Energy Systems of the Future

Initiative of the German Academies of Sciences

Learn more

This is what the future could look like in 2050: Electricity is mainly generated from wind and solar power. Cars are fuelled with electricity or hydrogen. Buildings are so well insulated that they no longer require heating.

How do we get there? What remains to be explored? And how is the transition towards a more sustainable energy supply to be financed? The Academies’ Project “Energy Systems of the Future” provides answers to these questions.

Current issues

Eine graphische Darstellung, die erklärt, wie bei der Kernfusion Energie entsteht.

News

Nuclear fusion: a future energy source?

Over the past few years, there has been a surge of interest in nuclear fusion within the energy transition debate due to its potential as a climate-friendly energy source. What role might it play in a future net-zero electricity system? How soon could nuclear fusion start supplying energy? And how does the technology actually work? The latest “In a Nutshell!” publication from the Academies’ Project ESYS explains the basics.

Press Release

Most likely no operational power plants before 2045: academies of science evaluate current state of nuclear fusion research

There has been a surge of interest in nuclear fusion over the past two years. But where is nuclear fusion research really at today? While the stability and energy records have been repeatedly broken in experiments, the switch-on of the ITER test reactor has been delayed once more. In a new paper, the Academies’ Project “Energy Systems of the Future” (ESYS) discusses the technology’s potential and challenges and concludes that nuclear fusion is unlikely to contribute to meeting Germany and Europe’s climate targets by 2045.

News

Carbon management and negative emissions: academies press the case for a consistent overall strategy

Without capturing and permanently storing carbon dioxide (CO₂), it will not be possible to achieve climate neutrality by 2045, as climate scenarios have been highlighting for some time. Injecting CO₂ into the ground has not been permitted in Germany up to now, but that is set to change under the Carbon Management Strategy (CMS). The Academies’ Project “Energy Systems of the Future” (ESYS) reveals where improvements still need to be made on the key points of the CMS and how carbon management can evolve to achieve net-negative emissions.

„The energy transition is crucial in achieving the Paris Agreement’s central goal to keep the global average temperature below 2° C. The Academies’ Project ESYS can make a major contribution to accomplish this turn.“

Gerald Haug
President of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina

„The crises of the last two years have made it even clearer that the energy transition cannot wait. Academies bundle knowledge for society and thus also knowledge for the energy transition.“

Christoph Markschies
President of the Union of German Academies

„Only by working together as a global community can we succeed in solving global issues such as the energy transition. This requires modern technologies, cutting-edge research and interdisciplinary, cross-border projects such as ESYS.“

Jan Wörner
acatech President