The Institut für Transformationsaufgaben in der Energiewirtschaft und Energietechnik e.V. has won the Hessian State Prize for Energy 2024 in the Young Talent category.
Inspiring young people to dedicate themselves professionally to the energy transition - this is one of the central tasks of the Institute for Transformation Tasks in the Energy Industry and Energy Technology e.V., or ITEE for short. Founded in February 2023, the association's concept for developing the relevant specialists won the Hessian State Prize for Energy 2024 in the Young Talent category, in which there were two winners this year. The winners were announced on 25 September as part of the Future Forum Energy & Climate in Kassel.
"The fact that we were able to convince the jury with our approach naturally makes us proud. But above all, winning first place confirms that we will continue to consistently pursue the path we have taken with the ITEE," said Matthias Funk, Technical Director of Stadtwerke Gießen and Chairman of the ITEE, commenting on winning the Hessian State Energy Prize with satisfaction. The fourth edition of the prestigious competition was endowed with a total of 52,500 euros. This year's prize was awarded to outstanding ideas and concepts for the generation, storage, distribution and utilisation of energy. Companies, local authorities, social organisations, private individuals, research institutions and school and university students were able to apply in the categories of social commitment, mobility, young talent, electricity, system integration and heat. The ITEE gave a presentation entitled "Young talent for the energy transition: Interlocking theory and practice in the Central Hesse region". The prize money for first place is 2,500 euros. The ITEE will also receive a gold medal, which can also be used digitally as a seal of quality - for example on the website. Last but not least, professionals will create a film that clearly explains the non-profit association's approach. The ITEE can also use this video to convince others of the value of its work.
Bringing research and practice together
The ITEE was founded on the initiative of the Technical University of Central Hesse (THM). In addition to the THM, 15 municipal utilities from the region are now members - including Stadtwerke Gießen. "With the ITEE, we are bringing research and practice closer together," explains Matthias Funk. To ensure this, those responsible have transformed the association into an affiliated institute. As such, the ITEE remains legally independent, but is interlinked with the university in terms of organisation, personnel and premises. The idea behind this: Employees of the member companies can study part-time at THM - for example energy technology, mechatronics, energy economics and management, electrical engineering and information technology or mechanical engineering. In addition, THM students have the best opportunities to actively participate in relevant energy transition projects during their studies - for example as part of internships as well as term papers and theses. "In this way, the specialists of tomorrow gain valuable practical experience, which should make it much easier for them to enter the profession. Apparently, the jury of the Hessian State Prize also considers this concept to be promising," adds Matthias Funk.
Beyond training
The ITEE is intended to help overcome the huge challenges of the energy transition. Although training the urgently needed skilled labour plays a central role in this, there are also many other aspects to consider. After all, in addition to the expansion of renewable energies, the conversion and digitalisation of energy grids is also on the agenda. As this transformation is mainly taking place in the municipalities, it is up to the regional energy suppliers to find solutions. This is precisely why technical innovations are needed - even or especially on a comparatively small scale. "But not everyone has to reinvent the wheel here," summarises Matthias Funk, adding: "Much of what we develop together at the ITEE can then be adapted to individual local conditions with minor modifications."
THM contributes the necessary innovative strength - almost by definition. This is reflected, among other things, in the fact that the interdisciplinary Competence Centre for Energy Technology and Energy Management - etem.THM for short - provides scientific support for the ITEE. Its researchers have been working on technical and legal issues relating to energy conversion, distribution and utilisation for many years. THM contributes this expertise to the ITEE and thus supports regional energy suppliers in the implementation of the municipal heat transition and the transformation of energy networks.