Dear readers of the vgbe energy journal,

The threat of climate change has created a broad consensus in favour of limiting the increase in the concentration of CO₂ and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and thus the rise in temperature, to below 2 K if possible. Although there is broad agreement on the target, there is also a great deal of discussion and controversy about how to achieve it. There is no question that economically strong countries have a particular responsibility here. Germany has accepted this responsibility and refers to the measures to be taken as the energy transition.

The energy transition can be seen as a revolution, but it loses much of its drama if it is understood as an accelerated evolution, as innovations and further developments can then help to overcome the upheavals in the industry. New products for the energy transition can open up new markets for Germany as an export country and Europe as a whole, thereby securing jobs. This can allay people’s fears of unemployment and create acceptance for the necessary changes.

However, new ideas and products can only emerge if research and development at universities, research institutions and in industry can live out their creativity by not only talking about openness to technology, but also living and promoting it. This includes government funding in particular, but also private sector investment in research and development (R&D). Ideological approaches do not help here. Defining individual targets and boundary conditions for achieving climate targets is the sovereign task of politics. Universities and other research institutions in particular lay the foundations through their basic and application-orientated research; implementation within these guidelines is the task of industry and, in the case of the energy transition, this is the energy industry.

The increased use of renewable energies such as wind, sun and water forms the core of the energy transition. The further development of wind turbines is characterised by a steady increase in unit output. Photovoltaic (PV) technology has been further developed and its performance improved in Germany with a high level of public funding. Unfortunately, it has not been possible to make production in Germany globally competitive or to maintain existing production capacities. China has massively supported the expansion of production in this technology – with state funding – and now dominates the global market. This is a reminder that research, development and market launch must be planned and implemented in a coordinated manner.

Electricity generation from wind and solar power is associated with the problem of volatile supply. Daily fluctuations and seasonal influences can be planned for solar energy, while weather-related dependencies increase volatility. With wind, these influences are even more dominant. This results in the need to reliably represent the difference between electricity supply and demand – the so-called residual load. This can be achieved through energy storage and/or dispatchable generation.

R&D in the further development of electricity storage technologies is multi-faceted and ranges from lithium-ion or redox flow batteries to conversion into easily storable fuels, for example. A central question here is very often the availability of necessary basic materials (e.g. Li) while at the same time conserving resources.

Up to now, large centralised power plants have been used to ensure the availability of generation to secure the energy supply and grid stability. In order to prevent the electricity grid infrastructure from being overloaded by the largely decentralised feed-in of renewably generated electricity from wind and solar power, the dispatchable, i.e. dispatchable generation capacity must also be more decentralised. Smaller power units are important lines of development, irrespective of the fact that these lead to an increase in the specific investment (economy of scale).

The question of the type of primary energy use is very decisive and is currently at the centre of the debate. The phase-out of fossil fuels, which are inherently associated with high CO₂ emissions, has also been decided. Hard coal and lignite are subject to statutory decommissioning scenarios. An impending gas shortage situation – due to the lack of natural gas, mineral oil and hard coal supplies from Russia as a result of the war in Ukraine – could be compensated for with the last two primary energy sources by a massive switch to other sources. It was much more difficult to organise a replacement for pipeline-based natural gas supplies. An important substitute was realised by importing LNG. The terminals ordered for this purpose on our North Sea and Baltic coasts were realised in a pleasingly short time and can be converted or expanded in future for other, primarily green energy sources such as hydrogen (H₂) and ammonia (NH₃). H₂ plays an important, if not the central role in most scenarios for our future energy supply. These green gases will be discussed below.

Nuclear power generation is a difficult and highly ideological issue in Germany. Politically, it has been decided to phase out this almost CO₂-free energy source. Countries in Europe, but above all around the world, are pursuing a different strategy and in some cases relying heavily on this technology. Germany has decommissioned the world’s safest nuclear power plants and technological advances can only be maintained for a very limited time.

Hydrogen plays a central role in the so-called green, alternative fuels, as its use is not associated with any CO₂ emissions. However, converting our energy and raw materials economy to H₂ is radical and fundamental – systemically, technically/technologically and economically. The hydrogen required for such a changeover cannot be produced in Germany alone. We do not have enough renewable electricity here. Imports from the Earth’s sunbelt are an option. They do not increase our dependency on imports, they simply shift it to another energy source. In addition, very low electricity generation costs in these regions can lead to tolerable H₂ costs in the long term. Ammonia can help alleviate the problem of energy-intensive H2 transport, but additional energy is required for its production at the point of origin and its reconversion (cracking) at the point of use. Direct utilisation in the power plant can help here, but there is still a considerable need for R&D to ensure safe and environmentally friendly use. Alternative fuels such as methanol (MeOH), (bio)LNG, LPG and others complement this portfolio.

Dispatchable electricity and heat generation in power plants can be supplemented and made more flexible through the use of so-called Power-to-X technologies (PtX or P2X). The use of electricity to produce products such as gas (P2G), fuels (P2L) or heat (P2H) offers an attractive approach here, although there is currently no business case for this.

If gaseous or liquid energy sources are to be produced, one or more carbon atoms are usually required. Not obtaining these from fossil sources is the order of the day. However, if CO2 from large point sources or from production processes (CC – carbon capture) or directly from the air (DAC – direct air capture) is channelled into these products, then CO2 can be kept out of the atmosphere (CC) or CO2 already in the atmosphere₂ (DAC) can be reintegrated into material cycles – at least intermediately. Carbon capture technologies for storing CO₂ (CCS – carbon capture and storage) were not politically desirable over 10 years ago and storage was prevented by law in Germany. In addition to the storage of CO₂, the focus is currently on its utilisation (CCU – carbon capture and usage). Today, this technology – collectively referred to as CCUS (carbon capture utilisation and storage) – is considered to make an important contribution to achieving climate protection targets, but research in this area has not been sufficiently funded for a long time. This is yet another example of why R&D should be conducted and funded in a technology-neutral manner.

This list has only described the most important changes brought about by the energy transition; it makes no claim to be exhaustive, but it does make it clear that there are considerable challenges to be overcome, which – and I am firmly convinced of this – can only be mastered through forward-looking, technology-open and ideology-free research and development.

Future-oriented R&D must strike a balance between renewable energies such as wind, sun and water – with a highly volatile character – and technologies that are as climate-friendly as possible, but are available, i.e. controllable. To this end, all possible solutions must be considered and analysed without prior restrictions. The freedom of research and teaching must not be a constantly repeated mantra, but must also be reflected in concrete research funding. Simple-sounding strategies such as the complete electrification of sectors or industries may sound good and promise maximum climate protection, but for various reasons they cannot be implemented. As an economy, we cannot give up all of our infrastructure assets without having created new ones. Dismantling a natural gas distribution network in order to focus unilaterally on heat pump technology without upgrading the electricity distribution network (low-voltage level) is doomed to failure. However, heat pump technology as such can make important contributions to (industrial) waste heat utilisation, for which increased research efforts are necessary.

A number of other examples could be cited here. The bottom line is that politics should set the framework conditions and goals for the restructuring of our energy supply, but in my opinion the individual solutions should only find their place on the market in a market-oriented environment on the basis of technical/technological, ecological and economic criteria. This sounds self-evident, but it is often propagated by bold strategies.
In order to do justice to the high complexity of the energy system and the tasks associated with the energy transition for research and development – both basic and application-oriented – a joint and coordinated synchronisation is required. In the field of energy supply – primarily in the area of conventional technologies – vgbe energy is making a substantial contribution to this, among other things with its research foundation. This takes the form of an exchange of information between research institutions and companies, the provision of information and its critical discussion through to research funding, which substantially supplements public research.

At the same time, associations such as Rhein Ruhr Power e.V. also play an important role in the formulation and initiation of application-oriented research projects.

However, many non-university research institutions, such as the Gas and Heat Institute Essen (GWI) – which is very intensively involved with gaseous and particularly green fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia – also contribute to finding solutions and should be included even more intensively in the overall systemic discussion.

Each of the organisations mentioned here therefore has an essential contribution to make. However, it is also important that specialists and experts fulfil their social responsibility and contribute to the fact-based dissemination of information on energy issues in their immediate environment. This should extend from the personal environment, through energy-specific areas, to broad-based public discussions. This is the only way to bring about a return to objectivity. Openness to technology is the key to this.

Allow me to briefly summarise the above: Only through an open and fact-orientated discussion will we be able to achieve acceptance for the necessary changes. Openness to technology is the key to this, but it must also be reflected in research funding. The commitment to our country’s innovative strength supports the necessary processes. However, each individual should contribute to this with their willingness to get involved.