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Missions for tomorrow’s energy world
Industrial heat pumps, electrolysers for green hydrogen, AI-based control tools for the electricity grids: businesses and research establishments are working hard to develop innovative technologies for the energy transition.
To ensure that the many building blocks can form a climate-neutral and resilient energy system by 2045, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action supports these efforts by funding applied energy research, and has fine-tuned its approach in a new ‘Energy Research Programme'.
Missions for tomorrow’s energy world
In the 8th Energy Research Programm e for applied energy research, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action is reorienting its research and innovation policy towards a mission-oriented programme. It is based on an interdisciplinary funding approach with specific, ambitious targets for each mission – so that innovations can move swiftly from theory to practice.
The main focuses of the new Energy Research Programme are research into a resilient and efficient energy system (Energy System Mission), research into a climate-neutral supply of heat and cold (Heat Transition Mission), research into the conversion of the electricity supply to renewable energy (Electricity Transition Mission), research into a sustainable hydrogen economy (Hydrogen Mission) and the rapid transfer of research findings into practice (Transfer Mission).
Practical research funding
The energy transition is a particularly complex and dynamic process. The Economic Affairs and Climate Action Ministry has therefore designed the new Energy Research Programme as a learning programme. The various funding formats and programme targets in the respective missions can be swiftly adapted to new developments so that the funding policy meets the innovation-related needs of the energy transition. A monitoring process is to show at an early stage when this is needed.