Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTSDekaRB project
Overcoming socio-economic barriers and strengthening the resilience of the economy with the DekaRB project
One of the greatest challenges for Germany as an industrialized nation in the coming years is achieving both climate neutrality and the substitution of fossil fuels. A fundamental energy transition can only be achieved through efficiency and innovation in all industrial sectors. However, progress is slow. The project “Accelerating Decarbonization for a Resilient Economy” (DekaRB) is therefore conducting research together with the Department of Industrial, Economic and Occupational Sociology at the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena and the Thüringer Erneuerbare Energien Netzwerk (ThEEN) e. V. on the non-technical barriers to decarbonization in Thuringia. The project will run for three years and is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection.
Just as the public sector and private households must actively contribute to climate neutrality, so too must companies, which is why the DekaRB project is working at the interface between economic resilience and decarbonization. The project partners are addressing the non-technical barriers to decarbonization, in particular the bureaucratic and organizational hurdles. In doing so, the hypothesis will be examined as to whether a lack of decision-making certainty, mutual trust or technology skepticism is hindering decarbonization. To this end, the project team is conducting interviews with companies in Thuringia to create an empirical, qualitative knowledge base.
“Above all, the question of what hinders or prevents companies from making decisions and cooperating should be the focus,” emphasizes coordinator Dr. Stefanie B. Seitz. ”Our goal as Fraunhofer IKTS is to work with our partners from the Initiative Erfurter Kreuz e.V., SaaleWirtschaft e.V. and Tridelta Campus e.V. Hermsdorf to answer this very question.”
Thuringia as a model for rural areas
To create an empirical knowledge base, it is necessary to compare the development of CO2-neutral, resilient, energy-efficient production sites with best practice examples. In addition to decarbonization, higher depth of value added and regional value added networks also play a role in the resilience of the economy. Thuringia is therefore a suitable model because it has a wide range of industry: In addition to a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), international companies have also set up their production sites here. However, these are concentrated in smaller industrial areas with a heterogeneous product portfolio, mostly in rural areas. Furthermore, Thuringia is a federal state whose structural potential has not yet been exhausted.
Balance between society and economy
The framework for funding the project is the current energy research program of the German government. Within the funding program, innovations are provided in three areas: technical, economic and social. This trichotomy is necessary so that existing knowledge not only exists, but also reaches companies and can be effective there. Social structures must not be neglected, but must be included in this structural change. The labor market situation is also taken into account in the project. The results should provide solutions for overcoming non-technical barriers to decarbonization and demonstrate how a cooperative approach can effectively and economically shape the decarbonization of the manufacturing industry through decentralized supply networks and local circular systems.