Its sounds ideal: a domestic energy plant that generates heat and electricity works almost without emissions and also exclusively utilises the sun and bioalcohol as renewable energy. Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy systems ISE are working on such a plant. The heart of the system comprises a fuel cell combined with a newly developed reformer that generates the hydrogen required for the fuel cell from bioethanol.  more...

The Faculty of Supply Engineering at Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences has installed a renewable energy park at its Wolfenbüttel campus. A redox flow battery weighing 5,000 kg has now been added to this energy park. With this system, which is only the second of its kind in Germany, a further storage technology is now available in this "Smart Grid Test Facility".  more...

Predictions have estimated that between a half and two thirds of the world's electricity will come from fossil sources in 2050.  With this in mind, the German Federal Government plans to promote the availability of highly efficient, low-emission technologies for the world market and to facilitate the expansion of renewable power plants as part of a flexible power plant infrastructure over the coming years.  The new 6th Energy Research Programme from the German Federal Government details the key research areas for the coming years.  more...

In future, electricity grids will have to transport large quantities of electricity from renewable energy sources fed centrally and decentrally. Plus, we need greater reserves, storage facilities and flexibility in the electricity market due to the fluctuating supply. In the "Modellstadt Mannheim" project, a virtual energy marketplace is being developed for energy generators, consumers and grid operators. Customers can see the source and price of their electricity and influence them directly via the timing and extent of their consumption and the delivery from their own generation systems. This approach also includes gas, water and district heating.  more...

There are already more than 100 regions and many rural communities that are promoting sustainable development based on renewable energies. After developing individual concepts and strategies, the lengthy and often very complex implementation begins. A research project organised by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment has been supporting these regions in conceptual and technical terms since 2007. This project is being conducted by the deENet competence network and the University of Kassel, and is being advised by the German Federal Environment Agency. In a second project phase, it is planned to create a national network by 2013.  more...

The eagerly anticipated draft version of the "Lead Study 2010" can now be downloaded. The study, entitled "Long-term scenarios and strategies for developing renewable energies in Germany taking into account developments in Europe and worldwide", is available on the website of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. For the first time the study carries out a complete dynamic simulation of the electricity supply and describes the technical and economic impacts of developing renewable energies.  more...

The German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology has published a strategy paper entitled "Eckpunkte und Leitlinien zur Weiterentwicklung der Energieforschungspolitik der Bundesregierung (Cornerstones and guidelines for the continued development of the German federal government's energy research policy)". The detailed analyses and suggestions were developed as a result of the cooperation between a number of institutes in the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres as part of a broadly based consultation process.  more...

Various research projects have shown, however, that decentralised energy systems can also contribute to optimum grid operation. Here centralised control concepts are competing with systems that optimise the electricity feed-in and consumption decentrally.  more...

Steam was the first heat transfer medium to be used for distributing heat in district heating systems. This is not surprising, since steam has always played a dominant role in the power station process, so that it was easy to supply customers near power stations with steam.  more...