Fachartikel 01_2025

The planned coal phase-out and the energy transition with their climate policy targets in Germany are linked to the expectation that domestic coal and thus coal mining will be completely replaced by renewable energies. To a considerable extent, this has already happened in this country. However, the consequences for the energy industry have hardly been explicitly considered and analysed from ...

Deep geothermal energy, as a reliable and sustainable source of heat, will play a decisive role in the heat transition in Germany. This technology uses the geothermal energy stored in deep geological layers to heat buildings and support industrial processes. In contrast to fossil fuels, geothermal energy is (virtually) emission-free and is available continuously and virtually everywhere, regardless of weather ...

The article discusses strategies to optimize and accelerate deep geothermal exploration to reduce costs and risks and increase success rates. Exploration methods such as airborne and ground geophysics, seismic measurements and microseismics are discussed. Seismic exploration includes preparation, measurement and evaluation, with 3D seismic requiring more resources than 2D seismic. Challenges in urban regions and alternative utilization techniques such as ...

Due to recent global political events, the importance of a year-round stable and secure energy supply from reliable sources has become unmistakable. The fuels required to secure our national energy supply are imported on a large scale, in some cases from countries that are considered politically unstable. In order to achieve the necessary increase in independence, it is therefore obvious ...

Restructuring the energy supply has intensified in focus since the recent geopolitical events in conjunction with the concern over the shortage of fossil fuels. In addition, the targets of greenhouse gas neutrality in the transport, electricity and heating sectors must be achieved by 2045, which is reinforced by the Federal Climate Protection Act. In 2023, the German heating sector, the ...

Due to the strong volatility and seasonal dependency of power generation from renewable energies, it is essential to develop storage options with very high capacities in order to realise the energy transition. The aim is to store the energy that can be generated in times of plenty of wind and sun, but is not needed at those times, so that ...

In the past, mining was the backbone of the electricity supply. In the future, this is to be secured entirely by renewable energies. However, this also requires raw materials and thus mining. Therefore, mining must be secured to this extent. The Critical Raw Materials Act has defined important cornerstones for this, which should also be implemented in national mining law. ...

The coal phase-out, which is now being targeted in practically all EU member states, has been accompanied at the European level since 2017 by the European Coal Regions in Transition Initiative. Since 2020, this has been embedded in the Just Transition Initiative, which has been expanded to include regions with CO2-intensive industries, with the establishment of the so-called Just Transition ...