Research Topics

The theme of Science Year 2010 is “The Future of Energy”. Ferdi Schüth, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research in Mülheim an der Ruhr and Vice President of the German Research Foundation, explains where Germany leads in energy research and what the energy supply of tomorrow could look like.

Prof. Schüth, what fields are covered by energy research? And what is their key question?

The spectrum of energy research ranges from the supplying of energy and its efficient utilization and transformation to its storage. The key question is how to get away from fossil fuel energy sources. Their reserves are finite, and the burning of coal, gas and oil is harmful to the climate.

What countries lead in energy research – and where does Germany rank among them?

In solar and wind energy Germany is leading the way, and Denmark too is at the top. In nuclear energy, the leaders are France and America, and in the field of energy storage in progressive battery types it is southeast Asia. Basically, Germany is at the top in many fields of energy technology because of its strong mechanical engineering and big chemical industry.

Nearly all areas are funded

What projects does Germany fund? And who funds them?

We have a very broad funding structure in energy research: for one thing, the responsibilities lie with various ministries; for another there are several big institutions such as the German Research Foundation, the Max Planck Society and the Helmholtz Association that carry on energy research. In this way nearly all areas of energy research are funded: there are big projects in wind and solar energy and also for the development of traction batteries for vehicles, which are important for electric mobility.

Linking wind and sun

Which international projects under German management are pioneering?

The most ambitious and biggest project under German management is surely Desertec. Here several domestic and foreign large-scale enterprises, together with an international pool of scientists and politicians, want to supply Europe by 2050 with solar energy from southern Europe and North Africa.

The dimensions of this project are gigantic. The planned solar-thermal power plants are expected to have a capacity of 100 gigawatts; that’s the equivalent of 80 nuclear power plants. These solar thermal stations are to be coupled with wind farms in the North Sea. These will better balance the energy supply, because renewable energy sources aren’t steadily available. Sometimes the wind blows and sometimes it doesn’t, and the sun doesn’t always shine.

Loss of a lot of know-how

Where is there a need to catch up in energy research?

In Germany we’re certainly still badly positioned in battery research. We’ve lost a lot of know-how here in the direction of southeast Asia. As a result, the lithium-ion battery for laptops and mobile phones, which is now the most progressive technology in this area, was developed there. Basically, storage technology is one of the least developed fields of energy research. Yet it’s important when, for instance, it comes to heat storage in solar thermal power plants or energy storage for e-cars.

What is the biggest challenge in energy research?

Energy research isn’t only pure technological research: it reaches into social, economic, political and legal areas. We’re facing a serious changeover in our energy systems.

One example: in future we may have a different kind of mobility that isn’t based on fossil fuels. This might mean that concepts of mobility will change, that there will be less individual traffic. Energy research therefore has to ask what such a change means for the energy supply. We haven’t sufficiently absorbed the fact that research in this respect needs a broader approach.

No agreement among scientists

Is there a scientific consensus about what the energy supply of tomorrow should look like?

No. Some experts counsel banking massively on nuclear energy. Other experts counsel banking massively on renewable sources. What is relatively clear, however, is that our energy supply will be more diversified. And it’s also clear that it will have a lower proportion of fossil fuels and a higher proportion of renewable sources.

And what is your advice?

Personally, I favor a renewable system as far as that is possible, because climate change confronts us with a big problem. On the way to this solution, I’d accept nuclear energy supplied by safely run plants as a transitional technology.

Increase citizen acceptance

What stimulus can Science Year 2010 give?

The Science Year can get things moving of course. It makes researchers, scientists, students and doctoral candidates aware of this theme and perhaps induces them to shift their focus of work. In addition, the federal government is planning to draft an overall energy strategy. In this respect, too, discussions such as those broached by the Science Year are of great importance.

Also, no energy technology is without its nuisances. If by the end of this year individual citizens are ready to accept the building of high-voltage direct current lines, gas storage facilities and wind turbines for the sake of a sustainable and environmentally friendly energy supply, then we’ll have gained quite a lot.