The year 2024 is characterized by a substantial reduction in federal funding for project research. Energy research is particularly affected by this.
There are signs of a 30% reduction in available funding for new projects compared to the previous year. The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft's "Energy Technologies and Climate Protection" Group is therefore warning of a massive decline in German industry's ability to innovate in technologies for the energy transition. Nine institutes of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft are organized in the group, which play a key role in driving forward application-oriented energy research. "The current cuts are far-reaching and affect the entire spectrum of renewable energies and the key technologies of the current and future energy system: from wind energy, photovoltaics and geothermal energy to hydrogen and heat through to comprehensive system solutions," adds Prof. Andreas Reuter, Deputy Chairman of the Alliance and Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems IWES. "On the part of the research institutes, the cuts are leading to job losses, meaning that fewer people can be qualified to work in these promising industries."
