Risø DTU National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy

Risø DTU ( full name: Danish Risø, Danmarks Tekniske Universitet Nationallaboratoriet for bæredygtig energi, German Risø Technical University of Denmark National Laboratory for Renewable Energy ) is a research center on the northern edge of the Danish city of Roskilde.

Named after the center is the small peninsula Risø where the Centre has its headquarters, and its support, Technical University of Denmark, DTU abbreviated.

The focus of the research made ​​until the mid- 1980s, the nuclear energy industry, today announced the renewable forms of energy. The laboratory employs about 700 researchers and employees (as of 2007 ).

History and research priorities

Nuclear physics and energy technology

The center emerged in the mid -1950s ( officially 1958) as a core research facility of the Danish Atomic Energy Commission under the Atomic Energy Commission's research facility name Risø (Danish Atomenergikommisionens Forsøgsanlæg Risø ). Significant influence on the establishment had Niels Bohr, who was then head of the Atomic Energy Commission.

The main activities of the Centre was in the first three decades of research into the peaceful use of nuclear energy. From this time three research reactors come on the premises, but which are no longer used today and are in the demolition:

Renewable Energy

Triggered by the oil crisis of the mid -1970s, there were among the Danish public a controversial debate over the use of nuclear energy. In 1985 ( up to this point is currently no commercial reactor was in operation in Denmark ), the Danish Parliament passed a law against the construction of nuclear power plants. Instead, it was decided to reinforced and here again to put on renewable energy focusing on the wind strength.

According to the change of direction in the Danish energy policy and the research activities in the field of nuclear research were clearly reduced and adjusted the tasks of the research center. It changed its name to Risø Research (Danish Forskningscenter Risø ) and broadened its activities in non-nuclear research with a focus on renewable energy, especially wind power but also fuel cells, and other application-oriented research in the field of biotechnology, materials engineering, radiation and plasma physics.

In 2007, merged the Risø research center with various other Danish research institutions and was Technical University of Denmark (DTU ) attached as an institute. As part of this reorganization, the name was changed to Risø DTU.