In future, in addition to the three established research areas Marine and Climate Research, Neurosciences and Cognitive Sciences, and Social Sciences, there will be a fourth research area at the Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg (HWK) in Delmenhorst: Energy Research. This area ideally complements the forms of interdisciplinary work at the HWK and strengthens their impact as an interface and intersection of knowledge transfer and academic discourse. The HWK’s rector, Prof. Dr. Reto Weiler, emphasizes the meaning of this research area in the northwest: "Energy research in the northwest is, at present and in the future, first and foremost the exploration of regenerative energy production, energy efficiency and power storage.â€
An analysis of the development of the research areas with materials science backgrounds at the universities in Oldenburg and Bremen revealed that the largest dynamics, both currently and in the future, are found in the area of energy research. In particular, the area of regenerative energies, with the fields of photovoltaics, storage media and wind energy, is experiencing a downright fierce development in the northwest. In the context of the successful initiatives on the state and federal levels, especially in view of electric mobility, a decidedly favorable prospect is emerging for the development of energy research in the northwest.
"Successful initiatives in the northwest, such as, for example, the establishment of the university An-Institute NextEnergy, the establishment of a Fraunhofer project group for energy storage research (IFAM Bremen, University of Oldenburg), the expansion of ForWind in Oldenburg to a national wind energy center, and the Spitzencluster application "germanwind†from the region contribute to an outstanding network infrastructure in the north and will now be energetically supported by the Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg,†announced Prof. Dr. Reto Weiler. Energy research, as described further by the HWK’s rector, is a cross-cutting issue with close social and sociopolitical ties and, in view of the offshore wind farms, is highly relevant to marine research. And so it is beyond dispute that energy research, in particular the investigation of regenerative energy and related topics, will always have an important national and international impact. That is why the new department of Energy Research fits particularly well to an Institute for Advanced Study that has always recognized "planning for the future†as one of its core tasks.
This year’s New Year reception at the HWK on January 22 was also the commencement of the new research area. Aptly, the Balzan Prize winner of 2009, Prof. Dr. Michael Grätzel, from the Ecole Polytechnique de Lausanne, held the celebration lecture: "Solar cells plant style.†At one million Swiss francs, the Balzan Prize is one of the highest-endowed academic prizes. Prof. Grätzel, who was a fellow at the HWK in 2003, is the inventor and developer of the Grätzel cell and his discovery of this new type of photovoltaic solar cell caused an international sensation. In contrast to the common silicon cells, which require high-purity, expensive silicon, the Grätzel cell uses relatively inexpensive materials, allowing it to convert sunlight into electrical energy more efficiently. The Grätzel cells, which are cheap to make and are very light and flexible, will now be produced by G24 Innovations in Welsh Cardiff, so that they can be built, for example, into backpacks, in which chargeable electronics are carried.