This month, EBERO AG joined IKEM as a Strategic Partner. The company develops and delivers technical infrastructure solutions ranging from drinking water, gas, heat and energy supply systems to broadband networks, smart-city applications and innovative project logistics services. We look forward to working together and advancing the transformation of energy and utility systems through exciting joint projects.

What will it take for autonomous vehicles to be deployed on a large scale in public transport within the next few years? This is the central question of the BRAVE10k research and implementation project.

IKEM contributes legal expertise, stakeholder management and communication support. We analyse regulatory requirements for autonomous mobility and coordinate dialogue with key stakeholders from transport, public administration, industry and academia.

In this study, Leonie Durschang and Johannes Graetschel analyse the complex legal framework governing the operation of biomethane combined heat and power (CHP) plants. The study examines the regulatory framework and support mechanisms under the EEG 2023 and the CHP Act (KWKG) 2025. It also reviews recent legal developments relating to grid connection and network access for biomethane facilities.

This expert report by Leonie Durschang, Johannes Graetschel and Markus Lehnshack examines the legal factors influencing biomethane price determination. The analysis covers gas quality requirements and verification obligations, electricity and gas procurement costs, as well as costs arising from emissions trading and energy and electricity taxation.

For this briefing paper, Rosa von der Stein and Jana Eschweiler analysed the legal framework governing the use of waste heat from data centres. The paper addresses provisions under the Energy Efficiency Act, access to district heating networks, the role of waste heat within building energy and heat-planning legislation, and its classification within the system of guarantees of origin.

In its statement, IKEM concludes that, despite some improvements, the current draft of the EEG 2027 remains insufficient. In particular, IKEM believes that, for small photovoltaic systems, there is a risk that regulatory transformation may progress faster than the development of the market structures required to support it.

In the latest issue of EnWZ, Franziska Stamme and Yannick Würkert provide an overview of the key developments in energy transition law during 2025 and offer an outlook on legislative reforms expected in 2026.

The next edition of the Berlin Energy Roundtable will take place on 26 August and focus on both regulatory and practical issues surrounding the controllability of electricity-consuming devices within low-voltage networks.

Under the theme "Climate Spark – Igniting Multi-Level Action to Achieve the Global Energy Transition", this year's IKEM Academy explores how momentum in climate action can be sustained even in challenging times. From 31 August to 4 September, participants can look forward to a comprehensive programme of lectures, interactive workshops and site visits.

On 17 and 18 September 2026, the second conference of the European Association of Climate Law (EACL) will take place in Helsinki, Finland. The conference will assess the state of climate law ten years after the adoption of the Paris Agreement.

As part of our CommunitE/BiNe project, IKEM, together with the German Renewable Energy Federation for Citizen Energy and the Energiewende Jetzt Network, will offer three training courses on community energy in autumn 2026. Alongside an introductory seminar for newcomers, participants can choose from advanced courses focusing on business and organisational models. Registration is now open.

Over the past three years, E-CORE has explored solutions for a sustainable and electrified freight transport corridor linking Rotterdam and Budapest. The results will be presented at the E-CORE Innovation Lab in Berlin on 24 November. The event will also discuss implications for transport policy and the development of decarbonised transport infrastructure across Europe.

Dr Michael Kalis, Till Reinholz and Simon Großmann represented IKEM at the 4th International Conference on Carbon Dioxide Removal in Milan from 10 to 12 June.
Organised within the framework of the Horizon Europe project UPTAKE, the conference brought together international experts to discuss the latest developments in carbon dioxide removal (CDR).

On 16 July, Jana Eschweiler and Anika Nicolaas Ponder welcomed journalists from Prague, Kyiv and Germany to IKEM for a discussion on the heat transition and its legal framework.

The visit formed part of a German-Czech-Ukrainian exchange programme organised by the European journalism network n-ost.

Contributions include:

• Wolfgang Durner: Building Modernisation Act, Heat Planning – and What Comes Next?
• Walter Frenz: CBAM Expansion, the Principle of Equality and Climate Protection Obligations
• Antonia Sommerfeld: Circular Economy in Private Law – Economic Disincentives and the Need for New Legal Concepts on the Road to a Circular Economy
• Verena Kahl: Limits and Perspectives of Human Rights Protection for Achieving Intergenerational and Interspecies Justice in the Context of Climate Change
• 2nd Speyer Forum on Public Climate Protection Law – Climate Protection in the Building Sector
• Bonn Climate Negotiations: Limited Progress on the Road to Antalya
• Historic Heatwave in Europe: Attribution Study Identifies a Clear Climate Signal
• Case Law: Bavarian Constitutional Court, 6 May 2026 – Constitutional Complaint Against the 10H Wind Turbine Rule Declared Inadmissible
• Case Law: Berlin Administrative Court, 17 March 2026 – Scots Pine May Not Be Felled Despite Shading a PV System
• Case Law: Dresden Administrative Court, 28 April 2026 – No Priority for Climate Protection in the Installation of a PV System on a Listed Building

Are you researching legal aspects of climate change and interested in publishing your work? Contact the editorial team: klimr@ikem.de.

Join the IKEM team! We are currently recruiting:

• Doctoral candidates (m/f/d)
• Legal trainees
• Interns

We also offer positions for doctoral researchers.

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