"I am really delighted about this award. For me, this is less of a personal award and more of an honour for the entire Chair and thus for my staff," emphasises Professor Zdrallek.

The energy engineer and his team at the Chair have been working intensively with Energieforen Leipzig in various formats for over ten years. These include seminars and user groups as well as joint research projects.

One example of this is the PAM - Predictive Asset Management project, funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, in which the two project partners have succeeded in significantly reducing the costs of maintaining and renewing electricity distribution grids with the help of AI methods. These cost savings can now be utilised by the distribution grid operators for the urgently needed grid expansion in order to significantly advance the energy transition.

Energieforen Leipzig is Germany's largest network of companies from the energy and supply industry, the service and technology sector as well as participants from science in the field of energy supply. The network aims to contribute to a liveable and sustainable future through targeted consulting solutions and research activities.

The network regularly presents the Energy Forum Award at its annual congress in Leipzig in the presence of prominent speakers, including this year's doctor, science journalist and foundation founder Dr Eckhart von Hirschhausen.