Berlin students gathered to discuss digitalisation of the energy sector

A panel discussion was organised for interested young students in Berlin within our project“Power Shifts – Reflecting Europe’s Energy” on November 24. The guests gathered to discuss the opportunities and challenges digitalisation poses on the energy sector just a few days before the UN Climate Change Conference COP21 in Paris. The topic of the panel discussion was: “Digitisation of the Energy Sector – The beginning of a ‘Brave New World‘?“ Dr. Martin von Broock pointed to questions about sharing responsibility. Responsibilities need to be redefined in the era of mass collection of data, because the speed at which innovations are taking place in the industry is leaving politics far behind. The focus of Martin Wendiggensen was on the potential of Smart Homes. Modern measuring and controlling possibilities that are now available for private energy consumption enable an efficient and ecological use of energy at home. Dirk Homuth warned about the differences between Germany and the neighbouring countries. He criticised the unwillingness of Germany to invest in digitalisation and referred to the club of Rome: “It is basically already three before midnight”. The discussion at the Schwarzkopf Foundation raised a lot of controversy, but there was one thing every participant agreed on: It is not a question of whether the energy sector will be digitalised, but rather how this will happen.

List of panelists : Dr. Martin von Broock, Wittenberg Center for Global Ethics; Dirk Homuth, Innovation RWE AG; Martin Wendiggensen, participant of the international youth conference J7 in Berlin

Moderator: Lea Schiewer, President of the European Youth Parliament Germany

Partners: RWE Stiftung für Energie und Gesellschaft, Institut français Deutschland

More information on the project Power Shifts – Reflecting Europe’s Energy