As one of the leading energy companies worldwide, we feel it is our responsibility to actively promote energy research. Our contacts with universities offer students an opportunity to get to know our company and the focal points of our research.

An outstanding example of our university support is the E.ON Energy Research Center at RWTH Aachen. E.ON is supporting three of five institutes with a total of 40 million euros over ten years. Research by the five institutes in the following areas will supplement the existing and internationally recognised areas of energy research at RWTH Aachen:

 

• Power Generation and Storage Systems
• Automation of Complex Power Systems
• Applied Geophysics and Geothermal Energy
• Rational Usage of Energy in Buildings
• Future Energy Consumer Needs and Behaviour

The Max Planck Society is the umbrella organization for non-university research facilities and is widely accepted as being a training ground for future Nobel Prize winners. E.ON Ruhrgas has been supporting the organization for over 30 years to help establish ideal conditions for research and science.

E.ON Ruhrgas and E.ON AG are both involved in the European School of Management and Technologies (ESMT). ESMT is a leading international business school based in Cologne, Munich and Berlin. E.ON AG will establish an endowed chair for Corporate Responsibility due to be occupied from 1 September 2009 onwards. This should make an effective contribution to scientific research and responsible corporate leadership in global business. The chair will be financed by E.ON for five years and is the first endowed chair at the famous university.

The Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) started its work in 2007. The ETI is an initiative introduced by the British government to support research and development into alternative energies. About 50 percent of the institute is funded by corporate donations and E.ON UK is playing its part by contributing over EUR66 million to the institute over the next ten years. The research supported involves offshore wind power and the use of tidal power.

E.ON Energie also supports research with a chair for nuclear technology at the Technical University Munich. Professionally educated employees are essential in running as well as decommissioning nuclear power plants. The chair at the Technical University Munich underscores our commitment to training the next generation of experts.

E.ON UK also finances a chair at Loughborough University focusing on innovative energy models. The generation, use and distribution of climate-friendly energies are at the center of this research project. The chair is planned for five years and was initiated in 2007. In the first year research was dedicated to low-energy consumption air conditioning systems in buildings. Thanks to the chair, the university is to become a global hub for climate research experts, making Loughborough a leading international research facility.

E.ON UK and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) fund research projects on CO₂ reduction with EUR14.7 million. At the end of 2007, around EUR three million from this budget was made available to a consortium of eight universities. Headed by Bath University and Imperial College London, the institutes are conducting research under the heading "Transition pathways to a low carbon economy". "What is a climate-friendly society like? What will the energy mix of Great Britain be made up of in the future?" The scientists are discussing these pressing questions and are working on innovative solutions.

In 2004, E.ON Hanse joined the state government to create the Schleswig-Holstein Foundation for Innovation (Innovationsstiftung Schleswig-Holstein). E.ON Hanse provided EUR22 million of the foundation’s EUR80 million endowment. These funds are used for projects dedicated to improving energy efficiency, expanding the use of renewables and supporting climate protection projects. The foundation’s mission is to promote innovation in society.

E.ON U.S. has entered into a three-year partnership with the University of Kentucky and will provide EUR one million to support environmental research at the university’s Center for Applied Energy Research (CAER). Research will focus on carbon capture and storage technologies for coal-fired power plants with the goal of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.