The sustainable decarbonisation of our energy systems must be achieved to counteract the climate crisis. This presents us with unprecedented regulatory, social, economic, and technical challenges.

These challenges will affect electricity systems, gas supplies, industry, transport and mobility, housing and heating, as well as agriculture. The researchers at the ENERGETIC Research Center at TU Graz are developing innovative and interdisciplinary solutions in order to actively shape this transformation process.

Sustainable and efficient energy systems are important pillars of support that will enable the EU and Austrian climate goals to be achieved. Comprehensive research work is particularly needed on three levels. At the system level, optimisation and simulation systems are being developed that can be used to map the decabonisation of energy systems, provide techno-economic support, and evaluate this transformation. At the methodological level, the focus is being directed towards the evaluation of data sets that are used to intelligently plan and control energy systems by means of artificial intelligence. On the hardware level, the existing energy infrastructure is being analysed, new technologies to store energy from sustainable sources are being developed, and technical tools are being created to use energy more efficiently and reduce energy consumption.

Core Research Area 1: Energy System Modeling & Analysis

Core Research Area 1 (CRA 1) places a focus on the energy system. The researchers develop models of integrated, sector-coupled energy systems (electricity, gas/hydrogen, heat, etc.) to optimally plan and evaluate how they can be expanded and operated to meet our climate goals. To ensure that this infrastructure operates safely and continuously, both the individual components, e.g. converters, machines, generators, and cables, and the entire network must be modelled, simulated, optimised, tested, and thoroughly analysed.

Core Research Area 2: Digital Energy Systems

Core Research Area 2 (CRA 2) places a research focus on new digital methods for energy systems. Researchers investigate how to digitally represent energy systems and use AI methods to carry out intelligent analyses, simulations, and forecasts. Central topics are how to handle and represent large amounts of data and systematically analyse these. In addition, the theoretical concepts and methods are tested in the Living Lab Inffeld in an applied context.

Core Research Area 3: Innovative Technology Solutions

Core Research Area 3 (CRA 3) places a focus on hardware, namely on the development of technologies and tools that support decarbonisation. The research work is carried out to develop and evaluate innovative and efficient technologies that are essential to renewable energy use, as well as to expand and further develop electricity grids, storage, and ultimately to reduce energy consumption. Storage technologies are particularly essential for the integration of renewable energy from sustainable sources, such as wind and sunshine, as these are normally subject to high fluctuations in availability.

Become a member of ENERGETIC

If you are working in one of the three Core Research Areas of ENERGETIC, you can become a member free of charge.

Simply send an email to energetic@tugraz.at stating that you would like to become a member. Please also indicate the relevant Core Research Area.

ENERGETIC Research Award 2026

The first ENERGETIC Research Awards 2026 were presented on 24 June 2026 during the RC ENERGETIC Meeting at Graz University of Technology. The awards recognize outstanding scientific contributions in the fields of energy and sustainability and highlight research excellence within the interdisciplinary ENERGETIC community.

The inaugural call attracted significant interest, with a total of 22 scientific submissions across the three Core Research Areas. Following an evaluation by an expert jury, selected finalists were invited to present their research in a 5-minute pitch to the audience at the RC ENERGETIC Meeting. The final award recipients were selected based on the jury's evaluation together with audience voting.

The Winners of the ENERGETIC Research Awards 2026

Robert Gaugl
Bernhard Gadermaier
Benedikt Riegler

The ENERGETIC Research Awards are open to researchers at Graz University of Technology up to five years after completing their PhD and recognize outstanding scientific achievements in the fields of energy and sustainability. The high quality of the submissions and the strong response to the inaugural call highlight the excellent research environment fostered by the Research Center ENERGETIC.

We warmly congratulate all award recipients and thank everyone who submitted their work, the members of the jury, and the audience for contributing to the successful launch of the ENERGETIC Research Awards. We are already looking forward to the next edition.

To top