In late November, interested guests from the worlds of politics, business, and academia had the opportunity to learn about Saxony’s innovations in the field of energy technologies at Saxony’s State Representation in Berlin. During a breakfast discussion on the topic “Energy Technologies for the Global Market—Saxony as a Champion of the Energy Transition,” nine Saxon companies and research institutions presented their new products and processes.

“Especially when it comes to shaping the energy transition in Germany, we need innovative ideas and marketable products. Even if we cannot do without conventional energy generation as a guarantee of a more secure energy supply in the coming years, we must actively shape the transformation of the system of energy generation, distribution, and storage. “There are solutions from Saxony for all of this,” affirmed Minister of State Martin Dulig. The Free State of Saxony has been supporting energy research in companies, universities, and research institutions for years, including with funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

The breakfast meeting was also attended by many high-ranking international representatives, such as embassy representatives from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Ukraine, Poland, Austria, and the Taipei Representative Office of the Federal Republic of Germany.

“I am very pleased that so many foreign representatives accepted our invitation. With approximately 12,200 employees in about 700 companies, environmental and energy technology in Saxony is a significant economic factor, not only for the domestic market. “Our ideas and solutions should also be applied abroad,” Dulig continued.

Among the representatives from the academic community invited was the Institute for Process Engineering, Process Automation, and Measurement Technology (IPM). This opportunity was used to present our university’s research portfolio at an information booth. In a short presentation, Prof. Kratzsch highlighted relevant projects in the field of energy storage research at the Zittau Power Plant Laboratory.

To ensure the reliable expansion of power generation from alternative energy sources, flexible generation capacities—which compensate for load fluctuations caused by volatile feed-in from photovoltaic and wind power plants—are indispensable to ensure secure electricity generation in the future as well. It was demonstrated that energy research at the IPM is dedicated to addressing precisely this challenge with great commitment and is currently the only partner working on an industrial-scale solution to increase the flexibility of the energy supply. The projects within the Zittau Power Plant Laboratory clearly demonstrated that increasing the flexibility of thermal power plants plays a key role on the complex path toward the successful implementation of the energy transition.

The discussion helped raise awareness among representatives from politics and industry of the scientific and technical challenges involved in restructuring the energy supply system and secured their support for submitting proposals for further research projects.

The event was initiated by Energy Saxony e.V., which sees itself as an advocacy group dedicated to promoting innovation in Saxony’s energy research within companies and scientific institutions in the Free State.