Achieving Net-Zero at a County Level: MN and Germany Learn from Each Other

Achieving net-zero in the race to address climate change requires both political leadership and holistic technical solutions. Counties are a key arena where solutions need to be implemented–in Minnesota and in Germany.

Please join two Germans who have been helping their counties decarbonize in remarkable ways and, through the U of M’s Climate-Smart Municipalities network, are working with county-level leaders in Minnesota to achieve similar results. Professor Christof Wetter and Professor Elmar Bruegging will talk about a systems approach to achieving net-zero.

Anyone interested in energy storage, renewable hydrogen, anaerobic digestion, waste management and resource efficiency will walk away with new insights. RSVP Here.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christof Wetter is a full professor at FH Münster University of Applied Sciences in the faculty of Energy, Buildings Services and Environmental Engineering, which he headed as dean from 2008 to 2012. For many years, he has been involved with biogas technology, renewable energy, electro-mobility, and hydrogen projects and developed a number of new concepts. Since 2017, twenty of his students have served as Climate Smart Municipality interns with the cities of Duluth, Elk River, Morris, Rochester, St. Cloud, St. Paul, White Bear Lake and Olmsted County. Over the past 30 years, Dr. Wetter has been involved in many environmental technology projects. He has served as project engineer, project manager, consultant and adviser. 

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Elmar Brügging is a full professor at FH Münster University of Applied Sciences. He heads a research group with 45 employees. The research group works on topics that are key for the energy and sustainability transition: 1. Sector coupling: heat transition, renewable electricity production and storage, hydrogen production and hydrogen applications 2. Wastewater and environmental technology: industrial wastewater treatment, dark fermentation, high-load fermentation 3. Biogas and agriculture: production and use of biogas, slurry and digestate processing, nitrogen and phosphorus recovery.