Horst Complex

prof.dr.ir. G. Brem (Gerrit)

Professor Emeritus
ET-SERVICES-MA
Horst Complex N232
g.brem@utwente.nl
+31534892561
Business card

I am a full professor in Energy Technology within the Department of Thermal and Fluid Engineering. I finished my PhD in 1990 on the 'Mathematical Modelling of Coal Combustion in a Fluidised Bed'. From 1979-2009 I have been a scientist/consultant at TNO in Apeldoorn and in 2009 appointed by TNO as a Senior Research Fellow. In 2000 I was appointed as a professor in Thermal Conversion Processes at the University of Twente and since 2009 I became a full professor.

I am an expert in the field of thermal conversion processes (pyrolysis, gasification, combustion, torrefaction) and in energy systems (conversion, storage and system analysis). I have carried out a large number of commercial research and development projects for national and international clients. Furthermore I have invented and developed new advanced conversion technologies and demonstrated in practice.

From 2011 I have been the Scientific Director of the PDEng programme (Professional Doctorate in Engineering) on Energy and Process Technology. The PDeng programme is a two years post-Master designer programme at the University of Twente. Since 2015 I was also a Scientific Director of the new Engineering Institute of the University of Twente. From 2013-2017 I have been a member of the Management Team of the Engineering Faculty.

Expertise

  • Chemistry

    • Biomass
    • Procedure
    • Reaction Temperature
    • Water Type
    • Bio-Oil
    • Combustion
    • Hydrothermal Carbonization
    • Fuel

Organisations

My research is focussed on:

- Thermal conversion processes (pyrolysis, gasification, combustion, torrefaction, etc)

- Energy conversion and storage

- Emission reduction (CO2, NOx, CO, dioxines, etc)

- Production of fuels (biofuels, solar fuels)

- Ambient CO2 capture

- Industrial technology (fluidised bed, grate furnaces, rotary kilns, cyclones, dryers, etc)

Publications

2025

Systematic integration of high temperature heat pumps in industrial multi-energy systems (2025)Applied thermal engineering, 278. Article 127440. Sharevska, M., Sharevska, M., Brem, G., Hoogsteen, G., Hurink, J. & Hajimolana, Y.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.127440Comprehensive study of high temperature heat pump configurations: A framework of performance and application (2025)Energy, 334. Article 137525. Sharevska, M., Sharevska, M., Brem, G., Hoogsteen, G., Hurink, J., Pozarlik, A. & Hajimolana, Y.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2025.137525Cyclability of Thermochemical materials: Quantifying microstructural evolution and its impact on packed bed performance (2025)[Thesis › PhD Thesis - Research UT, graduation UT]. University of Twente. Arya, A.https://doi.org/10.3990/1.9789036568746Synergistic effect of sepiolite as an active binder for enhancing mechanical stability of porous K2CO3 granules in thermochemical heat storage (2025)Chemical Engineering Journal Advances, 23. Article 100783. Salehzadeh, D., Elahi, B., ten Elshof, J. E., Brem, G. & Mehrali, M.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceja.2025.100783Quantifying volume variation and agglomeration in thermochemical materials: An in-situ measurement methodology (2025)Journal of Energy Storage, 124. Article 116877. Arya, A., Beving, M., Mahmoudi, A., Brem, G., Donkers, P. A. J. & Shahi, M.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2025.116877A comprehensive study on the effect of the pyrolysis temperature on the products of the flash pyrolysis of waste tires (2025)Journal of environmental chemical engineering, 13(2). Article 115468. Ramani, B., Anjum, A., Bramer, E., Dierkes, W., Blume, A. & Brem, G.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2025.115468Expansion work recovery in an industrial heat pump (2025)[Thesis › EngD Thesis]. University of Twente. Jain, B.Modeling TORWASH® technology for biomass conversion into valuable products (2025)[Thesis › EngD Thesis]. University of Twente. Tavakoli, S.Electrically driven nucleation for enhanced control of salt hydrate hydrogel heat release in long-term thermal storage applications (2025)Journal of Energy Storage, 106. Article 114816. Peng, S., Helthuis, N. G. J., ten Elshof, J. E., Brem, G. & Mehrali, M.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2024.114816

2024

Boosting stability of K2CO3 granules for thermochemical heat storage applications through innovative membrane encapsulation (2024)Chemical Engineering Journal, 500. Article 157042. Elahi, B., Salehzadeh, D., Vos, W. M. d., Shahidzadeh, N., Brem, G. & Mehrali, M.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2024.157042

Research profiles

I am involved in the following educational programmes:

- MSc Mechanical Engineering

- MSc Sustainable Energy Technology

- PDEng Energy and Process Technology

Affiliated study programs

Courses academic year 2025/2026

Courses in the current academic year are added at the moment they are finalised in the Osiris system. Therefore it is possible that the list is not yet complete for the whole academic year.

Courses academic year 2024/2025

I am involved in various national and international projects in the fields of: combustion, gasification, pyrolysis,  recovery of materials, etc.

Below projects from the last 5 years:

Address

University of Twente

Horst Complex (building no. 20), room N232
De Horst 2
7522 LW Enschede
Netherlands

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Organisations

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