The increasing share of renewable and distributed power plants in Europe requires a significant expansion and restructuring of the German and European power grids, so that electrical energy that is generated remotely can be transported to the major metropolitan areas where it is needed.

In particular, the grid connections and oft-discussed network of offshore wind farms demand sophisticated and occasionally new methods to design and construct high-voltage transmission facilities. These facilities will increasingly be built using cable systems that can win the acceptance of people living in the areas where the plants are located.  The University of Duisburg-Essen is addressing these challenges by taking an active role in the development of the process as well as in environmentally sound design.

In order to provide consumers in future with more information on usage and the price of electricity at the level of the distribution network—both medium-  and low-voltage—information and communication technologies (ICT) are increasingly integrated into the network. The grid is becoming a “smart” grid from production all the way to the end user.  The University of Duisburg-Essen is collaborating on projects that investigate the widespread application of ICT in a model region through to the point of distribution