Dear friends of IKEM, An extraordinary year 2020 is coming to an end. The last twelve months demanded a lot of us but it also proved that it is possible to respond to a crisis quickly and with due regard for scientific findings. The corona measures showed us restrictions can be put into practice and that funding is available if there is political determination. It is crucial that we now show the same resolve in the fight against the climate crisis. after all, the European Commission's proposal for a Green Deal is a promising push into this direction. At IKEM, we have successfully resisted the pandemic through consistent work from home, countless digital meetings, and new digital formats for events. We worked on numerous topics in 70 projects – from hydrogen and international climate investments, autonomous driving and electromobility to structural change in coal regions – and were able to increase our revenue to nearly three million euros. None of this would have been possible without the excellent cooperation with our project partners. We would like to express our sincere thanks for this. We would also like to thank our strategic partners and sponsors. Thanks to their support, we were able to advance and deepen our research activities, for instance on the topics of hydrogen, the transformation of the heating system as well as the implementation of the European Renewable Energies Directive (RED II). A special thank you goes to the members of our scientific and strategic advisory board, who have enriched our work with their input and concrete project ideas. Our work will continue in 2021. We are already looking forward to joint projects and the cooperation with you! And we hope to welcome you again soon at one of our events, either digitally or in person. Happy holidays to all of you. Stay confident and healthy. Best regards SIMON SCHÄFER-STRADOWSKY Managing Director +49 (0) 30 408 18 70-10 | info@ikem.de |