© BMWE, federal funding for energy research in 2025

Innovations for a modern energy system

The Federal Government funds research projects to help innovative ideas transfer quickly from energy research into practical application. The Federal Report on Energy Research presents progress and developments resulting from this. Follow this link for insights into the 2026 edition.

Our energy system is in transition, as are the demands placed on tomorrow’s energy world. If we are to continue to ensure a secure energy supply, keep our industry competitive and combat climate change, we will need new energy technologies for energy situations which differ from those of just a few decades ago.

Many clever ideas and developments for the world of energy emerge from Germany: for example at higher education institutions, in companies or research establishments. To ensure that research findings can be put into practice and integrated into our energy system as quickly as possible, the Federal Government has been funding energy research for the last fifty years or so.

Energy research not only makes a contribution to an affordable, resilient and sustainable energy system, it also strengthens Germany’s technological sovereignty and creates the basis for new GDP growth, industrial competitiveness and jobs. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy supports applied energy research via its 8th Energy Research Programme.

Update on federal funding for energy research in Germany

In 2025, the Federal Government invested a total of €1.54 billion in energy research. Of this funding, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space together provided €973 million for project funding. More than 6,400 ongoing research projects benefited from this in 2025. They developed new technologies and applications along the entire chain of innovation, from basic to applied research, and to testing close-to-market energy innovations under real-life conditions.

In addition to this, there were more than 1,200 newly approved projects with total funding of €650 million, and €500 million in institutional support for Helmholtz Energy. As the ministry responsible for energy policy, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy is in charge of the Federal Government’s energy research policy and promotes applied energy research. The Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space is involved in energy research policy via its funding for applied basic research and HGF Energy.

Monitoring the applied energy research ensures it is targeted

Monitoring and evaluation play an important role in ensuring that the funding is properly targeted. For example, the ongoing monitoring of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy’s funding for applied energy research by Project Management Jülich shows that the projects receiving funding cover all the funding priorities set out in the 8th Energy Research Programme. In horizontal terms, there is often a research focus on research questions linked to efficiency and cost reduction.

The proportion of funding going to companies and scientific bodies is balanced. Most of the beneficiaries of newly approved funding in 2025 were small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). One third of the assisted research projects in 2025 involved SMEs, whilst higher education institutions, research establishment and large companies each accounted for roughly one fifth.

Scientific evaluation of the research findings plays a key role

The commercial exploitation of the research findings is of central importance for the assisted projects. The monitoring of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy’s research funding in the 8th Energy Research Programme reveals a strong orientation towards applications, with most projects starting out at technology readiness level (TRL) 3 or 4 with the objective of reaching TRL 5 or 6 at the end of the funding period. This range is precisely the phase in which a technology leaves the laboratory level and transfers to validation and demonstration under real-life conditions.

This and many other exciting facts and success stories can be explored in the “Federal Report on Energy Research 2026”. The report not only provides a comprehensive overview of the Federal Government’s funding for energy research, but also presents current developments and requirements in energy technologies, and uses specific examples to illustrate the progress made on research and innovation in the past year. Further to this, it provides insights into the measures being taken by the Länder to promote energy research, and Germany’s international cooperation on energy research.