Dec 05, 2025
Doctoral student at the 57th Colloquium on Power Plant Technology
On October 7 and 8, 2025, RTG doctoral student Inês Sousa de Almeida (Subproject F1: Technological-Systemic Impact of the Hydrogen Economy) attended the 57th Power Plant Technology Colloquium at the International Congress Center Dresden, which attracted more than 980 participants. As in previous years, the event provided an important platform for industry experts, researchers and political decision-makers to discuss the latest developments in power plant technology and the future of energy systems. In addition to 91 specialist presentations and a panel discussion, the program also included a fully booked company exhibition with 105 exhibitors. The organizers of the event with renowned experts were Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Beckmann, Chair of Energy Process Engineering and scientific supervisor of doctoral student Ines Almeida, and Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Antonio Hurtado, RTG spokesperson and Chair of Hydrogen and Nuclear Energy.
With the core objective of discussing the transformation of the energy sector, the presentations and discussions covered a wide range of topics. These included hydrogen technologies and hydrogen-fired combined cycle power plants, the conversion of existing plants for hydrogen combustion, carbon capture and storage (CCS), emission reduction technologies, concepts for energy production from biomass and waste, as well as modern approaches to plant operation, maintenance and digitalized monitoring. Several sessions highlighted advances in process modeling, measurement systems, auxiliary tools and service strategies that improve the efficiency, flexibility and lifetime of current and future power plants.
Parallel to the main program, the 3rd Student Conference on Energy and Circular Economy took place, where young researchers presented innovative papers. The topics ranged from CO₂-neutral LNG and long-term storage for times of low generation from renewable energies to thermochemical recycling and circular solutions for plastic waste. This side event clearly showed how valuable interdisciplinary thinking is - and how strongly young researchers are already shaping new ideas for the energy transition.
Overall, the 57th Power Plant Technology Colloquium once again proved to be an important meeting place for all experts with a focus on the future of energy and power plant technology. With a mixture of specialist presentations, expert discussions and a lively industry exhibition, the event offered clear insights into both the latest developments and the challenges ahead. The strong participation from industry, science and politics underlined the importance of close collaboration in building a safe, efficient and low-carbon energy system.
