Welcome to the E.ON Energy Research Center
Mission Statement
Market liberalization and concerns about climate change have stimulated an increased use of distributed power sources such as combined heat and power and renewable energy systems. To cope with the volatility and the wide spread use of alternative power supplies and storage systems, novel concepts for the grid integration, automation and control is needed. In addition, energy efficiency and demand side management are enabling technologies to master the balance between supply and demand. Influencing the energy consumption and production habits of prosumers requires detailed analysis to estimate the resulting effects on the future energy system. Consequently, energy research must not only concentrate on solutions of individual technical problems. It is equally important to devise comprehensive interdisciplinary approaches to and studies of complex questions.
E.ON Energy Research Center
E.ON Energy Research Center is divided into four institutes from three faculties and the Central Services. The Research Center is led by Prof. Dr. ir. Dr. h.c. Rik W. De Doncker, who is also Director of the Institute for Power Generation and Storage Systems (PGS).
The E.ON ERC at RWTH Aachen University is the result of a public-private partnership between industry and the scientific community. As one of the largest energy companies in Europe, E.ON SE has come together with the internationally renowned RWTH Aachen University in order to realize this unique project.
Institutes
The four Institutes of E.ON ERC are:
Automation of Complex Power Systems (ACS)
Energy Efficient Buildings and Indoor Climate (EBC)
Future Energy Consumer Needs and Behavior (FCN)
Power Generation and Storage Systems (PGS)
As associated institute the Institute for Applied Geophysics and Geothermal Energy (GGE) is integrated in the E.ON ERC main building
The institutes at E.ON Energy Research Center, which belong to different RWTH faculties, work interdisciplinarily in the field of electrical engineering, information and communication engineering, computer science, business and economics, mechanical engineering, as well as georesources and materials science.
Research Fields
Main target of research is to exploit the potentials of energy savings, energy efficiency and sustainable energy supplies. Among others, research at E.ON ERC focuses on decentralized power generation, power electronics, DC grid technology and storage systems, geothermal energy and storage, large scale engineered reservoirs, energy markets, economy, rebound effects, dynamics of electrical grids, automation, agent based control and distributed intelligence, efficient building technology and indoor climate.
Central Services
The Central Offices are service providers for the Institues and first contact to all orgaizational questions. Belonging to the Central Offices:
Administration
Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
Electrical Workshop
Mechanical Workshop