Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI

The final workshop of the project REFLEX (Analysis of the European energy system under the aspects of flexibility and technological progress) is taking place on 3^rd April 2019 in Brussels. The registration for the stakeholder workshop »Flexibility and Technological Progress in a Multi-Coupled European Energy System« is possible until 25^th March 2019.  

A new study by the Fraunhofer Institute for System and Innovation Research ISI, commissioned by the Coalition for Energy Savings, finds that tapping all available cost-effective savings potentials across sectors could halve the EU’s energy demand by 2050 and provides new insights in how societal trends - such as digitalisation, new economic and social models, the transition to a circular and decarbonised economy and a new quality of life - could further enhance those potentials.

The Innovation Indicator 2018, compiled for the Federation of German Industries (BDI) by Fraunhofer ISI together with the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), ranks Germany in fourth place as in 2017. However, the international innovation ranking indicates that the gap has lengthened to the leading countries of Singapore, Switzerland and Belgium. The openness indicator, which was determined for the first time, certifies that the German innovation system has the highest degree of openness among the world’s largest economies.

In its energy storage monitoring study 2018, Fraunhofer ISI examines which are the leading countries in battery technologies for electric mobility and which is the lead supplier and the lead market. The study shows that Germany must invest quickly and massively in production-related research and development and in developing human capital if it wants to play a role in the battery industry in the long term.

The German health care system is considered one of the best worldwide, but is also characterized by conflicts of interests and distribution that can hinder social innovations. To remove these obstacles, an evaluation tool has been developed at Fraunhofer ISI on behalf of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, which exposes conflicting objectives and makes the often heterogeneous effects of innovations in the health system transparent and able to be discussed.

The number of electric vehicles is rising steadily. Because these are powered electrically, they have an impact on the entire electricity system and therefore on electricity prices as well. Fraunhofer ISI has calculated that, although investments in power grids will probably be needed, overall the electricity prices for households could fall if large numbers of electric vehicles drive on German roads.