Formerly known as Next Energy, the research institution based in Oldenburg, Germany, is now part of the German Aerospace Center, DLR, and has been renamed Institute of Networked Energy Systems (DLR-VE, see Next Energy as New DLR Location). On June 28, DLR’s council approved the integration of the institute, which is said to be continuing its progress in high-quality work and complementing the DLR portfolio, mainly in energy research. The German parliament had made EUR 42 million available late last year for establishing seven new DLR locations. The director of the research institution, Carsten Agert, said: “It’s a great recognition of the work we’ve done so far and an immense boost to Oldenburg’s energy research profile.” DLR-VE’s focus will be on developing a stable and efficient energy supply grid, i.e., on sector integration and storage, but also fuel cells – despite increasingly decentralized systems. No one had lost their job because of the change in ownership, the institute said.
