In his keynote address at this year’s opening event of the 20th IQ Innovation Award Central Germany, WAVELABS co-founder Dr. Torsten Brammer gave the audience some food for thought. What can the Central German metropolitan region learn from international success stories and best practices to realize the green revolution? Torsten summarized his findings in six points:
👁 Vision
Every team needs a well-defined vision to ensure unified direction. Today, the energy transition is often associated with “green politics” – a label that does not deter everyone, but some. What if we were to redefine the vision of this project as that of an affordable and robust energy system instead?
⚙ Change
Implementing change successfully requires leaders to prioritize participation, clarity, and security. Currently, the political discourse often focuses on what can’t be done, which leads to uncertainty as viable alternatives remain unclear to the public. It would be more beneficial to us if politicians articulated the future energy system’s opportunities rather than its limitations.
⚖ Legal framework
Policymakers must make the right things popular and not turn the popular into politics. Short-sighted policies do not ensure society’s future welfare – obviously.
📆 Roadmap
We need to anticipate the future so that we can shape it. Instead of constantly reacting to disruptive events, we must do our best to get ahead of them and proactively prepare. Hydrogen, for example, might not be economically viable just yet, but it will become essential to our energy mix in only a few years.
⭐ Role model
Industrialized countries like Germany have built their prosperity at the expense of the environment. Economic necessity drives the green revolution, not guilt, but we should also recognize our historical responsibility to lead it.
🚀 Innovation
As an innovation hub, central Germany has a lot to offer. Initiatives such as the #Solarvalley PV cluster and SPRIND – Bundesagentur für Sprunginnovationen attract young professionals and businesses. In the energy field, companies like beventum GmbH, Leipziger Energiegesellschaft mbH&Co KG and SwitchCoal put Central Germany back on the map.
Thank you Hanka Fischer for kicking off IQ Innovationspreis Mitteldeutschland 2024. It has been a blast! This year, participants can compete in the categories automotive, chemistry, synthetics, energy, environment, solar, IT, and lifesciences. Interested? Apply here until 11th of March 2024 to share your talent and hope for fantastic prizes: Bewerbung IQ-Mitteldeutschland
For more content and expert insights into the clean energy transition, visit Torsten’s podcast series The Solar Journey.
Credits to Tom Schulze for the images provided.
