The Oldenburg Approach: Energy Research at the University of Oldenburg

Energy research has a long and pioneering tradition in Oldenburg. Researchers of the University were among the first to focus on renewable energies in the 1970s. As early as the 1980s, an ‘energy laboratory’ with its own solar and wind power supply was set up on campus, laying the foundation for today’s research focus on renewable energies. To this day, energy research and energy studies remain a flagship discipline here – which is unusual for a university without an engineering faculty. 

Today, around 30 professorships and their research groups form the core of Oldenburg’s energy research, spanning the natural sciences (e.g. materials research for solar cells and batteries, wind physics) and Computing Science (digital energy systems) to the economic and social sciences, which examine the transformation of the energy system from an economic and societal perspective.

The cluster “Materials” combines research activities in the fields of nano, quantum and energy research. The research groups, which attract substantial third-party funding, are well connected; a key collaboration between the various stakeholders takes place within the “Dynamics at the Nanoscale” project. The overarching aim is to investigate fundamental energy conversion processes and their quantum dynamics in nanostructures, which often occur on extremely short spatial and temporal scales and are in many cases still poorly understood. The transport of electrons, nuclei, spins and electromagnetic radiation at the nanoscale is essential for future applications of nanomaterials in quantum cryptography, quantum information processing (e.g. in quantum computers), quantum sensing, as well as in ultra-fast optical computers, optoelectronic components, solar cells or batteries, and is being investigated using innovative experimental and theoretical methods. The development of the research cluster has received substantial funding by the DFG and has been strengthened for the future through five strategic academic appointments of leading researchers – two Lichtenberg professorships, one professorship under the federal and state programme for female professors, and two academic appointments of researchers awarded with ERC Starting Grants. 

In addition to the research areas of wind physics and energy informatics, the cluster "Systems and Networks" also integrates non-university players such as the university-affiliated OFFIS Institute and the Institute of Networked Energy Systems of the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, DLR) – around 300 scientists in total. The overarching aim of the cluster is to integrate energy system components, technologies, materials and models into large-scale systems in order to shape sustainable energy transitions, in collaboration with energy-related social and economic sciences at the University of Oldenburg. This interdisciplinary approach is pursued in depth across numerous projects. Several research groups bring together the relevant social, economic and legal sciences, wind energy research, research into energy technologies, energy informatics and energy systems, as well as physical and technical chemistry.

Energy research in Oldenburg is not only strongly established within the university. It is closely linked to several research institutes in the region: ForWind – Centre for Wind Energy Research, OFFIS – Institute for Computing Science, and the DLR Institute of Networked Energy Systems.

Furthermore, the scientists in Oldenburg are active in regional and supra-regional networks. The University of Oldenburg is a founding member of the Lower Saxony Energy Research Network (efzn) and actively participates in regional, supra-regional, national and international initiatives, programmes, networks and co-operations. In addition to the efzn, these include Powerhouse Nord, the Oldenburg Energy Cluster (OLEC) and the North-West Metropolitan Region.