ENavi Summer Academy Takes a Closer Look at the Requirements and Effects of the Digital Energy Transition
13.05.2019
Digitisation can support the transition to a low-carbon energy system by facilitating the production, transportation and consumption of renewable energies. Digital technologies give consumers a role in determining when, where, and for what purpose energy is provided, how much energy can be saved, and what share of the energy mix renewables make up. From 13 to 17 May, early-career professionals from 16 different countries will meet with experts in Potsdam to discuss the challenges the transition to a sustainable energy system presents to politics, science, the private sector and civil society, and the role digitisation can play in the process.
To date, energy generation has been based largely on the combustion of fossil resources, which results in greenhouse gas emissions. In order to reduce such emissions, our energy system is to gradually shift to environmentally friendly renewable energy sources by 2050. This transition changes the role played by energy consumers in private households, manufacturing and trade, and the service industry. Their energy consumption patterns can now determine how much energy is provided, on what conditions, and in what locations. These changes make new demands of the energy system, which digital solutions can help to meet.
Participants to cover many different bases
Over the course of a week, young researchers and early-career professionals will come together with renowned sustainability researchers to investigate the societal prerequisites for a new mobility strategy, the requirements of a digitally supported heating solution based on renewable energies, and the “blockchain”, a cryptographic procedure to link data sets securely. At the end of the week, they will consider how digital solutions can contribute to an integrated energy supply system and what impact they can have on electricity market design. A session on rural parts of Africa will explore the geopolitical implications of the shift to a sustainable energy system. And during an excursion to the EUREF Campus in Berlin – a centre of research on mobility, energy and sustainability – participants will experience how the future energy system will work in practice.
The first ENavi Summer Academy is organised and hosted by the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) as part of the Kopernikus Project “Energy Transition Navigation System”.
The Kopernikus Project Energy Transition Navigation System | ENavi
The Kopernikus Project Energy Transition Navigation System – ENavi for short – sees the transformation of the existing energy system into a low-carbon system based on renewable energy sources as a process of broad societal change. ENavi links scientific analyses to political and social requirements. The project’s key product is a navigation tool that the researchers use to gauge the effects and side effects of economic, political, legal, technical, and social measures in advance.
The 58 associated partners include 23 research institutes, 18 university institutes, 3 non-governmental organisations, 9 companies, 4 local authorities, and 2 regional authorities. Over 20 competence partners bring practical insights from various fields. As one of the four “Kopernikus Projects for the Energy Transition”, ENavi is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Further information: www.kopernikus-projekte.de/enavi
