RWE Awards Second RWE Future Prize (Germany)

The RWE Group, based in Essen, has awarded its second “RWE Future Prize”. The prize honours outstanding academic work by graduates of engineering science, business administration and the natural sciences on the topic of “impetus for the energy world of tomorrow.”

The RWE Future Prize is conferred for work undertaken in theses and dissertations.

“Welcome to the energy world of tomorrow” was the theme of the event for students and professors in the RWE pavilion at Philharmonie Essen, where the winners and finalists were honoured. The approximately 120 selected guests who attended this event marking the start of the new semester were able to take advantage of the wide range of information available at the awards ceremony.

First place in the category of best thesis went to Jan Peckolt of the Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) for his outstanding thesis on the development and analysis of a conceptual design for the combined use of wind and wave energy in an offshore location. Hendrik Natemeyer of the RWTH Aachen University was honoured with second place for his work on the European transmission grid. Marc Lüpfert from the TU Bergakademie Freiberg was distinguished with third place for his thesis on the thermal use of solar energy.

In the dissertation category, Dr. John Kettler of the RWTH Aachen University convinced the jury with his ground-breaking work on the non-destructive characterisation of radioactive waste.

“I am delighted that this year again, the RWE Future Prize has met with such a positive response” said Alwin Fitting, patron of the Future Prize and member of the Executive Board of RWE AG. “The jury has chosen four projects that address the most pressing energy supply issues: renewable energies, demands on the European transmission network and how to deal with radioactive materials. They provide important impetus in these times of changing energy policy. The winners have demonstrated the “Energy to Lead” in the true sense. I am proud of them.”

A total of almost 100 applicants submitted their work to the jury. The theses and dissertations that were submitted focused on climate-friendly power generation, intelligent energy applications, more efficient trading on energy markets or competitive product strategies.

The first place in the thesis category is worth €12,000, second place €6,000, and third place €5,000. The winner of the dissertation category is also awarded €12,000.

An independent jury of high-ranking individuals from business and academia evaluated the work submitted. The jury members were Ingo Alphéus, chairman of the jury and head of RWE Effizienz GmbH, Prof. Dr. Dominik Moest, TU Dresden, Dr. Anja Hartmann, McKinsey & Company, Inc. and Dr. Michael Kuehn, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam.

The RWE Future Prize is awarded on a new topic every two years. The next opportunity for submissions will be 2013.

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Source: rwe, October 13, 2011