Reiner Lemoine was a pioneer of renewable energy. While others were thinking and talking about alternative forms of energy, Reiner Lemoine took the lead and founded the solar companies SOLON and Q-Cells, amongst others. It was in this spirit that the Reiner Lemoine Institute was established. The goal of the institute is to scientifically support the long-term transition of the energy supply to 100% renewables. The institute’s basic funding is provided by Reiner Lemoine-Stiftung.
Reiner Lemoine Institute is an independent non-profit research institution that contributes to a transformation towards a sustainable energy supply based on 100 % renewable energy. Their three research fields are “Transformation of Energy Systems”, “Mobility with Renewable Energy”, and “Off-Grid Systems”. They conduct applied research to scientifically support the long-term transition of the energy supply system towards renewable energy.
Three research fields are:
Transformation of Energy Systems | They model, analyze, and optimize energy systems with a high share of renewable sources of energy. In doing so, they largely rely on open-source tools, which they develop ourselves.
Mobility with Renewable Energy | As a contribution to the German Energy Transition in the transport sector, they examine how alternatives to gasoline and diesel engines – such as battery and fuel cell powered vehicles or synthetic fuel – can be incorporated in renewable energy systems in an economically and ecologically reasonable manner and what kind of charging infrastructure will be needed in the future.
Off-Grid Systems | They support the Seventh UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG7) with a special focus on access to energy in remote regions and on islands. Their approach is to apply geoinformation software, socio-economic analyses, and energy system modeling in order to compare different options, such as grid extension plans, mini-grids, and solar home systems.
The Reiner Lemoine Institute was founded in 2010 by the Reiner Lemoine Foundation, which supports the Institute financially, though they raise 90 percent of their research funding from external sources. These consist largely of state, national, and European funding means as well as research contracts and consulting in the public sector, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector.
Guiding Principle
They are committed to the philosophy of their founder Reiner Lemoine. His vision was of a livable future for all people, and with their work we aim to contribute to a successful Energy Transition. The Energy Transition shall be shaped and funded through the participation of all citizens and thus contribute to a fairer society. Their research results and findings are validated under real-world conditions wherever possible and made available to the public. We work self-critically, transparently, and are committed to scientific research ethics. In their research practice, participatory collaboration and a trustful and respectful work environment is important to us.
