About Us

»Our vision is that the energy supply of the future will be climate-neutral while remaining reliable and affordable for both consumers and industries. We have made it our mission to support this vision through innovative digital solutions, targeted training and education, and the development of sustainable business models.«

The security of supply of future cross-sector energy systems must be guaranteed and is based on intelligent and secure infrastructures. To this end, critical energy supply infrastructures must also be effectively protected against accidental or malicious attacks targeting their information technology.

The energy supply of the future must remain affordable for consumers and businesses, but it must also be economically attractive for operators and energy suppliers. We are therefore researching and developing digitally supported planning methods and modes of operation, innovative market approaches, and novel business models.

The digitization of future energy systems serves to integrate renewable energies as well as facilitate reliable operation and sustainable planning of infrastructures and the economic efficiency. We develop solutions for uninterrupted exchange of data, increased IT security and the sovereign networking between the vast number actors in the energy supply system.

As a result of the coal phase-out, the Rhenische Revier is facing a profound transformation with major challenges for the energy sector and energy-intensive industries. The basis for this is an affordable and permanently available energy supply. This sector is undergoing a fundamental change - from fossil fuels in historically grown infrastructures to CO2-free and cross-sector energy systems. In this once-in-a-century transformation, digital technologies are key to the successful integration of renewable energy sources into markets and grids and to the secure operation of critical infrastructures.

The Fraunhofer Center Digital Energy is contributing significantly to the development of the Rhenish Mining Region into a model region for energy supply and resource security. Fraunhofer and the RWTH Aachen University together form one of the largest drivers for innovation in Germany and Europe and, through their application-oriented research, can provide targeted support to regional companies in maintaining and sustainably developing their competitiveness in a rapidly changing energy supply environment.

The bundling of expertise from the fields of "Energy Systems", "Digitalization", "IT Security" and "Business Models" gives the Rhenish Mining Region a unique advantage and increases the international visibility and attractiveness of the region for industries and cutting-edge research. Targeted education & training of specialists and decision-makers in important fields as well as direct and sustainable access to bundled, interdisciplinary expert knowledge offers companies, decision-makers and politicians enormous added value.

In this fashion the Rhenish Mining Region will contribute to the development of necessary technological, personnel and economic changes for the safe and controllable operation of critical energy supply infrastructure throughout Germany and Europe.