The Energy Academy Europe provides education, conducts research and fosters innovation in the field of energy while working towards the transition to a sustainable energy future. Their cooperation with top quality educational and research institutes and their vast network within the energy industry ensure that all EAE programmes are relevant to the energy sector and at the cutting edge of energy technology.

By joining the forces of the Energy College (vocational education), the Hanze University of Applied Sciences, the University of Groningen and the Energy Delta Institute (international energy business school), they are able to provide a wide variety of courses at different educational levels. Their links with high quality research institutes will give their students the opportunity to take on the challenge of the energy transition. Active collaboration with these institutes and with industry mean students will be able to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and its practical application.

Objectives

The Energy Academy has the ambition to become an international center of excellence in energy education, research and innovation. The EAE wishes to consolidate the leadership of the Netherlands in energy expertise and to contribute to the transition to a sustainable, reliable and commercially viable energy economy. Cooperation with all relevant knowledge centers in the Netherlands, the EU and with leading centers around the world is at the core of its mission. The educational and research programs of the well-established higher education institutes of the Groningen region are the starting point from which the EAE will expand.

With this in mind, the EAE has a number of additional objectives:

• Ensuring that vital and up-to-date knowledge and experience in energy matters is made available within the context of education and research.
• Providing the economy – and the economy of the Northern Netherlands in particular – with the benefits of this pool of knowledge through high quality multi-disciplinary education and research, and to generate activities that help modernise the energy industry.
• Providing energy related institutes, established companies and new entrants of the energy industry with a continuous supply of properly trained personnel.

Research

Energy research at the Energy Academy Europe takes a strong interdisciplinary approach, bringing together technical, economic, legal and social expertise. Top researchers pursue a variety of topics, addressing fundamental and applied research questions. Currently, there is already a strong base of energy research in Groningen, for instance in research groups that deal with smart grids, energy law/regulation, gas , renewables (e.g. fundamental research on organic solar cells is world-class), energy transition and social dynamics of sustainability. In total, the current research base already amounts to 350 people actively engaged in energy research.

Students are also involved in research projects, often working in teams that bring together students from different degree programmes. The energy sector plays an important role in setting the research agenda for applied research projects. The Energy Academy Europe will also offer facilities for the development and testing of innovations, both in dedicated research facilities or in field experiments.

In the first phase of expanding the volume of energy research, the research themes of the Energy Academy Europe will be:

• Renewables - Topics such as solar energy, wind energy, bio-based economy, techniques for energy storage, social acceptability of measures to improve sustainability, etc.
• Energy efficiency - Topics such as decentralised energy systems, energy chain and efficiency, optimization of energy transport systems, sustainable cities
• Gas - Topics such as robust infrastructure for gas, international gas markets and economics, interactions between gas, heat and electricity structures, applications of biogas
• CO2 reduction - Topics such as CO2 capture and storage, elimination of CO2 emissions, trade in emission allowances
• Smart grids - User interfaces, privacy issues, legal aspects of decentralised balancing, data management applications for smart grids