The concept of storing renewable energy in stones has come one step closer to realisation with the construction of the GridScale demonstration plant. The plant will be the largest electricity storage facility in Denmark, with a capacity of 10 MWh. The project is being funded by the Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program (EUDP) under the Danish Energy Agency.

Researchers from the Department of Mechanical and Production Engineering at Aarhus University are participating in an EUDP-supported development project to design future heat pumps for small and medium-sized district heating plants.

Limitations in models used by the IPCC in its calculations of possible pathways to climate-neutral energy production suggests that the potentials of solar photovoltaics as a powerhouse in the green transition have been drastically underestimated. This is the conclusion of new research from an international team of scientists and experts in photovoltaics.

Nearly 500 applicants have Aarhus University as their first choice. The programmes with winter admission are particularly popular.

Engineers and biologists from Aarhus University have developed an intelligent light trap that can count insects and determine their species as they fly past. This could significantly boost nature monitoring.

Aarhus University has joined a new European project to design and develop a digital cloud-based platform to boost the circularity and sustainability of manufacturing industries. The system will make it possible for companies, stakeholders and consumers to gain more knowledge about the full life cycle of products, and will give them the ability to make better decisions with regard to circularity.

Using vertical solar-cell installations, researchers from Aarhus University will harvest both energy and crops from the same agricultural area. The plan is to produce energy when it is most needed, while at the same time leaving space for the farmer to work in the field.

The green transition, digitalisation and Industry 4.0 are all keywords for the industry of the future, both in Denmark and abroad. They are also in the spotlight for Aarhus University's new head of the Department of Mechanical and Production Engineering, Anders Brandt, whose focus is on research, development and business collaboration.

Monday 18 January was demo day at Jydsk Emblem Fabrik A/S in Malling – a 135-year-old family-owned company, which was demonstrating an intelligent, self-propelled, collaborative mobile robot manipulator system in its production processes.

The potential of autonomous solutions for offshore operations in the maritime sector is huge. The Danish drone company Upteko is collaborating with researchers from Aarhus University to develop next-generation drone technologies and artificial intelligence for everything from rescue operations to 3D scans and inspections of entire ships.