Germany's federal cabinet recently adopted the government's 6th Energy Research Programme. It sets out the guiding principles and priorities of the government's support policy in the field of innovative energy technologies for the coming years. This support lays the groundwork for an environmentally sound, secure and economical restructuring of Germany's energy supply.

The programme, entitled "Research for an environmentally sound, reliable and affordable energy research", is a joint project of the Ministry of Economics and Technology (which has the lead responsibility), the Environment Ministry, the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection and the Education and Research Ministry. The German cabinet adopted the programme on August 3, 2011.

Enlarge image wind turbine (© picture-alliance/dpa) "The energy issue is very high on our policy agenda,” stated Philipp Rösler, Economics Minister. “With the new Energy Research Programme, we are implementing one measure of the energy concept and make an important contribution towards speeding up the move to a new energy policy in Germany.

We need innovative and efficient energy technologies to ensure that the shift to the age of renewables takes place in a secure and affordable manner. Our new programme is providing a reliable policy environment for research and development. At the same time, we are supporting the business and research communities as they adapt to meet the major challenges of the 21st century."

With its 6th Energy Research Programme, the German government is adding a new strategic approach to its energy and climate policy. This approach places emphasis on enhanced assistance for research into and development of forward-looking energy technologies.

Boost of 75 percent in research spending
The German government's budget for energy research clearly reflects its commitment in this regard as it is making approximately 3.4 billion Euro available for energy research for the period from 2011 to 2014. The remarkable increase in funding of around 75 percent compared to the period from 2006 to 2009 will mainly be used for the newly established "Energy and Climate Fund".

The funds will be employed for strategic priority areas that are vital for a speedy transformation of Germany's energy supply: renewable energies, energy efficiency, energy storage, grid technologies and the integration of renewable energies into the energy supply system.

Enlarge image On the ground at a parabolic trough power plant by Solar Millenium (© Solar MIllenium AG) Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner noted the “massive” need for research towards renewables in the agriculture field. "To this end, the Agriculture Ministry is making around 180 million Euro worth of funding available for bioenergy research for the period from 2011 to 2014. New funding priorities, as for example, improving energy efficiency, enhancing the energy storage capacity of bioenergy and expanding decentralised supply structures will help to further boost bioenergy."

The Education and Research Minister Prof. Dr. Annette Schavan, also underscored her ministry's forward-thinking approach: "We are supporting the development of new energy storage technologies and the move to climate-neutral cities. Thus, our research agenda is designed to enable German science to play a pioneering role worldwide."

Environment Minister Dr. Norbert Röttgen emphasized, "We can effectively speed up the transformation of our energy supply by providing qualified research assistance which facilitates targeted support for the development of innovative technologies....Research assistance for energy storage and grid technologies and combined renewable energy power plants is also a priority here.”

With the joint funding initiatives of the ministries involved, the German government is providing a fresh stimulus to the research landscape, focussing the research community's core competencies on key energy policy issues and further expanding international research cooperation. In this context, it is particularly important to better link the research activities within the European Union. Finally, the German government is strengthening the coordination of all energy research activities by expanding the "Coordination Platform for Energy Research".