From Superconductors to the Renewable Energy Site Finder and the Science Platform
27.03.2026
The Potsdam Science Day (PTDW) will take place on 9th May 2026 from noon to 6 pm. This year, the event will be held at the University of Potsdam’s Golm Campus. The Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) will also be represented with a large stand in the researchers' camp: the focus will be on superconducting cables, the renewable energy site finder and the Sustainability Science Platform. Quite a lot to take in, isn’t it? Our scientists will, of course, be on hand to explain everything.
The growing share of renewable energy and the expansion of decentralised energy generation necessitate the modernisation and expansion of Europe’s power grids. There is a need for European transmission corridors spanning several hundred kilometres and with capacities ranging from five to 20 gigawatts. The SCARLET project team, in which our researcher Adela Marian plays a leading role on behalf of RIFS, is developing superconducting cables that are highly efficient, compact in size and have a lower environmental impact, in order to overcome the disadvantages of overhead lines and conventional cables.
Sites for onshore wind and photovoltaic power plants should be selected in an environmentally sustainable manner according to social and economic criteria. This gives rise to conflicting societal objectives. The ‘EE-Standortfinder’ is an interactive tool that enables stakeholders in planning, advisory and participatory processes – as well as the general public – to find out about the characteristics of potential sites for wind and solar energy. Lukas Meese explains the research project at the PTDW.
The sustainability transition – the shift towards environmentally sustainable, climate-resilient and socially just structures – is the greatest challenge of our time. To overcome the current crises, we need direction, innovation and cooperation. Science can and must play a part in this. The Sustainability 2030 Science Platform helps to pool scientific efforts and supports the transfer of knowledge into policy, as Mona Neubüser will explain to you in more detail here in Golm.
To the #PTDW26-Website: https://potsdamertagderwissenschaften.de/
