KIT and Bilfinger Noell have been cooperating since 2007, especially in the field of superconducting undulators. A successful example of the technology transfer of both partners in another field is the mobile cloud chamber PINE (Portable Ice Nucleation Experiment), which researchers of the Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK) of KIT and Bilfinger Noell have jointly developed and built since 2018. At RESEARCH TO BUSINESS, we have already reported in detail about the product-oriented cooperation in July 2019.
More about the project

Mobile measurement of ice nuclei

Ice nucleating particles (INPs) are a subspecies of airborne aerosols. As the term suggests, they are responsible for ice formation in the atmosphere. Water vapor is deposited on the particles floating around, forming water droplets from which entire clouds are formed. Due to the action of the ice nucleus particles, some droplets freeze into ice crystals even at temperatures between 0 and -35°C. For example, desert sand floating around has been shown to be an INP. As the number of ice crystals in a mixed cloud increases, so does the probability of precipitation. Until now, it was only possible to measure which and how many of such ice nucleus particles could be found in the atmosphere using very time-consuming methods and with low temporal resolution. In the technology transfer project PINE, a fully automated instrument for measuring the concentration of ice-forming particles was developed. The mobile measuring instrument can be used both in the field, e.g. at mountain stations or other meteorological measuring stations, and for research work on ice nucleation in the laboratory.