– Member Academies – All

17 Oct Future Energy Grid. Information and communication technology for the way towards a sustainable and economical energy system

National Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech)
2012

Germany's change in energy policy can only succeed using smart grids. Germany wants to opt out of nuclear energy by 2022 and rapidly transition to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power. However, electricity production from these energy sources is sporadic by nature as wind and sun are not consistently available. The current energy grid is not designed for a large number of fluctuating energy sources, therefore these renewable energies can only be integrated into the electricity system on a large scale if the grid infrastructure and storage capacities are upgraded. Information communication technology (ICT) is essential for the future power supply. Energy technology and ICT merge together in a “smart grid”, in which the individual infrastructure components communicate with each other and the power consumption and generation intelligently adapt to each other.

17 Oct Towards a financially viable transition to sustainable energy Efficient regulation for tomorrow’s energy system

National Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech)
2012

The decision to initiate a transition to sustainable energy has brought about a paradigm shift in Germany's energy policy, with the German government targeting a complete overhaul of the energy supply system by 2050. The aim is for the lion's share of future electricity generation to be accounted for by renewables. This will only be possible with significant investment in the expansion of renewable energy generation capacity, backup capacity to guarantee security of supply and grid infrastructure development. This substantial challenge is set to become even greater now that phasing out nuclear power has once again become a priority for Germany.

17 Oct Adaptation strategies in climate policy

National Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech)
2012

An effective climate policy comprises both curbing climate change by reducing CO2 emissions (mitigation) and adapting to its impact (adaptation). Mitigation and adaption are complementary and not competitive policies. Consequently, whilst continuing to pursue global emissions reduction targets, Germany should also start adapting to and preparing for climate change.

17 Oct Partitioning and transmutation of nuclear waste

National Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech)
2014

In June 2011, the German government’s announcement of the transition to renewable energy (known as the ‘Energiewende’) marked the beginning of the end for electricity production using nuclear power. The goal is for all electricity production at Germany’s nuclear power stations to cease by 2022. However, no definitive answer has yet been provided to the question of where and how the radioactive waste from these power plants will be permanently disposed of. In particular, there is currently no permanent storage facility for highly radioactive heat-generating waste. Whilst this type of waste only represents a small fraction of the overall volume, it accounts for 99 percent of the total radioactivity of the waste from nuclear plants.