24.03.2021

Scientists from TU Ilmenau Appointed to Advisory Board for the Challenges of the Energy Transition

Solarpanels mit Windrädern im HintergrundiStockphoto.com/Frank Peters

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dirk Westermann, Head of the Power Systems Group at the Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology and Director of the Thuringian Energy Research Institute (ThEFI) at TU Ilmenau, and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jürgen Petzoldt, former Head of the Power Electronics and Control Group iat the TU Ilmenau, are part of a newly founded advisory board that acts as an advisor for the challenges of the energy transition. The Scientific Advisory & Project Board (SAPB), initiated by the transmission system operator 50Hertz, includes a total of 21 renowned scientists from various disciplines, including Prof. Dr. Veronika Grimm, member of the German Council of Economic Experts ("Rat der Wirtschaftsweisen") and Prof. Dr. Andreas Löschel, Chairman of the Expert Commission on the Federal Government's monitoring report "Energy of the Future".

The Scientific and Project Advisory Board has already begun its work. Initial workshops were held to discuss the topics of energy scenarios and system security. The members of the advisory board intend to continue working on these topics in depth in the coming months in joint, interdisciplinary research and development projects.

Stefan Kapferer, CEO of 50Hertz, said at the digital kick-off meeting: "The coal phase-out and the implementation of the European Green Deal are an enormous challenge for our society. To master them, we need - even more urgently than in the first phase of the energy transition - the close interaction of business and science. Whether it's digitization, system services with renewables, the efficient use of hydrogen or social acceptance for the transformation - there are very many questions to which we need scientifically sound answers from different perspectives. We have therefore expanded our new Scientific Advisory Board in terms of personnel, topics and expertise."

The Scientific Advisory & Project Board is made up of members who are at home in the fields of electrical engineering and engineering sciences, have expertise in economics and social sciences, and research and teach in the areas of digitalization and marine technology.