© Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy; based on data from the '2021 Federal Report on Energy Research'

Did you know that research and experimentation on the future world of energy is no longer confined to specialised institutions, but has become the pursuit of a great many bright minds all over Germany – including at universities and in small and medium-sized companies? The ‘2021 Federal Report on Energy Research’, published in early May, demonstrates the variety of the research that is being conducted to facilitate the energy transition and shows how the activities are being funded. The annual report sheds light on the current state of research concerning the energy transition and outlines the priorities of federal funding.

Close to 6,000 individual energy research projects in 2020

In 2020, the Federal Government’s Seventh Energy Research Programme supported almost 6,000 individual projects, 1,590 of which were newly approved. In total, federal investments in the programme amounted to more than €1.2 billion in 2020. Two thirds of the federal funding was invested in research projects, with another third being used as institutional support for research establishments.

Energy research is key to achieving climate neutrality

Federal Minister Peter Altmaier believes that energy research is a central strategic key on the path to climate neutrality. “Innovations for the energy transition pave the way towards climate neutrality whilst also boosting our economy. Forward-looking energy technologies from Germany are in demand all around the world. This shows that ecology and economic activity are not contradictions, but are two sides of the same coin. If we are to achieve our ambitious goal of climate neutrality in 2050, we cannot afford to lose time: we need to bring innovations to market even more quickly,” Altmaier said when the report was adopted in Cabinet in early May.

From superstar microorganisms to smart wind turbine control

The world of energy research has had its share of challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. As pointed out in the report, the restrictions imposed in order to contain the spread of the pandemic meant that research activities had to be reorganised and adjusted. On the whole, however, even this unusual year saw progress being made on the research for the energy transition. In fact, some ideas from energy research proved immediately useful: for example, novel ice packs were developed to enable the secure and energy-efficient transport of COVID-19 vaccines. After all, it is vital that vaccines are properly cooled while being distributed to their destination. Therefore, the 'coCO2vac' research project (in German only) is developing ice packs for temperatures at around minus 70 degrees centigrade. This means that we might no longer have to rely on energy-intensive dry ice.

Other research teams are developing solutions that could make it possible, for example, to smartly control the aerodynamics of the gigantic rotor blades in wind turbines. Another project is turning tiny microorganisms into energy transition superstars that can be used for electricity-based processes for generating gaseous energy sources (in German only). Energy researchers are also exploring ways of implementing the urban energy, heat and transport transitions (in German only).

Finally, the 'regulatory sandboxes for the energy transition' (in German only) scheme provides funding for innovative industrial-scale projects aimed at translating such research findings into commercial applications. Eight such regulatory sandboxes have already been launched.