxis wirklich dazu bei, landwirtschaftliche Unternehmen resilienter zu machen, indem sie deren Widerstands- und Anpassungsfähigkeit bei der Bewältigung von Krisen wie Dürren oder Überschwemmungen erhöhen? Vor dem Hintergrund der positiven Umwelt- und Klimaeffekte stellt sich die Frage, wie die Implementierung von Agroforstsystemen durch landwirtschaftliche Unternehmen konkret gefördert und umgesetzt werden kann. Hauptziel dieser Analyse ist es daher, praxisnahe Handlungsempfehlungen zur Förderung von Adoption und Erhalt von Agroforstsystemen zu erarbeiten. Die Studie umfasst zunächst eine systematische Literaturrecherche zur Erfassung des Status Quo zu Agroforstsystemen in Deutschland. Darauf aufbauend sollen Fokusgruppendiskussionen mit LandwirtInnen helfen, die Stärken, Schwächen, Chancen und Risiken von Agroforstsystemen zu erfassen. Darüber hinaus wird im Rahmen einer Online-Befragung von LandwirtInnen, der Wissensstand und die Einstellungen gegenüber Agroforstsystemen sowie Barrieren und Treiber bezüglich der Implementierung und dem Erhalt von Agroforstsystemen erfasst.
    Led by: Prof. Dr. Ulrike Grote
    Team: Prof. Dr. Ulrike Grote, Privatdozent Dr. Trung Thanh Nguyen, Robyn Blake-Rath, Ronja Seegers
    Year: 2023
    Funding: Edmund Rehwinkel-Stiftung der Landwirtschaftlichen Rentenbank
    Duration: 01.07.2023 – 31.07.2024
  • More resilience through digitalization? Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on marketing and online trade in the agri-food system.
    The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the fragility as well as underlying supply chain problems within the agricultural sector. In addition, it has led to many challenges, but also to new opportunities – resulting in corresponding adjustments in agricultural businesses. However, it remains unclear whether digitization is being driven as a result of the pandemic, whether marketing concepts are being adapted, and to what extent these changes are affecting farm resilience. The analysis is based on a three-stage resilience concept and primary data from an online survey of German farmers conducted in late 2021 to mid-2022.
    Led by: Prof. Dr. Ulrike Grote
    Team: Prof. Dr. Ulrike Grote, Robyn Blake-Rath
    Year: 2022
    Funding: Edmund Rehwinkel-Stiftung der Landwirtschaftlichen Rentenbank
    Duration: 01.03.2021 - 31.11.2022
  • Drivers of Change: Understanding the Process of Complex Technology Adoption in Sub-Saharan Africa
    The research focuses on the multi-dimensional process of technology adoption in small-scale farming households. Primary data from two agroforestry projects in Kenya, Malawi and Zambia are collected. Key research aspects include the identification of determinants of the adoption process of complex agroforestry technologies and the analysis of specific incentives regarding the promotion of innovations. Further, small-scale farmers’ aspirations and their respective impact on the adoption behavior will be analyzed.
    Team: M. Sc. Luzia Deißler, Prof. Dr. Ulrike Grote, Dr. Kai Mausch
    Year: 2021
    Funding: Council for Tropical and Subtropical Agricultural Research (ATSAF), World Agroforestry (ICRAF)
    Duration: 01.04.2021 - 01.03.2025
  • Hydrogen in sustainable aviation: Macroeconomic impacts and state intervention
    Germany needs alternatives to fossil fuels to realize the energy transition and climate targets 2050. Hydrogen represents a promising pathway. The momentum of a hydrogen economy affects the aviation sector. The objective of the project is a macroeconomic assessment of the hydrogen transition in Germany and its impacts on aviation. It aims to design a macroeconomic simulation model.
    Led by: Dr. Steven Gronau
    Team: Dr. Steven Gronau, M.Sc. Tobias Müller, B.Sc. Manuel Ehmann & B.Sc. Caroline Schwechheimer (Research Assistant)
    Year: 2021
    Funding: DFG Exzellenzcluster “SE²A – Sustainable and Energy Efficient Aviation”
    Duration: 01.12.2021-31.12.2023
  • Welfare Impacts of Sustainable Intensification Technologies in Smallholder Rice-Wheat Cropping Systems of the Eastern Indo-Gangetic Basin
    This research project evaluates the drivers and impacts of sustainable intensification (SI) technology adoption by smallholder farmers in the rice-wheat cropping systems of the Eastern Indo-Gangetic Basin (EIGB).
    Led by: PD Dr. Trung Thanh Nguyen
    Team: PD Dr. Trung Thanh Nguyen, Gokul P. Paudel, Dr. Jordan Chamberlin, Dr. Peter Craufurd
    Year: 2021
    Funding: Council for Tropical and Subtropical Agricultural Research (ATSAF), International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)
    Duration: 01.04.2021 – 01.03.2024
  • Tanzanian Socio Economic Panel Project (TASEP)
    TASEP stands for “Tanzanian Socio Economic Panel”. The aim of this research project is to better understand the welfare and nutritional situation of the rural population of Tanzania, the entrepreneurial activities of households and the life satisfaction and resilience of the local people. In addition, the project aims to shed light on the local effects of different types of shocks and the coping strategies used by the rural population, as well as to map long-term rural developments in developing rural regions characterized by extreme poverty.
    Led by: Prof. Dr. Ulrike Grote, Prof. Dr. Anja Faße, Prof. Dr. Christiana Weber
    Team: Prof. Dr. Ulrike Grote, Brigitte Ruesink, Eva Seewald
    Year: 2021
    Duration: since 2021
  • Interrelations between refugee and host communities in rural Zambia: A dynamic agent-based modeling application
    The research project focuses on a refugee camp in rural Zambia, where considerable refugee influxes from the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo are arriving. The core goal of the project is to investigate the interrelations between refugee and host communities in rural Zambia in the context of the rising number of refugee movements and the corresponding challenge to create long-term solutions.
    Led by: Dr. Steven Gronau
    Team: Dr. Steven Gronau, M.Sc. Brigitte Ruesink
    Year: 2020
    Funding: Leibniz Young Investigator Grant of the Leibniz University Hannover
    Duration: 01.07.2020 – 30.06.2022
    © Steven Gronau