© Felix Zahn/photothek.de

Innovations brimming with energy

The German Energy Agency (dena) awarded its coveted 2025 Energy Efficiency Award in four categories and a special award at this year’s Energy Transition Convention. The laureate projects are illustrative examples of how the energy transition and climate action can work in practice.

An innovative shop floor for the production of sustainable plastics (Pöppelmann GmbG & Co. KG), an AI-based energy management system (KIS Antriebstechnik GmbH & Co. KG), district heating using river water heat pumps (Stadt.Energie.Speicher GmbH and denkmalstadt GmbH) and a concept for climate-neutral production using hydrogen (tesa SE) – all these projects focus on forward-looking innovations rather than problems. Their approaches can be rolled out to other energy transition projects and regions in the longer term.

The award winners are companies of all sizes – from SMEs to global players – showing the potential that exists in many different sectors and offering a valuable blueprint for everyone who wants to get involved in shaping the energy transition. The projects range from systems integration of renewables to digital solutions to comprehensive transformation concepts. This year, a total of 132 companies applied for the four categories “Think Big! Complex projects for the energy transition”, “From smart to digital! The range of energy efficiency”, “Achieve more together! Energy services as an enabler of the energy transition” and “Moving forward! Concepts for a climate-neutral future”.

Also presented was a special SME award for outstanding commitment. Here, the audience got to decide. The three companies that had made the shortlist gave a live presentation of their project and more than 1,300 viewers cast their vote. The winner was Solarwärme Bracht eG, which is organised as a cooperative and operates a district heating system based on renewables and including seasonal storage. This year’s festive award ceremony was the 19th in total. Anyone wishing to participate in the 2026 Energy Efficiency Award – be it for the first time or not – can use the registration process for the 20th edition as of now.

The presentation of the Energy Efficiency Award took place at dena’s Energy Transition Convention on 3 and 4 November, which brought together many applicants and laureates with more than 1,000 stakeholders from business, the political sphere, academia and civil society. There was a broad range of formats for addressing questions the sector is currently confronted with: What can be done to physically and digitally secure Germany’s energy system? What are ways to foster innovations for smart grids and a climate-neutral construction industry? Where are new markets and business models emerging? If you missed the Convention or want to read up on it again, come this way (in German only) for a retrospective.

^{Anniversary website celebrating 25 years of the German Energy Agency (dena)}

The Energy Transition Convention and the Energy Efficiency Award are two excellent examples of the wide-ranged work of dena. For 25 years now, the agency has played a decisive role in shaping Germany’s future energy system. Having started out with four employees in 2000, dena has grown to a workforce of approx. 650, who have implemented more than 1,550 projects so far.

Today, dena is a large, interdisciplinary team of experts from 30 nations, all bringing their expertise, commitment and visions for a climate-neutral society to the table. The agency offers advice and consultancy services, develops scenarios, trains skilled workers, informs consumers, builds networks, implements pilot projects and fosters international dialogue. A dedicated anniversary website invites readers to discover key milestones and achievements.