© Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy

Funding for energetic research

Last year, the Federal Government provided even more funding for the development of new energy technologies than in the previous years. The Federal report on energy research, which was recently approved by the Federal Cabinet, provides an overview of the various fields of research for which support has been granted.

Up and down the country, in research institutes and development units of small and medium-sized companies, there is a great deal of research being conducted into the energy system of the future. This kind of high-tech research is costly and not always crowned with success. The Federal government does not want this to stop scientists from exploring new avenues and developing cutting-edge technologies for the energy transition. This is why it provides funding for their work. Last year, total public-sector support for energy research in Germany stood at 876 million euros. This was 13 million euros more than in 2015 and compares to a mere 648 million euros in 2011.

Minister Zypries: "We need to be strong on energy research"

Statistics show that energy research is increasingly becoming a strategic instrument of energy policy. "The restructuring of our energy supply in Germany - phasing out nuclear energy and promoting renewables - requires new, creative solutions and strategies", said Economic Affairs Minister Brigitte Zypries when presenting the 2017 Federal report on energy research. "This is why we need to be strong on energy research, which will then generate new momentum and give rise to innovations."

Three quarters of the research funds earmarked for renewables and energy efficiency

The report serves to give an overview over the Federal Government's research promotion policy in the field of energy. This includes federal funds as well as those provided by the Länder and by the EU. Last week, the Federal Cabinet approved the 2017 Federal report on energy research, which had been tabled by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. Funding is being provided for diverse fields of research ranging from photovoltaics to marine energy, through to energy storage and sector coupling. Around three quarters of the funding was used to support research into renewables and energy efficiency.

The figures on individual projects are available in the report itself, but can also be accessed via EnArgus (in German only), the ministry's central information system on energy research.

40 years of energy research

It is forty years since the Federal Government launched its very first energy research programme. The next edition of this newsletter will have more information on the history of this programme.