Two research projects in the field of sustainable energy technologies are being funded by the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) – with a total sum of more than two million euros. This makes the university one of the big winners in the current funding round of the Bavarian Ministry of Science. The focus is on direct knowledge transfer: new scientific findings are to be quickly incorporated into the practices of small and medium-sized enterprises so that they can strengthen their competitiveness and at the same time contribute to the energy transition.
With the project ‘Digital Platform for Real-Time Performance Management and Maintenance Measures for Energy Networks (DIGINET)’ under the project management of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Aida Nonn and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Andreas Lesser, OTH Regensburg is developing a digital platform that monitors energy networks such as hydrogen or CO₂ pipelines in real time. With the help of artificial intelligence and virtual images of the systems, known as ‘digital twins’, leaks, corrosion or pressure fluctuations can be detected at an early stage. For companies, this means greater safety, lower costs and fewer environmental risks.
The second project, ‘Knowledge Transfer Platform for Sustainable Energy and Hydrogen Systems – Technological and Economic Resilience through Best Practice Development and Optimisation (WiTra-H2)’, led by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Belal Dawoud, ties in with the dynamic future topic of hydrogen. Many smaller companies would like to become active in this field, but do not have their own research and development departments. This is where OTH Regensburg comes in: with best practice examples, practical training courses and a special planning and optimisation tool, the project supports companies in implementing their own solutions in the field of hydrogen and energy storage and opening up new business areas.
Bavaria's Minister of Science Markus Blume congratulates: "Effective and rapid knowledge transfer is a factor in innovation and an accelerator of growth for our companies. With the European Social Fund, we are strengthening the direct transfer of knowledge from universities to our small and medium-sized enterprises. OTH Regensburg is benefiting particularly from this funding round with a whopping two million euros. Congratulations on two convincing projects. With this funding, we are giving ideas from theory a real boost to get them off the ground in the economy. Especially in times of global crisis, we must forge ahead: strategic independence does not come about by itself – the combination of research, knowledge transfer and entrepreneurship is crucial."
"This is a great success for all colleagues involved. The projects once again demonstrate the high quality of our research work and our close cooperation with companies in the region," emphasises Prof. Dr. Oliver Steffens, Vice President for Research.
The university's sustainability strategy is also being directly advanced by the projects. Prof. Dr. Christoph Skornia, Vice President for Sustainability, explains: "Both projects show how we are implementing sustainability at OTH Regensburg in very concrete terms: We develop technologies that make energy safer, more efficient and more climate-friendly, and we pass this knowledge on to companies in a targeted manner. In this way, we are making a practical contribution to the energy transition in Bavaria."
Both projects will start on 1 January 2026 and run until 31 December 2028.
Current research projects at OTH Regensburg are available here.
