Energy is the driving force behind everything: our day-to-day lives, our industry, our economy. How we obtain our energy will have a major bearing on our future climate, and on whether climate change can be effectively contained. Germany is investing heavily in applied energy research, for example in technologies and infrastructure for wind energy, photovoltaics, geothermal energy, green hydrogen and synthetic fuels, in energy efficiency and system integration, and in research on fusion energy. Researchers from all over the world wishing to contribute to these projects are welcome in Germany. We wish to showcase two key research fields here: geothermal energy and fusion energy.
Researchers at the Helmholtz Institute Jena are working on the world’s only fully diode-pumped high-power laser, which achieves peak pulse powers of up to 200 terawatts.
In the energy sector, Germany excels at combining
Germany’s energy research is both groundbreaking and practice-oriented, with a strong focus on turning scientific excellence into real-world solutions. Current flagship projects include pilot plants for green hydrogen. One of these is H2Mare, an offshore hydrogen initiative supported by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR). The project aims to couple offshore wind turbines directly with electrolyzers to produce hydrogen and Power-to-X products at sea. Other examples include cutting-edge offshore wind integration, large-scale geothermal heat transition initiatives, and leading-edge fusion research – in particular at the Wendelstein 7-X, currently the world’s largest stellarator. These projects are testimony to the way Germany turns research into real-world solutions, making the country an inspiring environment for international researchers.
Geothermal and fusion energy are just two examples of Germany’s many strengths in energy research. Geothermal delivers reliable, carbon-neutral heat from beneath the Earth’s surface, while fusion has the potential to be a virtually limitless and clean energy source for the future. Together, they illustrate how Germany combines scientific ambition with practical solutions. The following sections take a closer look at these two examples.
Germany is hoping to enable the next big leap forward in energy generation. Fusion, the process by which lightweight atomic nuclei combine to form heavier ones, releases large amounts of clean energy. Germany is advancing this technology through cutting-edge research and industry expertise in areas ranging from plasma physics to high-power lasers. In the field of magnetic fusion research, scientists from the Max Planck Society are leading the way, as demonstrated most recently at Wendelstein 7-X. This facility set a world record for the long-pulse triple product, sustaining the new peak value for 43 seconds. In laser technology and the optical industry, Germany is at the very forefront of international research. Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is a global leader in high-power short-pulse lasers and other optical technologies.
In the following video, Rachael McDermott, a U.S. scientist and director at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, shares her insights into advancing fusion and energy research in Germany.
World-Class research infrastructures:
Leading facilities include the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator, the Tokamak ASDEX Upgrade in Garching, fusion laboratories at Forschungszentrum Jülich and KIT, and laser facilities such as PHELIX and POLARIS.
Germany’s leadership in high-power laser technology and plasma research makes it a prime destination for scientists who want to shape the next energy revolution.
Wendelstein 7-X is a large superconducting stellarator at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Greifswald. It generates an optimized magnetic field to confine plasma in steady-state operation, aiming to test this technology as a basis for future fusion power plants.
Geothermal energy is a key technology in the energy and heat transition. The advantage is that it is available all year round and can thus play a vital role in decarbonizing the supply of heat, as demonstrated by GeoLaB, Germany’s new underground research laboratory for deep geothermal energy, and the GEOStar project, which develops scalable technologies for the efficient use of deep geothermal resources.
Impressive infrastructure:
Germany operates eight underground research labs, including the Field Scale Laboratory for Geothermal Energy Rhineland, Fraunhofer’s TRUDI lab, and DeepStor.
The "Lankow I" geothermal plant in Schwerin is unique in Germany as it is the first to combine medium-depth geothermal energy with powerful heat pumps.
TUM Global Postdoc Fellowship - PhD, Postdocs
ERC Starting Grant - Postdocs, early career scientists
Heisenberg-Programme - Pre-Professorship, Junior Professors
Humboldt Research Fellowship - Postdocs, experienced researchers
DFG Emmy Noether Programme - Postdocs, early career researchers, Pre-Professorship
