Energy Engineering and Management (EEM)

The use of energy has been a key in the development of the human society by helping it to control and adapt to the environment. Managing the use of energy is inevitable in any functional society. In the industrialized world the development of energy resources has become essential for agriculture, transportation, waste collection, information technology, communications that have become prerequisites of a developed society. The increasing use of energy has also brought with it a number of serious problems, some of which, such as global warming, present potentially grave risks to the world.

In the near future, more than seven billion people worldwide will need to be supplied with energy. Industry and Universities are challenged to develop innovative concepts for a safe, economically efficient, sustainable and environmental friendly energy supply.

Consumption of energy requires resources and has typically an effect on the environment. Many electric power plants burn coal, oil or natural gas in order to generate electricity for energy needs. While burning these fossil fuels produces a readily available and instantaneous supply of electricity, it also generates air pollutants and increases global warming by emission of CO2.

The large-scale use of renewable energy technologies could mitigate or eliminate a wide range of environmental and human health impacts of energy use and support a long term sustainable energy availability. Renewable energy technologies include biofuels, solar heating and cooling, hydroelectric power, solar power, water- and wind power.

Since the sustainable availability of energy has become a significant factor in the performance of economy of societies, management of energy resources has become very crucial. Energy management involves utilizing the available energy resources more effectively that is with minimum incremental costs. Many times it is possible to save energy without incorporating fresh technology by simple management techniques. Most often energy management is the practice of using energy more efficiently by eliminating energy wastage or to balance justifiable energy demand with appropriate energy supply.

The Master - Program Energy Engineering & Management is part of the Knowledge Innovation Centre InnoEnergy and therefore supports the aims of the European Union to achieve a climate-neutral and sustainable Energy supply.