Nov 26, 2024
Review: 56th Power Plant Technology Colloquium 2024
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Beckmann opened the 56th Power Plant Technology Colloquium.
The 56th Power Plant Technology Colloquium (KWTK) took place on October 8 and 9, 2024 at the International Congress Center Dresden. With 810 participants on site and 20 online guests, the hybrid format offered an ideal platform for exchange between industry, science, politics and business.
The hall was very well filled during the plenary session.
Michael Beckmann (TU Dresden), followed by keynote speeches from high-profile speakers: Dr. Reiner Haseloff (Minister President of Saxony-Anhalt) highlighted Germany's dependence on energy imports, while Kerstin Andreae (Chairwoman of the Executive Board of the German Association of Energy and Water Industries, Berlin) and Jorgo Chatzimarkakis (CEO of Hydrogen Europe) spoke about the complexity of energy systems and the role of hydrogen and the circular economy.
One of the highlights of the 56th KWTK: the panel discussion. Here with Jorgo Chatzimarkakis and Dr. Holger Klaassen online, on site (from left to right) Dr.-Ing. Philipp Nellessen, Dr. Reiner Haseloff, moderator Jürgen Pfeiffer, Kerstin Andreae and Prof. Dr. Henning Vöpel.
Two panel discussions, moderated by Jürgen Pfeiffer (GREEN + CLEAN - European Energy Talks), were dedicated to the topics "Between Canada and Kuwait: What energy partnerships does Europe need?" and "Between recession and a glimmer of hope: How can Germany become innovative again?". Experts such as Prof. Dr. Henning Vöpel (Chairman of Centrum Europäische Politik, Freiburg/ Berlin), Dr.-Ing. Philipp Nellessen (Member of the Executive Board of Lausitz Energie Bergbau AG and Lausitz Energie Kraftwerke AG, Cottbus) and Dr. Holger Klaassen (Director Corporate Energy Climate Affairs, Aurubis Group) shed light on the need for international partnerships, grid expansion and sustainable business models.
The fully booked company fair with 102 companies took place at the same time. It offered insights into innovative technologies and promoted direct exchange with experts. The trade fair promoted the transfer of knowledge and enabled participants to get to know innovative technologies, services and products from the energy industry.
A look at the company fair taking place parallel to the KWTK, fully booked with over 100 exhibitors - as always, very popular.
Another highlight was the awarding of the Werner Boie Prize to Dipl.-Ing. Marcel Biebl (Gas- und Wärmeinstitut Essen) for his research on the topic of "Investigation into the use of ammonia as a fuel gas for the decentralized provision of process heat".
After the award ceremony, Katrin Bartsch (Stadtwerke Weißwasser GmbH) spoke in a presentation entitled "Energy transition and structural change - the perspective of a public-private municipal utility". She highlighted the challenges and opportunities that the energy transition and structural change bring for municipal energy suppliers.
Dipl.-Ing. Marcel Biebl (Gas- und Wärmeinstitut Essen e.V.) receives the Boie Prize for his excellent work on the use of ammonia as a fuel gas for the decentralized provision of process heat.
The subsequent presentation by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Beckmann on the topic of "Creativity, innovation and confidence vs. fear of the future" emphasized in particular the importance of inventiveness and innovative strength as the key to overcoming current and future challenges in the energy industry. Prof. Beckmann emphasized that confidence and an open attitude towards change are essential in order to successfully develop and introduce new technologies.
Numerous specialist presentations in six lecture halls covered key topics such as CO₂ capture, energy storage, hydrogen technologies and digitalization. The Nuclear Energy Symposium, chaired by Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Antonio Hurtado (TUD Dresden University of Technology) offered exciting insights into current developments and future technologies in nuclear energy. Topics such as fusion technology, neutronics and the Thorium Molten Salt Reactor were discussed in detail.
The participants of the 2nd Saxon Student Conference with the board of the IKS e.V.
Another highlight of the second day of the event was the 2nd Saxon Student Conference, which was held as part of the KWTK together with the association Innovation und Kreislaufwirtschaft Sachsen e.V. (IKS e.V.) . Students from all central German universities, (technical) colleges and vocational academies were given the opportunity to present and discuss their scientific work on the topic of the circular economy in the fields of process engineering, energy management or sustainable construction and to gain valuable impetus for their further research.
The organizers would like to take this opportunity to thank all Advisors, sponsors and supporters for their support and look back on a very successful event. Whether further training, expansion of the network or recruitment of young talent: We hope that all participants of the 56th KWTK were able to achieve their personal goals for these two days and are already looking forward to seeing you again next year.
The next KWTK will take place on October 07 and 08, 2025.
Visit www.kraftwerkskolloquium.de or our LinkedIn page ((www.linkedin.com/company/kraftwerkstechnisches-kolloquium/) for more information.