Published in 2025 by Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
Revised layout & DTP: Anders Roll
Photos: Andreas Bro, Bax Lindhardt, Simon Rubin, Mikal Schlosser, Magnus Møller, Kasper Wartenberg Martens and Sisse Rohde
Moving clean energy forward
DTU-TotalEnergies Excellence Centre for Clean Energy (DTEC) couples
DTU’s world-leading expertise in renewable energy with TotalEnergies’ ambitious clean energy targets. The centre aims to pioneer clean energy research, innovative technology solutions, and technical services, while fostering education and training in clean energy skills.
Welcome to DTUTotalEnergies Excellence Centre for Clean Energy
DTU-TotalEnergies Excellence Centre for Clean Energy (DTEC) is a unique centre, because it comprehensively covers all the aspects of clean energy that are important for the green transition. We’re looking at solar PV, wind, hydrogen, and cleaner tech in an integrated way to understand how we can develop and deploy energy systems that are clean and green in the future.
A key asset, in terms of supporting the research and technical activities within the centre, is the state-of-the-art multienergy experimental facility The Risø Hybrid Power Plant. It supports a range of clean energy research and innovation activities around energy and power management systems, forecasting, wind farm flow control, digital twins, reliability, operations and maintenance, and more.
“Catalysing clean energy innovation through research and training.”
Gregor Giebel Head of Centre
The groundbreaking ceremony for the Risø Hybrid Power Plant took place in February 2024.
On October 21 of the same year, the plant was ready, and this was marked by an inauguration ceremony.
The centre focuses on four areas
Advanced Clean Energy Research
A comprehensive research programme in all areas of clean energy – from wind, solar, hybrids, and storage, and their grid integration to hydrogen and power-to-x technologies to renewable-based energy systems and carbon capture and storage of the future.
Work Programme 1
Hybrid Power Plant Facility
The Risø Hybrid Power Plant is a multi-energy facility that can operate as a scaled utility-scale power plant or a microgrid for industrial applications. It is able to emulate a wide range of topologies of renewablebased power plants. It was inaugurated in 2024.
Work Programme 3
DTU-TotalEnergies Excellence Centre
Clean Energy Technical Services
A training and innovation programme aimed at upskilling the TotalEnergies workforce in clean-tech competencies. The training programme includes an online introduction to clean energy, immersive onsite training, in-depth technical workshops for R&D, and more. Complementing this is an innovation programme for DTU and TotalEnergies to jointly ideate new solutions for advancing clean energy technologies.
Work Programme 2
Clean Energy Training and Innovation
The programme supports near-term needs by directly applying DTU knowledge and innovation to real-world projects. DTU-TotalEnergies Excellence Centre for Clean Energy seeks not just to perform R&D, but to translate knowledge into impact through software tools, technology demonstration, and validation.
Work Programme 4
Work Programme 1
Research
Advanced Clean Energy Research
DTU-TotalEnergies Excellence Centre for Clean Energy executes impact-driven research. DTU’s world-leading expertise in renewable energy is in the cooperation focused on solving research challenges inspired by real projects. Working with TotalEnergies technical staff, DTU researchers identify opportunities to advance science and engineering for a broad range of applications in clean energy.
The centre has research projects in several areas, including offshore wind energy, hybrid power plants, solar photovoltaics, carbon capture, power-to-x and grid services/integration – with projects in additional focus areas in development.
Project Highlight
Software tool for designing the electrical collection system at floating offshore wind farms
In advanced clean energy research, our first successful research collaboration was the project Design of floating wind farm collection systems accounting for dynamic cable performance and reliability (DYNAMOD).
This project developed a software tool for the multi-physics design of the electrical collection system for a floating offshore wind farm, where the electric cables are suspended in water and thus can move around – following the motions of the turbines themselves, which we modelled in detail.
From: Full floating wind turbine system dynamics including cable motions.
From: Detailed electrical cable component modelling for performance and reliability.
To: Design of floating wind farm electrical collection systems accounting for cable performance, reliability and costs.
Services
Clean Energy Technical Services
DTU-TotalEnergies Excellence Centre for Clean Energy provides clean energy technical services. Through technical services, existing knowledge and technical solutions are used to support nearterm needs for the current portfolio of TotalEnergies clean energy projects in development as well as in operation. This involves a number of activities including:
• Software training and development services
• Instrumentation and measurement campaigns
• Technology evaluation and testing
• Consulting services and expert advice
Facility
Risø Hybrid Power Plant
The Risø Hybrid Power Plant makes it possible to test new technologies for the production, storage, and control of renewable energy. The test facility is a smaller version of a commercial hybrid power plant but an important tool for developing and testing new technologies before they are scaled up.
It is a DTU and TotalEnergies jointly developed facility. It was inaugurated in October 2024 and it is today integrated into existing DTU test facilities at the Risø campus.
Phase 1
The following are connected to the hybrid power plant:
• Solar cells: A photovoltaic system has been installed, totalling 1,609 m2 of solar cells.
• Wind turbines: The hybrid power plant is connected to two Vestas V27 wind turbines, retrofitted with power electronics.
• Battery: It can store 1.25 MWh.
• Controllable Grid Interface (CGI): Allowing Risø Hybrid Power Plant to test under conditions other than those of the local grid.
Phase 2 (TBD)
The figure above provides an overview of the technologies involved in the facility development.
Training Clean Energy Training and Innovation
DTU-TotalEnergies Excellence Centre for Clean Energy trains the future clean energy workforce. Training programmes are developed that target proficiencies needed for new hires, managers, engineers transitioning from other sectors, and even technical specialists.
Innovation programmes provide DTU students and staff an opportunity to get involved and work together with TotalEnergies staff on ideation for solutions to real-world technical challenges.
Organisation
DTU-TotalEnergies Excellence Centre for Clean Energy is established as a centre for research, innovation, and education at DTU and is funded by TotalEnergies. Its headquarters are located at the DTU Risø Campus.
The Head of Centre is Gregor Giebel from DTU Wind. A joint DTU-TotalEnergies steering committee oversees the centre‘s planning and operation.
As a strategic partnership, programmes under DTEC involve technical staff both at DTU and TotalEnergies. DTU staff lead and manage projects and work with TotalEnergies staff to ensure the transfer of knowledge for impact to real-world projects.
DTU Wind Department Head
Financial responsibility at DTU
Overall centre management Steering Committee Dept. Head, TotalEnergies leads, HoC
DTU-TotalEnergies Excellence Centre for Clean Energy research activities are overseen by the Scientific Committee, composed of Scientific Directors at DTU and TotalEnergies. The committee leads the development of collaboration roadmaps for the centre’s research and technology development activities.
The DTU directors are:
• Wind energy: Nikolay Dimitrov and Elliot Simon
• Hybrids, storage, and grid: Kaushik Das and Oscar Saborío-Romano
• Power-to-x and hydrogen: Henrik Lund Frandsen
• Carbon capture, utilisation and storage: Wei Yan
• Education and training: Hamid Sarlak
Technology
Collaboration
Roadmaps
Projects and Activities
Colleagues at DTU who have an interest in the below research areas are welcome to join DTEC projects and activities:
Competitive Global Onshore & Offshore
Wind Portfolio
Challenges 2050
100% RE-driven Decarbonized Industrial Assets
Scaling Solutions for P2X and MultiEnergy Systems
Digital Platforms & Optimisation
Wind farm design & operation
RE power plant lifecycle optimisation
Portfolio management for siting, design & ops
Next-Gen Tech & Control Systems
Technology qualification and development
Integrated control for performance & reliability
Scalable RE-P2X integrated systems
Sustainable Systems
Marine spatial planning & net gain
CO2-neutral RE power plants
Absolute sustainability
20+ Research projects and technical services
• In wind
• Solar PV
• Thermal storage
• Hybrid Power Plants
• Grid integration of renewables
Facts and Figures
8 University departments collaborating on DTEC programmes
