The purpose of the new "Fraunhofer Center for Digital Energy" is to advance structural change in the Rhineland region.
Being strongly characterized by industry, North Rhine-Westphalia in particular presents a major challenge for the energy transition. The state is responding to this challenge with a gradual restructuring process, particularly in the Rhine coal-mining area. One important measure is the creation of the "Fraunhofer Center for Digital Energy" in the region. This institution will lay the foundation for technically reliable, secure and economically attractive digitized energy infrastructures. Minister President Armin Laschet on the project's launch: "North Rhine-Westphalia is a pioneering state in the energy transition. The center has great potential to move closer to the goal of a European model region for secure and sustainable energy supply."
The "Fraunhofer Center for Digital Energy" located in Aachen will create around 100 jobs and combines the expertise of renowned professorial chairs with a strong practical orientation. For example, IT security or digital technologies for energy supply systems are to be developed and tested with the help of a 10,000 volt distribution network. "The combination of innovative top-level research, qualified specialists and the direct transfer of research into practical application creates an enormous location advantage for the Rhine coal-mining area," says Laschet in summary.
