On 3 and 4 December, all employees of the TEN.efzn research programme, which was launched last year, came together for their first annual meeting. Under the leitmotif of "interdisciplinarity", the participants had an intensive exchange about what has been achieved so far, key findings and the next steps on the way to a common understanding of research.

TEN.efzn stands for the close networking of social, technical and natural sciences. The aim is not only to analyse the transformation of the energy system from a technical perspective, but also to understand it from a social, economic and political perspective, thereby developing viable solutions for a sustainable energy future.

Prof. Dr Jannika Mattes, who is the programme's spokesperson together with Prof. Sebastian Lehnhoff, emphasised the special role of the project for Lower Saxony's research landscape in her contribution. She emphasised that TEN.efzn, with a total volume of around 58 million euros, "offers a unique opportunity to rethink energy research". According to Mattes, interdisciplinarity is not just a buzzword, but "the key to really understanding the complexity of the energy transition and developing practical, socially acceptable solutions."

After a successful first year, in which the foundations for interdisciplinary cooperation between the project partners were laid, we are now turning our attention to the next steps: the in-depth analysis and the upcoming field research, some of which will take place in the project's real-world laboratories.

More information on the TEN.efzn research programme can be found here.