🎉 20 Years of IREES GmbH – Anniversary Celebration

When we celebrated our anniversary on Thursday at Hoepfner Burg in Karlsruhe and our managing directors, Heike Brugger and Jan Steinbach, opened the evening, it quickly became clear: IREES’s history is closely intertwined with the history of the energy transition itself.

Twenty years ago, IREES got its start with a pioneering spirit and a small team. Today, we’re working on issues related to the industrial and heating transitions, the transformation of buildings and infrastructure, and the societal challenges of the energy transition.

The evening’s keynote speeches impressively traced this development:
🔹 In their keynote speeches, Clemens Rohde (Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment, and Energy gGmbH), Elisabeth Dütschke and Barbara Schlomann (Fraunhofer ISI), Martin Pehnt (ifeu – Institute for Energy and Environmental Research Heidelberg gGmbH), and Benjamin Pfluger (Fraunhofer IEG) covered a wide range of topics—from the industrial and heating transitions to societal acceptance, scenarios, and the challenges of implementation—demonstrating just how diverse the tasks of the energy transition are and in how many areas IREES has been involved over the past 20 years.

Our Managing Director, Jan Steinbach, concluded by tracing the evolution of IREES itself: from its beginnings in a former hair salon to today’s interdisciplinary institute with a strong network and a commitment to bridging the gap between research and practice. The interview with IREES founder Eberhard Jochem also offered a special glimpse into the institute’s beginnings and evolution, as he shared personal insights into 20 years of energy research and the institute’s history.

It was particularly nice that the evening wasn’t just a look back at the past. Through activities such as “Cited with Love,” the IREES energy quiz, and conversations with long-time colleagues, it became clear just how closely experience and innovation are intertwined at IREES. Stories from the early years were juxtaposed with new research ideas and doctoral projects, and it is in this dialogue between experienced and young colleagues that the future of IREES takes shape.

In the end, one insight stood out above all: Behind every study, every project, and every transformation are people who develop ideas together and learn from one another. Just as important, however, are the encounters and conversations that arise in the process—reuniting with longtime colleagues, exchanging ideas with project partners, and discovering new perspectives. After all, the energy transition thrives not only on concepts and technologies but, above all, on the people who shape it together.

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who celebrated with us and to everyone who has accompanied, supported, and helped shape IREES over the past 20 years. We look forward to the next chapters together!

Here’s to the next 20 years of IREES! 🚀

IREES – RESEARCH FOR FUTURE 🌍🍃