Filmcrew in the wet lab

What will resource-efficient energy use look like in the future? What new technologies will be needed in the future, and what is currently being researched? The theme of Science Year 2025 is “Future Energy.” It’s a theme that fits very well with the research mission of Modellfabrik Papier. “Never before has the pressure to innovate been so high. And the solutions we need all come from research, without exception,” said Federal Research Minister Cem Özdemir at the kick-off event for Science Year 2025 in April.

But what is researched in laboratories and technical centers is rarely visible and usually not accessible to a broad audience. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research wants to change this and, with its Science in Dialogue (WiD) initiative, announces a Science Year every year with a new topic for the future. This year, the focus is on rising energy demand and limited resources. The goal is to promote science communication, bring relevant research topics to the public, and present research in a way that is relevant to everyday life.

However, research topics are often unwieldy and not always easy to explain in all their complexity. “We have now received support for this,” says communications manager Kira Crome happily. As one of the anchor projects for structural change in the Rhineland mining area, the Modellfabrik Papier is being presented in a film by the Zukunftsagentur Rheinisches Revier. In an easy-to-understand way and with an approach that makes you smile. “A film crew was allowed to look over the shoulders of our researchers in our wet lab at our interim location at our research partner’s premises at the Jülich Research Center.” The film will premiere at the Revier Conference Perspectives 2025, which will be hosted by the Zukunftsagentur Rheinisches Revier in the fall.