CVET GmbH was founded in 2012 – but the work the company rests on is older. It comes from publicly funded research projects whose results were documented, published and, in several cases, remain freely accessible. This page brings them together, with sources, so that what we claim can be checked.
1989–2000: Process optimisation as a shared starting point
It begins with the collaboration between Karl-Heinz Dammeyer and Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Otto Carlowitz, who met in 1989 during Dammeyer’s studies. At the Institute for Process Optimisation and Waste Disposal Engineering at Braunschweig/Wolfenbüttel University of Applied Sciences, they built the competencies that would later form the core of CVET: process optimisation, plant engineering, energy technology and emission control.
From 2000 onwards, Olaf Neese was Prof. Carlowitz’s first research associate at the CUTEC Institute of TU Clausthal (Institute of Environmental Sciences, IUW).
AG Abgas: research into the fundamentals of exhaust air treatment
In parallel, the AG Abgas working group took shape at the CUTEC Institute – its members including Prof. Carlowitz, T. Reindorf, O. Neese, S. Meyer and K. Dammeyer. Its field: exhaust gas flows, combustion processes, emissions, exhaust gas cleaning and the optimisation of thermal processes.
Łukasz Piech came to TU Clausthal from Wrocław University of Science and Technology as part of a student exchange and joined AG Abgas. He took over the work on FTIR spectroscopy (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) and thus on the instrumental determination of gaseous exhaust components – a measurement foundation that sits inside every CVET project to this day.
A central topic of those years was the formation of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in regenerative thermal oxidation (RNV, internationally RTO) plants. The research project “Formation and reduction of nitrogen oxides from fuel-bound nitrogen compounds in thermal exhaust gas treatment plants with regenerative air preheating” examined when fuel-bound nitrogen leads to exceedances of German air quality limits (TA Luft) and which abatement measures are effective.
IGF project no. 14084 N of the DECHEMA research association, funded under the German Industrial Collective Research (IGF) programme.
Project description at DECHEMA · detailed results
2000: The first automotive assignment
In the same year, Olaf Neese and Prof. Carlowitz prepared a comparison of two dryer concepts for Volkswagen: regenerative thermal oxidation (RNV) versus thermal oxidation (TNV).
This project is the starting point for everything that followed. It also shows the team’s characteristic approach: bringing together process engineering expertise, energy assessment and measurement-based analysis – and judging technical solutions under real industrial conditions rather than on paper.
Measurement as the foundation: CUTEC’s §26-Messstelle
Founded in 1990 by the State of Lower Saxony, the CUTEC Institute worked on environmentally oriented process engineering, emission reduction and efficient use of energy and resources. Its infrastructure included a §26-Messstelle – a measurement body officially notified under German federal immission control law to carry out emission measurements. Karl-Heinz Dammeyer served there as deputy head of the measurement body.
Until 2012, the later founders and staff of CVET developed their expertise in this environment: emission measurement, plant measurement, exhaust gas diagnostics and the assessment of real operating conditions in industrial plants.
The doctorate: from exhaust gas to dryers
While still at the CUTEC Institute, Dr.-Ing. Olaf Neese began his doctoral research. It started with RNV plants and the demanding task of cleaning exhaust gases containing organosilicon compounds, where solid deposits impair both plant operation and cleaning performance.
Over the course of the work, the focus shifted: from exhaust gas treatment towards the optimisation of industrial drying plants in the automotive industry. Begun at CUTEC, the dissertation was completed at CVET GmbH.
Neese, O.: Analyse und Erprobung von Konzepten zur Senkung des Primärenergieeinsatzes bei bestehenden Lacktrocknersystemen am Beispiel der Automobilindustrie. Doctoral thesis, TU Clausthal, Papierflieger-Verlag, Clausthal-Zellerfeld 2015.
2005–2012: Seven years of funded development
Across several independently funded projects, the technical foundation of LAVA took shape.
Catalysts in thermal oxidation
The project “Exhaust gas treatment in automotive painting”, funded by the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU), investigated how retrofitted catalytic stages could balance the heat produced by thermal oxidation against the heat actually needed by the paint dryer. The finding: the primary energy demand of thermal oxidation plants can be reduced substantially while still coming in well below required clean gas values. The final report cites a 27 % natural gas saving on the first top coat line. Three of today’s CVET managing directors are among the authors.
Funded under file number 26471-22 by the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt; cooperation partners: CUTEC-Institut GmbH, Volkswagen AG, Luft- und Thermotechnik Bayreuth GmbH.
Final report PDF (freely accessible, German)
Burner technology
In 2008 came the “Development and testing of a burner technology for use in thermal oxidation plants with a catalytic stage”, funded from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) via NBank.
Listed in the register of ERDF beneficiaries, State of Lower Saxony
Volume flow control
The decisive project ran from January 2010 to March 2012: “Systems engineering development for energy-saving paint drying of automotive bodies through control of the exhaust air volume flow”, an AiF ZIM cooperation project (reference KF 2207507 MF9, funding volume €175,000) together with CRONE Wärmetechnik GmbH.
The reasoning: because thermal oxidation has to operate at a high temperature to meet emission limits, it produces more heat than the dryer needs. The surplus leaves the plant unused through the stack. Reduce the exhaust air volume flow deliberately, and fuel demand falls with it – without compromising drying quality.
Project documents indicate savings potential of up to 40 % for top coat lines; balancing one specific line produced calculated fuel savings of 24 % and 45.5 % respectively, depending on how far the volume flow was reduced.
The field test: Volkswagen Emden
The work did not stay in the laboratory. In September 2010, work began at Volkswagen’s Emden plant during ongoing operation.
Some of the trials had to be run at weekends or on night shifts, because they were not immediately possible during ongoing production. By the end of June 2012, the results for top coat line 1 were in:
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Natural gas | at least 26 % less |
| Electricity | 10 % less |
| CO2 | 394 tonnes less per year |
| Energy costs | around €70,000 saved per year (one line) |
Source: Think Blue. Factory. im Lack – Energieeinsparungen in der Lackiererei umgesetzt. In: teamtime – employee magazine of Volkswagen Emden, issue 6, December 2012, p. 7.
The measurement technology manufacturer halstrup-walcher also reported in 2014 on the implementation in Emden, which was carried out together with CRONE Wärmetechnik and CVET. For the volume flow of the baking ovens to follow the load, it has to be measured reliably at around 300 °C. This is done with a pitot tube and a differential pressure transmitter that corrects its zero point automatically and therefore delivers stable readings without readjustment. After more than twelve months of operation, the press release put the savings at 25 % – with no loss of paint quality.
A further load-dependent volume flow control project was later implemented at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles in Hanover. After the predicted savings were confirmed by measurement in the pilot trial, the plant decided to use the control technology on all new dryers and retrofit existing ones.
Source: Neues Lack-Trocknungsverfahren bei VW; report on auto-medienportal.net, 17 June 2015 (German)
2012: CVET GmbH is founded
In the same year the Emden results came in, those involved founded CVET GmbH – Clausthaler Verfahrens- und Energietechnik GmbH. It was the logical step from institute-based research to an independent engineering and technology company: the same methods, but with the ability to see solutions through to implementation and ongoing operation.
From research to product: LAVA
The research results became a process with a name: LAVA – lastabhängige Volumenstromanpassung, load-dependent volume flow adjustment.
At CVET, Łukasz Piech took over software and PLC control. That closed the circle: measurement technology, plant investigation and research from the AG Abgas years met automation and software expertise. This combination is precisely what LAVA is – not a component to be installed, but a control strategy measured, designed and programmed on the actual plant.
In 2014, LAVA received the Volksbank Innovation Award.
Today LAVA is in operation on 65 dryers. The first plant has been running since 2011, and cumulative savings achieved so far amount to around 300,000 tonnes of CO2 (as of October 2026). That figure is deliberately conservative: for several plants, confirmed gas savings are not yet reflected in the CO2 balance.
Continuity, not nostalgia
What began in 1989 with process optimisation, ran through the exhaust gas research of AG Abgas and arrived at dryer control, has since expanded to include industrial data analysis, algorithms and artificial intelligence methods.
The core has stayed the same: in an industrial plant, you can only improve what you have first understood – and understanding means measuring.
That this body of work continues to be cited is shown, among others, by the chapter “Vom Immissionsschutz zur Optimierung von Trocknern für die Lackierung von Serienkarosserien” (Springer Vieweg, 2026), which draws on several of these publications.