The boom in electric vehicles in Germany is currently driven substantially by the larger plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), with company cars accounting for more than three quarters of registrations. In the real world, these vehicles are driven much more frequently using their combustion engine and therefore emit far more CO2 than hitherto assumed in the calculations of German greenhouse gas emissions for 2030.

How can energy-optimised, climate-neutral buildings be better – along the entire life cycle of a building, from planning to manufacture, production, construction and operation, maintenance and modernisation, and recycling? ifeu supports this with BIM-based sustainability assessment in the BMWi-funded MobiDik project.

In a new study, ifeu – Institute for Energy and Environmental Research Heidelberg – has identified the environmental footprint of 200 everyday foods and dishes. It turns out, whether an apple is better for the environment and climate than a pineapple depends less on the fruit itself but rather on the conditions in which it is produced.

After 20 years of EEG funding, the first operators of biogas plants are faced with the question of whether, and if so, under what conditions they can continue to operate. In the joint project REzAB, this question was examined through an inventory and analysis of 14 specific biogas plants.

In the KlimRess project, ifeu, together with adelphi research (project lead) and the University of Queens, has investigated the possible effects of climate change on ecological risks of mining and raw material supply chains using five case studies for nine raw materials.

Despite increasing recycling efforts, the globally growing demand for raw materials in the coming decades will have to be covered mainly by mining. This has significant effects on the environment. 50 raw materials were evaluated on their environmental hazard potential for an UBA study. More than half of them have a high environmental hazard potential because mining may affect protected areas, or pollute soil and water with heavy metals, acids or radioactivity.

Municipalities are a central field of action for combating climate change and the transition to an ecologically sound, low-carbon energy system. As part of the Sino-German Climate Partnership Scientists, scientists from ifeu, in cooperation with Beijing-based Innovative Green Development Program (iGDP) and Klaus Hoppe Consulting (Freiburg) prepared a guideline for Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAPs) and discussed it in an online conference with representatives from various Chinese cities and research organizations.

ifeu has developed iBRoad – the individual Building Renovation Roadmap – together with twelve partners from nine European countries. iBRoad is an energy consultancy service for building owners that leads to sustainable energy consumption through several renovation steps. An online building logbook supports the owners on this path. iBRoad is one of three nominees for the EUSEW Award in the category Innovations. Vote with us!

ifeu has developed the MobiliseYourCity Emissions Calculator on behalf of the MobiliseYourCity Initiative to help cities and countries assess the GHG impact of their SUMPs (Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan) and NUMPs (National Urban Mobility Policies and Investment Programmes).

Road freight traffic is responsible for more than one third of the national greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector – and is likely to increase in the future. Climate-neutral freight transport must play a key role for Germany to achieve its climate goals. A new joint Policy Brief by Fraunhofer ISI, the Oeko Institut and ifeu shows that the overhead line technology has great potential for CO2 savings and can be economically viable.