The future of energy. By Energy Economist Prof. Dr. Claudia Kemfert:

What will the future of energy be like? Will we be living like our ancestors in the light of candles and travelling on horse drawn wagons, with no electricity or hot running water? Hardly that. As bleak as the predictions of some futurists and visionaries may be, the future will not be seeing us zooming about space on the USS Enterprise, nor cultivated in a Matrix by intelligen... [mehr]

Power and fuels from sunlight: When is the postfossil age due?:

At present, fossil fuels still contribute over 80% of the power generated in Germany. In the process, too much carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere, damaging the climate. A reversal has been tabled, but what’s the energy mix going to be in the year 2050? Professor Wolfgang Eberhardt presents a variegated bouquet of possibilities for the energy mix of the future. Th... [mehr]

The indefatigable: Chemical engineer Tatjana Čukić positively hums with inexhaustible energy:

Tatjana Čukić is a genuine live wire: a many faceted perpetuum mobile with a thirst for knowledge. And it only follows that her job centres on energy: the young Serbian works as a chemical engineer at Global Solar Energy Deutschland, a producer of thin film solar cells. Tatjana Čukić has no problems about being the only woman among the eight engineers at Gl... [mehr]

Solar cells with greater efficiency: So who needs ultrapure silicon?:

Adlershof is a significant location for energy research – for instance, climate friendly power generation with solar cells. The price for photovoltaic power generation does not ultimately depend on the production costs for its solar cells. The so called wafers, the high purity silicon blanks from which the cells are made, are very expensive. “For a long time their producti... [mehr]

Adlershof solar power plant: From testing ground for solar installations to respectable power supply:

The new solar cells on the roof of Studio H were the crowning achievement: now numbering twenty one, the photovoltaic installations in Adlershof together generate far in excess of 1 MW of electric power under the maximum solar irradiation – a scale also on a level with conventional smaller power plant. What began as a testing ground for solar cells has now evolved into a seri... [mehr]

Energy project in a glasshouse: Eco friendly CHP:

What’s Adlershof doing with 2000 cubic metres of hot water? This isn’t bubbling from a hot spring, but is filling five gigantic heat reservoirs of the new Energy Centre in Adlershof. At its inauguration, the operator BTB set an example for the economical and ecological generation of heat and power. This combined heat and power (CHP) plant located between Albert-Einstein-St... [mehr]

Lead free with lesswire: Lesswire develops radio modules for micro CHP plant and onboard internet:

With innovative radio modules, the high tech company lesswire has banished cable clutter from our normal working days. This makes life easier and provides for new applications, from onboard internet in cars to the comfortable operation of the local CHP plant. This innovative powerhouse, though, still lies coverless next to the desk of a developer at lesswire AG. Here, on the e... [mehr]

Research without limits: IRIS, an interdisciplinary integrative research institute, opens its doors:

Perfectly structured semiconductor surfaces? No problem for physicists. Electrically conducting layers of macromolecules or isolated DNA? Chemists turf this out in excellent qualities. But how can the two be brought together? Here too, the whole is more than the sum of its parts: inorganic-organic hybrid materials can exhibit completely new and unexpected electronic, chemical, ... [mehr]

A little power for a lot of light: How Adlershof wants to get in on the LED boom:

Insiders all agree that LEDs (light emitting diodes) will supersede the classical forms of lighting over the medium term. According to ZVEI, the central association for the German electrical and electronics industry, this technology is on the verge of a breakthrough, and the market in Europe is predicted to grow to about €1.9bn by 2015, over six times its present volume. “... [mehr]

Strength in unity – the new Berlin Solar Network:

The Berlin Solar Network first saw the light of day in July. The purpose of this association is not only to promote corporate cooperation, but also to demonstrate to political leaders the consequences of cuts in solar subsidies for Berlin companies. “It all began when the solar companies in Berlin opposed the cuts in buyback prices at the end of last year,” explained Dagma... [mehr]