Welcome to the Energy Lab
The energy transition demands forward-looking answers to highly complex questions:
How do we generate climate-neutral energy, store it with minimal loss, and distribute it intelligently?
What ensures our supply during periods without wind or solar power?
And how do we reliably absorb extreme peak loads on the grid?
Excellent Research for the Energy Transition
Germany aims to be climate-neutral by 2045. To get there, greenhouse gas emissions must drop by at least 65 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. At the same time, the energy transition brings highly complex challenges: wind and solar power are not consistently available everywhere at all times, energy is often not generated where it is actually needed, and peak loads on the grid must be reliably absorbed. Making an affordable, environmentally sound energy supply a reality therefore requires completely new concepts for the interplay of energy generation, storage, distribution, and consumption.
This is exactly where the Energy Lab at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) comes in. As Europe's leading research infrastructure, it is working on the intelligent interlinking of different energy sectors—specifically power, heat, and industry—while developing solutions for an energy system based on renewable resources. The core focus is the interplay of these different technologies and infrastructures: the Energy Lab combines research into electrical, thermal, and chemical energy flows with state-of-the-art information and communication technologies. Based on real consumer data, tomorrow's energy systems are simulated and tested under real-world conditions, paving the way for a sustainable energy supply.
The Energy Lab is committed to excellent research with measurable impact. Its experts transfer their insights on sector coupling and system integration deep into science, business, and politics, thereby strengthening practical application. In doing so, the Energy Lab establishes itself as a pioneer in the integration of real energy systems and as a strong platform for a community that actively shapes the societal transformation process.
The Energy Lab is a project of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in cooperation with the Helmholtz Centers German Aerospace Center (DLR) and Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ).
The Federal Ministries of Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) and for Economic Affairs and Energy as well as the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts (MWK) are funding the Energy Lab.
KIT has launched the website for the Hydrogen Integration Platform (HIP). It provides detailed insights into the platform’s subprojects for the first time. With HIP, KIT is establishing a powerful research infrastructure that systematically transfers experimental approaches into real-world energy systems. The facility at Campus North reinforces KIT’s leading role in European hydrogen technology research.
HIP Website
At the end of April 2026, the specialist book “Biomethane and SNG” was published by Vulkan Verlag. Edited by EBI staff members Siegfried Bajohr and Frank Graf, it provides a compact overview of upgrading biomass into grid-quality methane. In addition to technical aspects, the book also covers legal frameworks, environmental issues, as well as applications and future potential of renewable gases.
Publication
On May 18, the Smart Energy System Lab kicked off the summer semester 2026. A total of 22 students from computer science, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering are working in 11 teams closely with researchers from IAI, ITEP, and ETI at the KIT Energy Lab.
Over two intensive weeks, they will go through the entire research process—from planning and conducting experiments to critically defending methods and results, and finally presenting their findings in a concise, publication-style format. The goal is to make research tangible and hands-on while addressing current energy-related challenges.