The “VRD Stiftung für Erneuerbare Energien” (VRD Foundation for Renewable Energy; abbreviated VRD-Foundation) is a nonprofit private foundation. It was founded in 1997 by Dr. Volker Reimann-Dubbers to protect the environment, promoting all kinds of renewable energy. The VRD Foundation is committed to the development of renewable energies to create a sustainable supply concept for our society to improve the standard of living.
“Good is: to preserve and promote life;
Bad is: to inhibit and destroy life ”Albert Schweitzer, 1919
About us
Our present energy supply is derived mainly from fossil fuels. These are formed from animal and plant remains from 500 million years ago. This is an unimaginable amount of locked up CO2.
At the beginning of industrialisation in the mid-18th Century, most of these energy reserves were consumed in less than 300 years. With this incineration previously bound CO2 was and still is released in concentrated form into the environment. Within a split second a life’s work is destroyed.
The demand for energy continues to rise because of a growing world population and a higher standard of living, while agricultural land falls victim to the consequences of climate change. The after effects are floods and droughts on the one hand and on the other hunger and thirst – a struggle for survival that affects everyone.
If we want a peaceful co-existence and an equitable distribution of natural resources, then we need to ensure an energy supply that is climate-friendly, sustainable over generations and available to all people.
We want to contribute to such awareness in society and that progress should be used to act in favour of our environment.
Our goals
The aim of our activities is to reduce prejudices against renewable energies, to awake the desire to use them for sustainable development and that this should be a matter of course.
Principles of our actions are:
– the respect for life according to the ethics of Albert Schweitzer,
– the respect for the power of the sun as the source of all life and all energy from wind, hydro and biomass, and
– the responsibility to protect the regenerative capacity of our planet through sustainable management and use of renewable energy.
Purpose of the Foundation
The purpose of the VRD-Foundation is to protect the environment in the field of renewable energy such as solar, wind, hydro, biomass and geothermal energy. It is active at home and abroad and was founded to significantly improve standards of living using renewable sources of energy.
The foundation achieves its purpose especially through the following measures in the field of renewable energy:
- Awarding of grants and soft loans for projects of practical application
- Promotion of science for projects with concrete realisation of practical uses
- Promotion of procedures
- Promotion of creativity in terms of inventions and developments
- Support the mission of “Eurosolar”, the European Association for Renewable Energies, and similar organisations in accordance to their statutory nonprofit purposes for renewable energy
- Promotion of efficient and environmentally friendly use of energy
- Operating exemplary facilities of environmental technology
- Publicity and educational work for the purposes of the foundation
The foundation is free to determine which of the purposes disclosed herein is realised and – depending on financial resources – to what extent this happens.
There is no legal right on the foundation’s performance which is revocable at any time – even if it was granted regularly or for an extended period of time.
Sponsorship
In general, there is the possibility of a promotion of projects. But currently we are engaged primarily in long-term projects.
Recipients of funding are seen as partners with whom a common goal is to be achieved.
We place great value in ensuring that the funded projects deliver a sustainable result beyond the project period – whether due to the economics of the project itself, a solid follow-up financing or the widespread publication of research results.
It is equally important to us that for all parties the promotion of the object is in focus and a high natural rate of participation in the grant recipients can be seen.
We anticipate a responsible and independent commitment combined with a structured approach that demonstrates an economical use of the VRD-funds.
Funding of projects that have already started will generally not take place. An early start may as an exception be permitted on request.
Applications for funding
In general, there is the possibility of a promotion for all projects, but currently we are engaged primarily in long-term projects.
In the procedural rules (until now only in German language) all facts can be found that are important to us to promote your project. These rules are the basis of our support activities and need to be signed, for approval by the grant recipient.
For the initial evaluation of a project to be funded we have developed an application form in which the main parameters of a project shall be presented in a condensed form. The content is deliberately limited to save time and work for you and us, while initially assessing the project.
You will receive notification if the foundations committee advocates a complete application. This application shall include the following information:
Name of grant recipient
Object and purpose of the project
State of knowledge / technology
Networking with other fields of science
Type of financing
Plan of financing
Means and extent of implementation
Beginning and duration of the project
Continuation of the project
Identical or partially identical applications to other funding institutions as well as their financial volume.
For the detailed application we kindly ask you to create a Word document that refers to the above-mentioned structure. It should not fall below the font size of 11 points. The page number is limited to a maximum of 15 A 4 pages.
All applications for funding must be directed to the business address of the VRD-Foundation.
Applications which are informally addressed to the foundation and do not contain the required information mentioned above can not be processed.
We thank you in advance for your cooperation.
