Sustainable energy supply and resource management

Current profile

The field of innovation “Sustainable energy supply and resource management” comprises industrial activities in the fields of renewable energies, regional energy-supply strategies, energy storage, as well as resource management and recycling.  Numerous players in the economy are active in the fields of product manufacturing and plant engineering as well as in the services sector, occupying special niches or offering a broad portfolio of services as market leaders and/or technology leaders.

A landscape of outstanding academic and extra-mural research institutions along with its highly effective networking and consultancy structures offers ideal conditions for knowledge sharing that bridges the gap between research and practical application.  This in turn lays the groundwork for developing the technologies of the future.

Key economic data for this field of innovation:

•    Turnover: € 8,193,257,000
•    Number of operations: 6,800
•    Size of the workforce (employees subject to compulsory social insurance contributions): 42,612

Source: TLS, (data for 2013) 

Trends 

The social challenges arising from progressive climate change and the increasing scarcity of resources are particularly important factors for the field of innovation “Sustainable energy supply and resource management.”  These challenges dictate the need to develop new strategies and technologies to reduce CO2 emissions, to organize the transition of society away from the use of greenhouse gases, and to increase the number of pathways along which resources can be recycled.

As they tackle these challenges, the Thuringian stakeholders in this field of specialization can draw on a multitude of specific competences in individual spheres of activity (energy generation, transport and storage; energy efficiency and conservation; resource efficiency, materials cycles and water management; as well as bioeconomics); the use and enhancement of these competences will serve to further strengthen this particular field of innovation.  In this context, there are not only numerous points of contact between individual competences within the field of innovation itself, but also various interfaces with Thuringia’s other fields of innovation.

Thuringia boasts a number of useful strengths when it comes to the potential enhancement of existing competences in this particular field of innovation:

• A strong research and innovation landscape, particularly when it comes to energy-storage systems, systems/modeling expertise or the development of materials and technologies in the energy sector.  
• A high-performing local industry, e.g. in photovoltaics and bioenergy as well as in process engineering and recycling technology;
• Innovative solutions for in-building photovoltaics, e.g. in tandem with the region’s innovative glass industry;
• Projects and institutions for industry-wide networking as well as across sectors.