"I'm very much interested in a sound understanding of chemical processes and in transferring research into practical systems involving catalysis, reactor design and fabrication know-how."

The research group of Gunther Kolb focuses on developing intensified processes for energy related applications through catalyst development, micro reaction engineering and overall understanding of the processes envisaged. Detailed know-how exists in the design and operation of microreactors for high temperature heterogeneously catalyzed reactions and their scale-up.

The group's research focuses in particular on:

• Development of robust and poisoning resistant catalysts for fuel processing, in particular reforming of (poly) alcohol fuels and water-gas shift.
• Sustainable fuel synthesis through application of renewable sources such as organic residues.
• Application of microstructured reactors for energy related processes.
• Overall process modelling with special focus on designing fuel processors/ fuel cell systems as distributed generators of electric energy.

Gunther Kolb studied Chemical Engineering at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (Germany). He graduated in 1989, until 1993 he worked at his PhD under supervision of Prof. Hanns Hofmann, thesis title 'Deactivation, coke formation and coke extraction over zeolitic catalysts'. He then moved to GRACE Davison in Worms (Germany) to work at the R&D department Refining Catalysts Europe. In 2001 he started working at the Institut für Mikrotechnik Mainz (IMM, Germany) where he became group leader Process Engineering and Heterogeneous Catalysis, in 2007 Head of the newly formed Energy Technology and Catalysis Department, in 2016 Head of the Division Energy and Chemical Technology of now Fraunhofer IMM. In 2010 Kolb was appointed part-time full professor of Micro Flow Energy Technology at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). His research interest is in the fields of energy related processes,(micro-) reactor technology and catalysis. He is author of more than 90 peer-reviewed publications, several book-chapters and of the book “fuel processing for fuel cells�.

• Fraunhofer IMM, Mainz, Germany

 Partners in (semi-)industry

• Diehl Aerospace, Germany
• Evonik, Germany
• Microinnova, Austria