A prototype of the solar charging station has been located in front of the O-building of Paderborn University at the junction of Pohlweg/Fanny-Nathan-Straße since 08.05.2019. The installed prototype is shown in Figure 3.1. The energy generated via the two solar modules is stored in two AGM batteries and used to charge electric bicycles or electric motor scooters as needed. The entire charging station weighs about 500kg. As it is a non-grid connected system, it can be placed at any position.

To kick off the DAAD-funded project "Start-Up Factory Kumasi - Paderborn" (2015-2018), Daniela Peters (TecUP / International Business) and Tobias Klaus (NEK) travelled to Kumasi and Accra for a fortnight in mid-June to discuss the schedule for the coming year with their colleagues and project partners. In addition to several meetings with colleagues from the Physics Department of the KwameNkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), which is one of the best universities in sub-Saharan Africa, the two from Padreborn presented the project to the German Embassy in Accra, the capital of Ghana, the German Chamber of Commerce in Accra and several ministries.

Start-up Factory Ghana - Smart tropical house

rom 22 to 26 July, a mini-conference of the "Start-up Factory Ghana" took place. Students and teachers from the Paderborn University and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi (Ghana) met to jointly promote innovation in Ghana.

The goal of the DAAD-funded cooperation project "Start-Up Factory Kumasi" of the universities in Paderborn University and Kumasi is the development of a tropical passive house - the "smart tropical house". One focus is also on cooperation between the university and companies. 14 students from KNUST are accompanying the project and working with the German students on tasks in the fields of architecture, air conditioning, business planning, photovoltaics and energy management. For example, Joshua Kweku Aidoo and Ruth Amoakohene are measuring the influence of different exterior façade coatings on the interior temperature of houses in Ghana.

The "smart tropical house" project focuses on reducing the currently very high energy demand in the domestic field. Due to the high outside temperatures in the African country, sufficient cooling of the interior fields is particularly important. Until now, this has been done through the use of air-conditioning systems. However, due to the insufficient insulation of the houses, a lot of energy is needed to keep warm air out. In addition, the idea focuses on improving groundwater purification to ensure a more hygienic and healthier water supply for households.

The project started in September 2015 and will enter into one-year collaborations with Ghanaian founders over a period of four years. In addition to realising the start-up idea, it is also important to anchor the basic idea of founding new business ideas and innovative technologies - what is founding, what does it mean and what steps are necessary for realisation? In this context, the Technology Transfer & Start-up Centre of Paderborn University (TecUp) offered a business workshop for the Ghanaian students and lecturers on 26 July. There, they were given an understanding of the development steps from the idea to the concrete business project and, in addition, the discourse on the needs and the realisation potentials of ideas in the Ghanaian context was promoted.

Even though the problems of insufficient groundwater purification and thermal insulation are prevalent in many African countries, Ghana's economic growth, scientific progress and economic and political stability make it a cooperation partner that offers very good basic conditions.

In addition to increasing the efficiency, the aim of the project is to increase the service life of photovoltaic modules by integrating high-capacity, polymer-bound phase change materials with increased thermal conductivity.

The project is being worked on by KET and industrial partners.

Wind farm operators are always striving to increase economic success, and remuneration by means of the Energy Feed-In Act (EEG) often loses importance. Although remuneration on the basis of the EEG is simple and convenient, the aim here is also to participate in the energy market. Especially under the aspect of the increasing provision of electrical energy from renewable sources, the integration of renewable energies into the energy market is becoming more and more important.

The short-term prediction of wind speeds (or energy yield) helps here and is an essential component in energy marketing. This makes it possible for energy providers to offer exactly (as far as possible) the capacity on the market that is generated by the portfolio of wind turbines and parks.

One of the prediction algorithms used is a Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) which is fed with pressure and wind speed data to create a prediction for a specific point. The RNN must be trained for the forecast, for which information on the pressure at 25 different locations in and near the North Sea and Baltic Sea is first used, which is provided by the marine weather service of the German Weather Service. A successful forecast provides pressure information at the 25 points which, in combination with the Kriging algorithm, is converted into an area so that wind speed forecasts can be made for desired points in the area. High and low pressure areas can be identified via this pressure distribution, and wind speed and direction can be inferred through calculations.