Defining Energy Research Data Management Together

Stakeholders interested in and working on research data management solutions for the energy domain are invited to join the 3rd NFDI4Energy Conference.

The 3rd NFDI4Energy Conference offers a platform to discuss and exchange on different tools, services, approaches, best practices, and ideas for research data management in the energy domain. The conference will take place fully on-site in Aachen on March 24th and 25th in 2026, organized by NFDI4Energy in cooperation with RWTH. English will be the primary language of the conference. The conference is free of charge for all participants. Feel invited if working in the field or interested in current work in this area!

In 2026, for the first time, we will combine the community event with a scientific track, to give our researchers the opportunity to publish results from their scientific work, if they are interested in this option. 

We are pleased to announce that the call for papers is now open and warmly invite you to contribute. Further information and submission details can be found on the Conference Website.

We look forward to welcoming you to Aachen.

The second edition of the Conference on Research Data Infrastructure (CoRDI) took place from 26 to 28 August 2025 at RWTH Aachen University. As Europe’s leading research data infrastructure conference, it brought together those who generate research data, those eager to use it, and those working on processes and services for FAIR data and software to improve exchange between the two.

With nearly 300 contributions, the three-day program was highly interactive and diverse. We, as the NFDI4Energy Consortium, were delighted to be part of it,  meet the community, and to contribute through posters, talks, demonstrations, and at the market of opportunities.

Find our contributions here: 

• Refining Metadata for Energy Simulation Software 

• The Open Energy Platform in NFDI4Energy: A collaborative Data Infrastructure for Energy, Climate, and Mobility Research 

• Enhancing Requirements Engineering Through Transparent Collection and Monitoring - A Metadata Schema and GitHub Repository Blueprint for a Requirement Collection Process 

• Developing an ontology for co-simulation scenarios of energy systems 

• Examining Data Sharing and Open Access Publishing in Energy Research: A Bibliometric Analysis of Current Practices 

• Developing a Workflow for Using Simulation in Research 

• Towards Common Metadata For Research Software in the NFDI 

Over the past three months, numerous events have accompanied and provided support for our work, allowing for inspiring discussions and valuable insights. To maintain a concise overview, we’ve compiled key highlights and provided links to detailed event pages and LinkedIn reports for further reading. We invite you to explore these updates and stay connected via our LinkedIn channel to follow the work of the consortium.

NFDI4Energy was present at and contributed to the following events:

9. Bi­blio­theks­kon­gress 2025

• Details: June 24 - 27, 2025 - Bremen, Germany.

• Describtion: The Annual Conference of the library community is one of the most important events in the field, bringing together professionals and researchers to discuss current developments in Open Science, bibliometrics, and related areas. The program includes key sessions, workshops, and discussions that foster exchange and collaboration within the library and research community.

• NFDI4Energy Contribution: Within the session "How open are we?", Amanda Wein and a colleague from TIB presented insights from the NFDI4Energy project. The contribution focused on open-access publishing practices and open data-sharing in the field of energy research, highlighting opportunities and challenges for more openness in scientific communication.

• Further readings: Event Website. 

Mastr4All Workshop

• Details: July 17, 2025 - Berlin, Germany.

• Describtion: The workshop brought together more than 20 representatives from the energy data community to discuss how the Core Energy Market Data Register (Marktstammdatenregister) can be made more accessible and usable. The event focused on improving data processing, validation, and collaboration across different stakeholders.

• NFDI4Energy Contribution: NFDI4Energy joined the workshop discussions, with special attention given to the open-source tool open-MaStR. This software, developed by NFDI4Energy members OFFIS – Institute for Information Technology and Reiner Lemoine Institut gGmbH, plays a central role in making MaStR data easier to use and supports the community in improving data quality.

• Further readings: LinkedIn Report 

Hackathon im Rahmen des Projekts Dateninstitut – Use Case Energie

• Details: August 20 - 21, 2025 - Berlin, Germany.

• Describtion:The 24-hour hackathon, organized in cooperation with Fraunhofer Energy & Climate, turned the Future Energy Lab into a space for creativity and exchange. In three intensive sessions, supported by inspiring keynotes and discussions, participants worked in 10 teams on 8 challenges. They explored how data spaces function technically and what opportunities they provide for the energy sector. The results included 19 new data assets and contributions from 26 participants with strong dataspace expertise.

• NFDI4Energy Contribution: Representatives from OFFIS and RLI were present on behalf of NFDI4Energy. NFDI4Energy contributed by exploring two central aspects: The use of the Data Space for transferring geodata and time series, which are highly relevant for energy system planning and control, and the interplay between the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) and open data platforms such as the OpenEnergyPlatform and the Data Space.

• Further readings: Event Website

CoRDI 2025

• Details: August 26-28, 2025 - Aachen, Germany.

• Describtion: The second edition of the Conference on Research Data Infrastructure (CoRDI), Europe´s leading conference on this topic, brought together those who generate research data, those eager to use it, and those working on processes and services for FAIR data and software to improve exchange between the two. The three-day program was highly interactive and featured nearly 300 contributions.

• NFDI4Energy Contribution: The NFDI4Energy Consortium was actively represented in Aachen with posters, talks, demonstrations, and at the Market of Opportunities. Our contributions covered a wide range of topics, including metadata for simulation software, the Open Energy Platform, transparent requirements engineering, ontology development for co-simulation, bibliometric analyses of data sharing, workflows for simulation, and common metadata for research software.

• Further readings: Event Website and LinkedIn Report  

SciCAR Conference 2025

• Details: September 5-6, 2025 - Dortmund, Germany.

• Describtion: The SciCAR Conference 2025 in Dortmund brings together researchers and data journalists to share methods, learn from each other, and initiate joint projects.

• NFDI4Energy Contribution: Florian Kotthoff and Timo Beyer presented the Market Master Data Register (MaStR) as a central source for up-to-date analyses of the energy transition, while Mirko Schäfer and Christina Speck led a workshop on open energy data, their formats and platforms, and the mutual benefits for science and journalism.

• Further readings: Event Website and LinkedIn Report 

3. Konferenz der Norddeutschen Wärmeforschung

• Details: September 10-11, 2025 - Bremen, Germany.

• Describtion: The third Conference on Northern German Heat Research took place at HSB Bremen – City University of Applied Sciences. Researchers, companies, and municipalities came together to discuss current developments, projects, and innovative approaches for advancing the Wärmewende in Northern Germany. The program covered a wide range of contributions, from geodata-based geothermal assessments to AI-supported urban heating planning, simulation-based energy dispatch, and gamification approaches to sustainability.

• NFDI4Energy Contribution: NFDI4Energy was represented by Oliver Werth. In his presentation, he introduced the project National Research Data Infrastructure for Interdisciplinary Energy System Research (NFDI4Energy), which is building a sustainable research data infrastructure to support the energy transition. His contribution highlighted the importance of FAIR and open data practices for collaborative energy system research.

• Further readings: Event Website.

Workshop at the DACH+ Conference on Energy Informatics

• Details: September 17, 2025 - Aachen, Germany.

• Describtion: At RWTH Aachen University, the workshop “Exploring and Improving the Energy Research Process” took place as part of the DACH+ Conference on Energy Informatics. The workshop addressed challenges of the traditional paper-oriented research style, where valuable details of experiments and workflows often remain undocumented. Through interactive discussions and an impulse talk by Monica Gonzalez-Marquez on open science and research processes, participants explored how to better model and document energy research workflows.

• NFDI4Energy Contribution: NFDI4Energy representatives organized this workshop. The outcomes will feed into the development of research data management services within NFDI4Energy, ensuring they align with the real needs of the energy research community.

• Further readings: Information on the DACH+ Conference on Energy Informatics.

Many thanks to our representatives for their time and engagement that allowed NFDI4Energy to contribute to and be represented at these events!

Upcoming Events

If you want to get in touch with NFDI4Energy representatives, you can find them at the following upcoming events:

FDM@Campus - Göttinger Research Alliance: September 29, 2025 - Göttingen, Germany

Open Science Conference 2025: October 08 - 09, 2025 - Hamburg, Germany (Online)

Tag der Energieforschung an der Leibniz Universität Hannover: October 28, 2025 - Hanover, Germany

Energieforschungskonferenz des BMWE: November 11-12, 2025 - Berlin, Germany

We look forward to meeting you there!