Low-cost, safe, climate-friendly and inexhaustible – many energy experts view nuclear fusion as the power source of the future. Having said that, scientists believe that it will take another 40 to 50 years before the first fusion power station is in operation. Hot plasma, trapped within a strong magnetic field is currently the most promising way forward, and Europeans in particular are focusing on this concept. However, might it not be much simpler and quicker to find a way to unleash the fire of the Sun by means of powerful lasers that American physicists are working with?

A closely-interconnected grid of power lines and wires 1.7 million kilometres in length and running from power stations to wall sockets delivers a reliable power supply throughout Germany. It has evolved and been maintained over decades, extended in leaps and bounds, and virtually no-one gives any real thought to the interplay between generator and consumer, power frequency and high voltages, sub-stations and transformers. Now, in response to the rising proportion of electricity generated from renewable sources, the term Smart Grid (the 'intelligent' power grid) is now coming into common parlance. Was, and is, our existing power grid really so 'dumb'?

The DLR Web Portal is indeed the most important tool in our online communication arsenal. Nevertheless, here at DLR Communication, over the last few years we have realised that we are not able to reach all potential communication partners on this platform. Therefore, we decided to go where those people were, for example, to the social media portals. We are also fully aware of the fact that communication is not a one-way street. We want to be contactable, to open a channel for feedback and to respond to what we are told. Twitter is an ideal medium for that purpose.

On 1 March 2007, I assumed the post of Chairman of the Management Board of the German Aerospace Center, DLR, and in doing so, embarked upon a personal change in career of unimagined and unexpected magnitude. The first three of five years in this post are now behind me and it is time to do something akin to drawing up a personal balance sheet, to prepare myself for the decisions and developments required in the future.

At the Science and Technology Day at the Berlin-Brandenburg Science Academy (Berlin-Brandenburgischen Akademie der Wissenschaften; BBAW), lectures were given on the subject of development in nature and technology. I was invited to present a paper dealing with evolution and revolution in aerospace technologies. This was, as my preparation showed me, a very exciting challenge indeed …

Fuel cells are surely the most elegant way of converting energy-rich fuels into electricity without emitting any carbon dioxide or other exhaust gases if hydrogen is the type of fuel used. Back in 1838, the German-Swiss chemist Christian Friedrich Schönbein successfully generated an electrical voltage from hydrogen and oxygen for the first time, using two platinum wires to accomplish this feat. Since then, many different types of fuel cells have been developed to a commercially marketable standard. What underlying principle do they all have in common?

Under the influence of the Moon's gravity, the water of Earth's oceans rises and falls twice a day. Powerful forces are at work all over the globe between every low and high tide – forces that can be harnessed to generate electrical power. Just how mature is the technology and what is the potential that tidal power stations could unleash?

After decades of planning, Belo Monte - the third largest hydroelectric power station in the world, will now be constructed in the Amazonas region of northern Brazil. When the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources, IBAMA, approved the plan in early February, it was met with vociferous criticism from environmental conservationists and spokespersons for indigenous groups. So just how green are gigantic hydroelectric power stations really?

I had planned to use the launch of the shuttle Endeavour with the European elements Node 3 and Cupola to intensify personal contacts with various participants in the space sector. The focus of our talks was on the current mission, of course, but they also addressed issues such as the procurement of Meteosat Third Generation and the Obama administration’s plan for space in the coming years, published a week ago.

Whenever the battery in a mobile phone, laptop or MP3 player goes flat, the desperate search for a power socket begins. A power source that everyone can carry with them at all times will provide more independence in the future – their own shirt. That your electronic equipment could ever be recharged by a piece of fabric does sound rather like a fairy tale. But is the 'T-shirt power station' really such an impossibility?

The global economic crisis has also had a positive side – the consumption of crude oil fell slightly in 2008 and 2009. Yet before long, it is likely to rise again to about 85 million barrels per day. The International Energy Agency's World Energy Outlook 2009 report states that demand will rise by a further percent each year to 105 million barrels per day by 2030. For how long can we meet this growing demand

The first, purely electrically-driven compact and sports cars are already on the market, but they are much more expensive than their classic diesel or petrol engine counterparts and have a range of no more than 100 kilometres. Only light, high-performance and cheap lithium-ion batteries will help electric cars achieve a breakthrough. Will such electricity storage devices reach production standard in the near future?

Because of NASA's achievements, the United States continues to be regarded as the most important and strongest nation with regard to space. Until now, the relationship with other countries, including Germany, has been characterised by the fundamental view that all American missions should be realised using American expertise on the critical path. The future role of partners was a central subject during the visit by Charles Bolden.

The SOFIA ‘flying observatory’, a collaboration between NASA and DLR, is making great progress. After two test flights in December 2009, a third successful flight was made on 15 January 2010. A brief news roundup.

In cars with internal combustion engines, a large part of the energy stored in diesel or petrol is simply dissipated as lost heat. It is precisely these hot exhaust gases that an increasing number of scientists worldwide want to use for more efficient electricity generation. They are developing and testing thermoelectric generators that can generate electricity from temperature differences of several hundred degrees. But does electricity from hot car exhaust gases really save fuel?

A very special experience: I had the opportunity to observe at first hand the work of DLR's staff on Solar Impulse, Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg's project to circumnavigate the world in a solar-powered plane.

Our Sun is a gigantic fusion reactor with an expected lifetime of about ten billion years. Although this period of time is unimaginably long from a human perspective, half of it has already elapsed. That means that our star, a very ordinary one in astronomical terms, will still be radiating the same amount of energy as it now does long after our resources of uranium, coal, gas or crude oil have been used up. How much energy from the Sun reaches us here on Earth?

Can we refuel in the future simply using the Sun? How long will the Earth’s oil reserves last? Which energy source will our grandchildren use? Many people are asking scientific researchers about the future of our energy supply. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung; BMBF) has chosen the slogan ‘The Future of Energy’ for Science Year 2010. In the DLR Energy Blog, science journalist Jan Oliver Löfken will answer a question about energy each week during the year.

My blog as Chairman of DLR has been set up to communicate internally and externally, focusing not only on general topics but also giving more personal insights. With this in mind, here, at the turn of the year, is the first article.

Today, we have taken our new DLR Blogs platform live; we wish to offer you a warm welcome. We are starting with three blogs. Firstly, there is a blog by Jan Wörner, chairman of the DLR Executive board, who offers insights into his work. Secondly, we have started our NewsBlog, in which we intend to publish the short stories, pictures, videos or other items of interest that do not find a place on the homepage of our web portal – www.dlr.de/en. Last but not least, there's the EnergyBlog. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung; BMBF) has nominated 'The Future of Energy' as the topic for the german Science Year 2010. This is more than sufficient reason for us to address the subject with a dedicated blog, in which we will also answer an 'Energy Question of the Week'.