Make the successes visible
vgbe Awards
vgbe AWARDS,
The successesare made visible
With the vgbe Awards, vgbe wants to draw the attention of the industry and the interested public to precisely those topics that are of great importance for companies operating in the field of power and heat generation and storage, in the national as well as in the international environment, in the present as well as in the future:
- Quality
- Occupational health and safety and
- Research and development
Against this background, three prizes unique in this form were created.
The awards include all technologies for the generation and storage of electricity and heat in all project phases: new build, operation, refurbishment, maintenance, decommissioning/dismantling and retrofit.
The vgbe Awards are presented at the annual vgbe Congress by the vgbe Chairman.
Everything at a glance
- Deadline for proposals:
- Submit proposal online
- Download: Call of nominations
- The award ceremony
The Innovation Award will be presented at the vgbe Congress on
9. Sept 2026.
Everything at a glance
- Deadline for proposals:
- Submit proposal online
- Download: Call of proposals
- The award ceremony
The Quality Award will be presented at the vgbe Congress 2027.
Everything at a glance
- Deadline for proposals:
June 26, 2026 - Submit proposal online
- The award ceremony
The Safety & Health Award will be presented at the vgbe Congress on
9. Sept 2026.
vgbe Innovation Award
the prize
innovation
made visible
The vgbe Innovation Award underlines the innovative strength of the industry. The vgbe Innovation Award underlines the innovative strength of the industry. Awards are given for outstanding achievements by young university graduates or young professionals in the field of electricity and heat generation and storage (age limit: 35 years). The prize is endowed with a total of 10,000 € and is awarded in two categories: “Application” and “Future”.
Current awardees
vgbe Innovation Award
The Innovation Award has been awarded by the vgbe RESEARCH FOUNDATION for more than 30 years.
The Innovation Award, with a prize of 10,000 Euros, was awarded in equal parts to Dr Lucas Koltermann (category “Application”) and Dr Marius Neuwirth (category “Future”).
Lucas Koltermann examined in his dissertation, “Analysis and Optimisation of the Reliability and Efficiency of Hybrid Battery Storage Systems Using the Example of M5BAT”, as well as in his practical work on large-scale battery storage systems, issues relating to condition analysis, reaction speed, efficiency and energy management. The M5BAT project, which combines five different battery technologies and is actively marketed in the German electricity grid, offered unique research conditions for this purpose. The results achieved are of great interest to operators and manufacturers of battery storage systems in order to further improve the reliability and cost-effectiveness of these systems.
(f.l.t.r.: Dr Georg Stamatelopoulos, Lucas Koltermann, vgbe Innovation Award winner 2025, Dr Oliver Then)
your participation in the
innovation award 2026
You would like to participate?
More information
about the Award 2026 will follow soon!
Submission of proposals
Nomination
All vgbe member companies (executives) and the members of the vgbe Scientific Advisory Board have the right of nomination.
Online submission
Proposals comprise
- proposal form with a summary of the achievement indicating the award category (“application-oriented” or “future-oriented”)
- curriculum vitae of the nominees
- a list of publications (if available),
- copy of the publication which forms the basis of the proposal.
The awarding body is international. Therefore, we require – as far as possible – English-language documents.
Click here to submit your nomination for the Innovation Award 2025.
Award criteria
Young university graduates or young professionals (age limit: 35 years) are awarded. Since 2019, the vgbe Innovation Award is awarded in the two categories “Application” and “Future” with correspondingly different evaluation criteria:
| Evaluation criteria | Application-oriented proposals | Future-oriented proposals |
|---|---|---|
| Scope and objective (problem statemant) | 15% | 20% |
| Methodology used (means of calculation or experiments) | 10% | 15% |
| Innovative implications | 15% | 40% |
| Technical, environmental and/or economical evaluation | 30% | 15% |
| Chances of realisation | 30% | 10% |
| Total | 100% | 100% |
The performance must be proven by a publication by the end of the preceding calendar year. A dissertation is not considered a publication.
The proposals are evaluated by the members of the Board of Trustees of the vgbe RESEARCH FOUNDATION .
Award guidelines
- The vgbe RESEARCH FOUNDATION annually awards the vgbe Innovation Award for outstanding achievements of young university graduates or young professionals (age limit: 35 years) in the field of power and heat generation and storage. The work to be awarded can relate both to innovations in the operation of plants and to significant results in research.
- The vgbe Innovation Award is given in the two categories “Application Orientation” and “Future Orientation”. The prize consists of a certificate and € 5,000 per prize category.
- All vgbe member companies and the members of the vgbe Scientific Advisory Board have the right of nomination.
- Proposers shall submit a justification of the proposal and supporting documentation by 30 April each year. The achievements on which the proposal is based must have been demonstrated by at least one publication or at least one public lecture by the end of the calendar year preceding the proposal. A dissertation is not considered a publication in this sense.
- The review and decision on nominations is the responsibility of the Board of Trustees of the vgbe Research Foundation. The decision is final and excludes an appeal.
- In case of equal performances, a division of the prize among several candidates is possible. If no work worthy of the award is proposed, the award may be suspended for one or more years. This applies to each of the two price categories.
- The prize will be awarded by the Chairman of the vgbe Research Foundation on the occasion of the vgbe Congress.
- The awardee(s) shall report on the selected work in the vgbe energy journal.
Contact
Vera Fricke
Phone: +49 201 8128 226
E-Mail: vera.fricke@vgbe.energy
vgbe Quality Award
the prize
Quality
made visible
The vgbe Quality Award is given to raise awareness in the industry of the commercial importance of quality and to recognise partner companies that have demonstrated exceptional quality in the delivery of their supplies and services.
- The award ceremony for the first-placed company will take place during the vgbe Congress. The company is given the opportunity to present the project in the vgbe energy journal.
- The runners-up will be named at the award ceremony and will also have the opportunity to present their projects in the technical journal vgbe energy journal.
-
All award winners will have the opportunity to present their projects at a subsequent vgbe events.
For this, please keep informed via our calendar of events:
vgbe event calendar. - The nominating company of the first prize winner will receive a complimentary ticket to attend the vgbe Congress.
Current awardees
vgbe Quality Award
Im Rahmen ihres Flottenprogramms hat die PreussenElektra GmbH ein Konsortium aus der GNS mbH sowie der Höfer & Bechtel GmbH mit der Demontage des KKG-Reaktordruckbehälters (RDB) und der Verpackung für die Endlagerung im Schacht Konrad beauftragt. The RDB cylinder, dome and cover were segmented using specially developed processes and dismantled into container-compatible units.
GNS was nominated on the basis of its successful transfer of the knowledge gained in the pilot project at the Unterweser nuclear power plant to the plant at the Grafenrheinfeld site, despite parallel project phases and high technical requirements.
Thanks to integrated organisation, trained personnel and innovative cutting technology, the work was even completed ahead of schedule and within the planned budget.
(f.l.t.r.: Dr Georg Stamatelopoulos, Tuncay Ertugrul, GNS mgH, Denis Gotic, Höfer & Bechtel GmbH, Dr Oliver Then)
Fuel conversion at EnBW’s Heilbronn power plant through a combined cycle power plant with combined heat and power generation
SOCOTEC Ingenieure AG honoured for civil engineering services/reinforced concrete structures at the Heilbronn power plant site
EnBW plans to replace the existing coal-fired power plant at its Heilbronn site with a modern, highly efficient combined cycle power plant with combined heat and power (fuel switch) generation in order to implement its corporate strategy of achieving climate neutrality by 2035.
The new power plant will be supplemented by a hot water boiler system and a heat storage facility to secure the district heating supply.
While the general contractor is responsible for the plant technology, the challenging concrete structures were awarded directly by EnBW due to difficult soil conditions, high groundwater levels and complex static and dynamic requirements. Particular challenges lie in the foundation planning, the static design of the steel structures as well as the precise and economical dimensioning of the machine foundations.
SOCOTEC Ingenieure AG was nominated for the vgbe Quality Award because of its wide-ranging expertise in structural and project planning, digital working methods for the planning, construction and operation of buildings (BIM), water protection (AwSV) and the planning and construction of water-impermeable concrete structures (WU). In addition, SOCOTEC has in-depth expertise in power plant construction, which was required for this project.
SOCOTEC proved to be a reliable and pragmatic partner throughout the entire project, which was reflected in excellent communication, documentation and organisation, as well as successful troubleshooting on site and off site, resulting in rapid construction progress.
Decommissioning of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) and its internals at the Grundremmingen nuclear power plant
Norbert Braun Industrieservice GmbH received the vgbe Quality Award for reliable, punctual and flexible project management
Before the actual dismantling of the RPV and its internals could begin, 640 tonnes of concrete had to be removed, which was distributed over a total of four shielding and four cover plates to minimise radiation exposure to personnel working on site during power operation.
The concrete slabs, weighing between around 126 tonnes and approx. 55 tonnes, were located above the flood room and above RDB and settling basin on the +40.5 m level in unit B.
Norbert Braun Industrieservice GmbH, commissioned with the dismantling, was nominated for the vgbe Quality Award because, despite difficult circumstances that arose during the construction site set-up (enclosure of the workplace), the company impressed with its flexibility, adherence to deadlines and early completion of the RDB-E Lot 4.4 project, despite project changes and interruptions.
The decisive factors were initiative, simple acceleration measures and close coordination with all relevant parties, which prevented delays in the entire project. Overall, the company impressed with its holistic approach to quality, efficient and safe concrete demolition, and systematic “lessons learned” that are highly transferable to other dismantling projects.
your participation in the
quality award
2027
You would like to participate?
More information
about the Award 2027 will follow!
Submission of proposals
Nomination
All ordinary and supporting vgbe member companies have the right of nomination.
Online submission
Proposals comprise
- a description of the proposed project,
- a justification for its selection.
The awarding body is international. Therefore, we require – as far as possible – English-language documents.
Award criteria
The following criteria will be considered in the award decision:
| Evaluation criteria | Importance |
|---|---|
| Performance of the service or manufacture | 25% |
| Adherence to scheduling and budget | 20% |
| Informing the client of problems and new solutions | 15% |
| Implementation of health and safety standards | 10% |
| Planning and organisation of the project/communication | 10% |
| Documentation of the overall project and the quality delivered | 10% |
| Justification: Why is the project a good example of excellence? | 10% |
| Total | 100% |
The proposals will be evaluated by a jury, consisting of members of the five vgbe Steering Forums Wind Power, Hydro Power, Future Energy System, Thermal Power and Nuclear Power. The decision is final.
Contact
Dr. Thomas Eck
Phone: +49 201 8128 209
E-Mail: qaward@vgbe.energy
vgbe Safety & Health Award
the prize
Safety & Health
made visible
The vgbe Safety & Health Award emphasises the importance of safety and health in the generation and storage of electricity and heat and focuses on people.
Current awardees
vgbe Safety Health Award
The vgbe Safety and Health Award emphasises the importance of safety and health in the generation and storage of electricity focusing on humans.
The Health and Safety Award went to Lukasz Krasowski from RWE Nuclear GmbH for his project “From good to best –stress relief”. The corporate strategy “From good to best” focused on improving health management and open communication about mental health. A concept, which included a video with real-life scenarios and awareness-raising measures, led to positive changes in corporate culture and better integration of health management. The long-term effects are still being evaluated.
Dr Oliver Then, Executive Managing Director, vgbe energy)
your participation in the
safety & health award 2026
Submission of proposals
Nomination
All ordinary and supporting vgbe member companies have the right of nomination.
Online submission
Proposals comprise
- a description of the proposed project,
- a justification for its selection.
The awarding body is international. Therefore, we require – as far as possible – English-language documents.
Click here to submit your nomination for the Safety Health Award 2026.
Award criteria
The following criteria will be considered in the award decision:
- Outstanding commitment to Safety & Health Compliance and Prevention,
- Demonstration of excellence,
- Innovative character,
- Connectivity for other projects, scalability, transferability,
- Effectiveness of the measures at site,
- There will be no second or third prize.
The proposals will be evaluated by a jury consisting of members of the vgbe Technical Committee Health & Safety and the vgbe Working Group Occupational Health & Safety. The decision is final. The decision is final.
Contact
Dr. Gregor Lipinski
Phone: +49 201 8128 272
E-Mail: shaward@vgbe.energy