The ceremonial speech was held by Ronald Feisel, chief editor at public broadcaster WDR (Westdeutscher Rundfunk). One of his key points was the example all prize winners provide to others in shifting energy use away from fossil fuels and nuclear energy toward renewable energy. “The fact that this is not only possible but is actually already happening has not just been proved by these award winners, but also by the huge number of applications – people who also found classic and original ways to achieve the energy turnabout,” said EUROSOLAR President Hermann Scheer at the award ceremony.

Norbert Fisch attracted particular praise for setting up solar settlements with long-term thermal storage and planning and introducing energy supply systems for housing estates. According to the jury, Fisch’s research and his initiatives in a variety of solar construction areas have significantly aided the shift towards carbon-neutral energy supply systems for buildings and housing estates.

Norbert Fisch started looking into the use of solar energy in buildings as early as 1984, during his doctorate at Stuttgart University. His commitment to the use of renewable energy in building construction has been unbroken ever since. Until 1996, Fisch was the head of department for the Rational Use of Energy and Solar Technology at the Institute for Thermodynamics and Thermal Engineering at Stuttgart University. He was later appointed by the TU (Technical University) in Braunschweig, where he still works today as director in the faculty of architecture at the Institute of Building Services and Energy Design.