The RET.Con conference programme offers a wide range of technology-specific presentations on bioenergy, photovoltaics and energy efficiency issues. This year, there were also two main topics: energy system modelling and sustainable universities.   

At the start of the conference, Prof Viktor Wesselak, spokesperson for the Institute for Regenerative Energy Technology and Vice President of Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences, emphasised the importance of RET.Con as an exchange format between universities and research institutions in the field of renewable energies. "RET.Con is taking place for the seventh time this year and we have managed to establish a successful conference format that focuses not only on individual technologies, but in particular on energy systems. RET.Con is our contribution to national networking and co-operation in the field of application-oriented energy research," says Wesselak.


Thuringia's Minister for the Environment, Energy and Nature Conservation, Bernd Stengele, emphasised the importance of cooperation between politics and science for a sustainable energy policy. In his welcoming address, the Thuringian Minister emphasised the essential role of cooperation between politics and science, particularly in the context of energy policy. Stengele emphasised the need to identify, analyse and utilise regional energy potential in order to ensure a sustainable energy supply: "The best solutions are created locally. Thuringia therefore has a broad mix of sustainable energy: from roof and façade solar, bio and wind energy to geothermal and solar thermal energy. We also have strong players for hydrogen as an energy source. We are therefore well placed to modernise Thuringia's energy supply in an increasingly climate-friendly way. Another focus of his speech was on the transfer of scientific expertise through targeted science communication. The aim is to communicate complex scientific findings in language that is easy to understand and thus promote a broad exchange between politics, science, business and civil society.


Dr Sebastian Voswinckel from PtX-Lab Lausitz spoke about "Power-to-X and the energy transition", explaining the technology that converts renewable energy into various forms such as green hydrogen and synthetic fuels. These can be used in various sectors such as transport and industry to maximise renewable energy and drive decarbonisation. As renewable energy is a scarce resource for the foreseeable future, green hydrogen and synthetic fuels should only be used in sectors that are difficult to electrify. These include, in particular, air and sea transport and the chemical industry. With its work, the PtX Lab Lausitz supports the market ramp-up of PtX products and develops the technical basis for the sustainable production and utilisation of PtX products. In addition to green hydrogen, the sustainable provision and utilisation of carbon plays an important role here. It thus also helps sectors that are difficult to defossilise to achieve greenhouse gas neutrality and contributes to the achievement of climate targets. Using the example of maritime transport, Voswinckel illustrates the need for measures to provide alternative fuels that contribute to securing the future supply of energy and raw materials and are intended to drive forward defossilisation.

Parallel to the RET.Con, the following took place from 07 to 09 February 2024 the oemof user meeting in Nordhausen. Oemof stands for "Open Energy Modelling Framework" and is a digital and freely accessible tool for modelling and analysing energy systems. It enables the simulation and optimisation of renewable energy sources, storage systems, energy consumption and grid infrastructure. Oemof is supported and used by a community of researchers and developers worldwide. The framework provides tools for creating energy economic models to analyse different scenarios and make informed decisions in the field of sustainable energy planning. It plays an important role in research and development in the field of renewable energy and contributes to the design of sustainable energy solutions.