The prestigious Georg Hunaeus Prize 2025 goes to Sebastian Hogeweg.
The underground industry cannot do without scientific research. The German Scientific Society for Sustainable Energy Sources, Mobility and Carbon Cycles (DGMK) knows this only too well – which is why it awards prizes to young researchers every year.
This was also the case at the joint spring congress of the DGMK and its sister society on the other side of the Alps, the Austrian Society for Energy Sciences (ÖGEW). Sebastian Hogeweg (30) received the Georg Hunaeus Prize in Papenburg on May 7.
During his studies, Sebastian Hogeweg focused on underground energy systems and storage. Most recently, he simulated the behavior of hydrogen in porous rock formations. These studies are significant because the storage of the gas in natural environments is influenced not least by its reaction with existing microbes. In this context, achieving the highest possible purity of the energy source remains a major challenge for research.
In his laudatory speech, the new DGMK Chairman, Jens Müller-Belau, highlighted Sebastian Hogeweg's research, which has been recognized with many awards. Jens Müller-Belau, whose main job is Managing Director at Deutsche Shell Holding in Hamburg, praised the award winner as a prime example of someone who builds bridges between research and industry. Sebastian Hogeweg now works in storage development at Uniper Energy Storage GmbH.
The Georg Hunaeus Prize is the DGMK's award for young scientists and is endowed with 5,000 euros. It commemorates a surveyor and university lecturer who, in the 19th century, succeeded in drilling the first deep well for oil in Germany, at a location in what is now the district of Celle.
