By David Graff, AAU Communication og Public Affairs
Photo: Tamas Kerekes

Tamas Kerekes is a researcher who practices what he preaches. As an Associate Professor at Aalborg University, he researches and teaches how to optimally integrate solar energy into the grid. At home, he has been nearly self-sufficient in energy (from March to September) since installing his solar panel system in 2022.

“Sometimes I ride my bike home to start the dishwasher when I know it’s going to be sunny,” he explains.

The future of energy must be sustainable

Today many Danes are accustomed to using timers on dishwashers and other electrical appliances, so they only run when the sun is shining, or the wind is blowing. But it wasn’t always like this.

“When I began my PhD in 2005, solar panels were much more expensive, and even small efficiency improvements were highly valuable. Today, we’re in a completely different place, and solar energy, combined with other renewable energy sources, plays a crucial role in reducing dependence on fossil fuels in our energy supply,” he says.

The global interest in solar energy has been significant for a long time - Tamas Kerekes’ PhD dissertation, titled Analysis and Modeling of Transformerless Photovoltaic Inverter Systems, was downloaded more than 10,000 times after its completion in 2008.

Since then, Tamas Kerekes has dedicated his time to researching how power electronic solar inverters can optimize the connection between solar panel systems and the public electricity grid. Making solar energy a reliable source of grid energy would be too risky without secure and reliable connections.

Why Denmark?

Although Tamas Kerekes grew up, studied, and got married in Romania, Denmark was the right place for him to settle:

“There’s a good international environment here, both in research and within companies, and I also appreciate the Danish study model,” explains Tamas Kerekes, who is now the chair of the study board at AAU Energy.

“I enjoy working closely with students, both to improve their educational experience and to ensure they get the best possible start to their careers,” he says.