topic Research

Academy says: Transformation of energy system in ten years is feasible

The paper is based on the Energy Research Programme presented in autumn 2009, which the Leopoldina had drawn up together with the German Academy of Science and Engineering and the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (on behalf of the Union of the German Academies). The resulting opinion paper was presented to the members of the Ethics Commission which Federal Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel had appointed on 22 March 2011and was taken up in the Commission's final report of 30 May 2011.

Twelve Key Statements on Research Policy

Prof. Hacker und Prof. Shüth present Federal Minister Annette Schavan with the opinion paper on energy research.  Click here to download a printable version. ©Federal Minstry of Education and ResearchThe opinion issued by the Leopoldina focuses on energy research and delivers twelve key statements that mainly address research policy issues concerning the transformation of the energy system. It considers the phasing-out of nuclear energy over a period of roughly ten years to be both technically and scientifically feasible. It also outlines the conditions under which this can be achieved. These include the monitoring of the transformation process by an unbiased authority that must be installed in the long term. The paper also claims that an accelerated phase-out of nuclear energy will not compromise the long-term goals of energy research. It is also important that energy research focuses on a broad range of topics over a long period of time and that it covers the entire spectrum of basic research to application-oriented studies in order to provide society with additional options.

For the short term, the opinion paper advocates different measures in the electricity sector, particularly as concerns increasing efficiency. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of energy policy at international level since a great deal of planning occurs at European level. According to the paper, the key statements contained in the energy research concept issued by the Academies in 2009 remain valid as concerns both technical-scientific aspects and social scientific considerations. The development of  intelligent control systems, the promotion of storage technology and research into basic processes at molecular level will play an important role in future energy research. Science and industry are working hard to refine existing and new energy systems and make them market-ready.

New Funding Initiative

The Federal Government is funding the development of new storage technologies and concepts in a joint funding initiative that will also promote advances in existing technologies. This will create an important framework for the successful development of renewable energy. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) and the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) have allocated up to 200 million euros for this initiative over the next five years. Details of funding are contained in thecall for proposals (in German only).

Research Staff Assesses Nuclear Phase-out

Federal Research Minister Annette Schavan commissioned the National Academy Leopoldina to rally a staff of researchers to assess the disaster in Japan and draw possible consequences for Germany. Science and industry are also working hard to refine existing and new energy systems and make them market-ready.

For the Rheinische Post interview with the Federal Research Minister on 15 March 2011, click here (in German only).

For more information about the Leopoldina National Academy of Sciences click here.

Germany has assumed a frontrunner role in research and development in many fields of energy technology. Innovative and future-proof developments must be advanced to maintain leadership in this field. The goal of Federal Government energy policy is to secure a sustainable energy supply which meets the demands of supply security and economic efficiency, and which is environmentally sound and climate safe.

Innovation and technical progress in energy technologies will play a key role in bringing about a shift towards a sustainable energy industry. In the medium to long term, research and development can further boost the energy efficiency of power plants, buildings, technical processes and products and bring forth new energy technologies. Energy research provides a way to achieve our energy and climate policy goals more effectively, more quickly and at lower cost while also expanding our competitive edge on the international technology market.

New Research Agenda: Basis for the Transformation of the Energy System

A new research agenda, which is reflected in the area of basic research in the Federal Government's 6th Energy Research Programme, will provide the basis for Germany's new energy strategy. Five key fields are at the core of this new research agenda:

Infrastructure:

Technological advances are urgently needed in the development of electric storage systems and new efficient grids.

Example 1: The storage technology field is of great interest to both consumers (stand-alone, small-scale storage units such as innovative batteries, decentralized large-scale storage, e.g. for domestic technology), industry and energy producers (short-term energy storage modules, thermal storage units, central storage power stations). There is a need for research in all these fields. The interministerial funding initiative on energy storage technologies was launched by BMBF, BMU and BMWi on 21 April 2011. Its funding volume is 200 million euros up until 2014. The key contact for storage technology is the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology - IWES.

Example 2: Hydrogen production and methanation are key focus areas in the field of energy storage (conversion of CO2 into methane and hydrogen and storage in existing gas pipelines). The collaborative project "Hydrogen and syngas generation from biomass" is an example of funding for this innovative approach to hydrogen production. Contact: Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW)

Example 3: The integration of communications technologies will lead to intelligent grids that align fluctuations in both energy demand and energy sources. As an example: a refrigerator can use energy primarily when surplus wind energy is available at low cost. The key contact for energy grids is the Institute for High Voltage Electricity of the RWTH Aachen University.

Energy efficiency:

Two key research fields are at the core of this area:

• Research on new materials as the basis for more efficient technologies in wind turbines, thin-film processes in the photovoltaic industry and better insulating materials for buildings.
  Example: Multifunctional façades and high-performance insulation systems are a means for making use of daylight to produce energy. The BMBF is funding research in organic photovoltaics for this purpose. The key contact for organic photovoltaics is the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) and the TU Dresden.
• The second key research field in energy efficiency affects the entire coal and gas power production industry. The storage and conversion of CO2 is part of a central strategy to avoid emissions of CO2 to the atmosphere.
  Example: BMBF is providing funding to the Ketzin pilot site for CO2 storage. The site is testing new technologies in CO2 storage for their suitability in this context. The contact address is the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ).

Renewable Energies:

The goal is to optimize existing processes in terms of cost and efficiency and to discover and develop new energy production technologies, especially in wind energy and photovoltaics.

Example 1: Development of wind energy farms that provide additional system services for the grid. The contact is the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology (IWES). The BMBF provides funding for photovoltaics research through the Photovoltaics Innovation Alliance. Innovative projects such as the development of third-generation solar cells are examples of these projects. The contact partner is the Institute for Micro- and Nanotechnologies of the TU Ilmenau.  The Solarvalley Central Germany leading-edge cluster acts as the link between innovation and application. Local contacts such as the Solar Valley GmbH are well-positioned to generate synergies.

Example 3: The collaborative project "GeoEN", which is coordinated by the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), explores and develops processes to tap deep geothermal heat sources to produce electricity. The aim is to make a contribution to the large-scale technical use of geothermal energy.

Research in security, waste disposal, and radiation:

There will be a need for nuclear competence of the highest scientific and technical degree for a long time. The operation of nuclear power plants as well as their future decommissioning and the final disposal of radioactive materials require the utmost expertise in these fields. The BMBF is providing targeted funding to young research talent in this area.

Example: There are currently three R&D projects in which young scientists are testing innovative processes in the treatment of radioactive materials for the purpose of reducing highly radioactive waste. Experimental research is being carried out in partitioning (separation of long-lived radionuclides from spent core fuel by means of extraction) and in the transmutation of separated radionuclides into short-lived or stable isotopes. The contact is the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and the Research Centre Jülich.

Systems and acceptance research:

One of the fundamental findings of the energy transformation process is that our energy research must focus more strongly on the system as a whole and on the interaction between the relevant technological, economic and ethical factors. This requires a stronger combination of technological and social science approaches that recognizes and takes account of interdependencies and control mechanisms. Continuous, science-based systems analysis, technology monitoring, and demand and participation research must be used to more accurately depict the current situation and future developments in the entire energy system. Future priorities can be derived on this basis.

Research must at the same time also serve to prevent negative developments. This is why it is important for research to develop an early warning system that identifies economic or ecological risks in good time.

Example 1: Fact research: We must think in terms of options and scenarios, to weigh up different possibilities and to develop alternatives in order to be prepared for unforeseeable changes as we restructure our energy system. The transformation of the energy system must therefore be given constant support through scientific research. This can help to trace negative developments early on and identify further need for research.

Example 2: Accompanying research on topics of societal relevance, for example the energy efficient city. Future research must link decentralized production, technological control of energy use and demand research. The contact partner is the Chair for Energy Systems and Energy Economics at the University of Bochum.

Research activity must be broad-based and avoid too narrow a focus. We need ideas workshops that provide room for creativity.

Example: The BMBF is establishing the "Energy Ideas Workshop" under the 6th Energy Research Programme. The Workshop is a new flexible instrument in research funding. This instrument will help to identify and follow up on new ideas in energy research at a very early stage or to take into account ideas which have not yet been taken up in conventional fields.

German energy research is not starting from scratch and is well-positioned for the new agenda. This is also true for universities as well as the research centres of the Helmholtz Association, the Max Planck Society and the Fraunhofer Society. However, certain modifications must be made. It is now of the essence to create a more compact network of excellence with a systemic approach that unites technology, the economy, and public behaviour to stimulate research.

The Sixth Energy Research Programme

The Federal Cabinet adopted the Federal Government's Sixth Energy Research Programme on 3 August 2011. The programme is a joint project led by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The programme establishes the guidelines and priorities of the Federal Government's research funding policy in the area of innovative energy technologies for the coming years. In so doing, it creates a climate in which the energy supply system in Germany can be transformed in a manner that is environmentally friendly, safe and cost-effective.

Federal Research Minister Dr. Annette Schavan says, "The restructuring of our energy supply needs the help of science and research. We must develop a broad range of technologies to keep various options open. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research is intensifying basic research in renewable energy and in energy efficiency. We support the development of new storage technologies and the move towards climate-neutral cities. Our research agenda takes measures to ensure that our science community can play a leading role worldwide."

The Federal Government's 6th Energy Research Programme represents a new strategic approach to its energy and climate policy which focuses on improving funding for research and development into sustainable energy technologies. The Federal Government's commitment in this area is reflected in particular in the budget for energy research. The volume of funding for energy research in the 2011-2014 period is about 3.4 billion euros. The source of this considerable increase of nearly 75 per cent over the 2006-2009 period is the newly established energy and climate fund. Funding will be channelled to areas of strategic priority that are key to the accelerated transformation of energy supply in Germany, namely renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy storage facilities, grid technologies and integrating renewables in our energy supply system.

The Fifth Energy Research Programme

The Federal Government's Fifth Energy Research Programme provides a framework for the different priority areas in energy research for which it provides support. The task of the BMBF's Basic Energy Research 2020+ funding concept is to develop new technological options based on fundamental, long-term research. Its distinguishing characteristic is that it provides funding for a wide range of developing energy technologies and works to meet the need of doubling energy productivity between 1990 and 2020. The funding scheme focuses on the following priority areas:

• Research activities that are relevant to the highly efficient production, conversion, storage of energy, to final energy consumption and to the low-loss transport of energy. The funding scheme also considers non-technological research, for example into entire energy systems, value-added chains and consumer behaviour in order to find new solutions for the efficient use of energy.
• The share of renewable energy in the overall energy supply must be increased. This requires developments for next-generation technologies, especially in electricity production through photovoltaics and bioenergy.
• Coal will continue to be an important source of energy for decades to come, which is why technologies for the capture of CO2 from coal power plants and subsequent storage are strategically significant. Research into the underground storage of CO2 will play a key role in this context.
• Research into radiation, nuclear safety, and nuclear waste disposal will ensure competence in the field of nuclear science during the structured phase-out of nuclear energy.
• Fusion research must serve to develop options for safe power supply in the long term.
  

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  topic Research

  Storage of Greenhouse Gases

  The Federal Government has adopted the commitment on international level to considerably reduce emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide in Germany by 2020 as a contribution to global climate protection. The use of subterranean space as a storage medium for carbon dioxide is a possible option to achieve the planned objectives. Therefore, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) supports research on geologic carbon dioxide storage.
  more (URL: http://www.bmbf.de/en/7869.php)
   
  
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  topic Research

  Fusion Research

  Fusion, i.e. the merging of atomic cores, is the process by which the sun and the stars produce their energy. It is an ancient dream of mankind to "bring the sun down on earth" and to make use of this energy. Fusion research work in Germany is an integral part of the European fusion research programme and ranges from very basic studies of plasma physics to the realization of technologically demanding components for fusion plants and the construction of the large-scale project "Wendelstein 7-X" in Greifswald.
  more (URL: http://www.bmbf.de/en/2242.php)