Dr.-Ing. Sylvia Schattauer is moving to TU Clausthal

Press release /

Dr.-Ing. Sylvia Schattauer, Acting Institute Director, is widely regarded in the professional world as an expert on hydrogen. Over the past year and a half, she has played an instrumental role in guiding the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems IWES along the path of integration and through the development of a successful hydrogen strategy under the motto “Thinking of wind energy and hydrogen together”. She is now turning her attention to new challenges and has accepted the unanimous proposal of the Senate to become President of Clausthal University of Technology (TU Clausthal).

Dr.-Ing. Sylvia Schattauer took over as Acting Director of Fraunhofer IWES alongside Managing Director Prof. Andreas Reuter in January 2022. She is now turning her attention to new challenges: the Senate of Clausthal University of Technology proposed her as the new President of the university in the Harz region of Germany to the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture (MWK). She was officially appointed at the MWK on October 30, and will take over the role on November 1, 2023.  

“I am delighted that we have been able to secure Dr.-Ing. Sylvia Schattauer as the new President of TU Clausthal. With her management experience and scientific expertise in a field which is particularly relevant to the profile of TU Clausthal, she brings with her excellent skills for successfully advancing the development of research fields in the area of the circular economy that has been set in motion at TU Clausthal in recent years,” said Falko Mohrs, Lower Saxony’s Minister for Science and Culture, during the appointment of Dr.-Ing. Schattauer. With this decision, the MWK is accepting the unanimous proposal of the TU Clausthal Senate of July 4, 2023. 

Prof. Holger Hanselka, President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and member of the University Council of Clausthal University of Technology, said: “Dr.-Ing. Sylvia Schattauer has been contributing actively to Fraunhofer’s success with great dedication for many years – most recently as Acting Director of Fraunhofer IWES. On behalf of the entire Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, I would like to express my sincere thanks to her for her hard work and commitment. In my role as a member of the University Council of Clausthal University of Technology, I am, naturally, delighted that we also will continue to work closely together in the future.”

“The move to TU Clausthal represents a new challenge and a great opportunity for me. Although the decision to leave Fraunhofer IWES at the beginning of November was by no means an easy one for me, I am looking forward to continuing to shape the focus of the transformation towards a sustainable circular economy actively – albeit from a different perspective – as President in the future,” said Dr.-Ing. Sylvia Schattauer. 

“Fraunhofer IWES would like to thank Dr.-Ing. Sylvia Schattauer for her commitment to Fraunhofer IWES and, in particular, to the expansion of hydrogen technologies, which is closely linked to the establishment of the hydrogen labs in Bremerhaven, Leuna, and Görlitz. We look forward to remaining in close contact in the future too via joint projects and initiatives,” added Prof. Dr.-Ing. Andreas Reuter, Managing Director of Fraunhofer IWES. 

Dr.-Ing. Sylvia Schattauer previously occupied the position of Deputy Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWS. She studied electrical engineering with a focus on environmental engineering/regenerative energies in Berlin and earned her doctorate in experimental physics at the University of Potsdam. As a postdoc, she worked at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP in Potsdam, on the development of fuel cell systems at a company in Berlin, and as a research associate at the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing.

Fraunhofer IWES wishes Dr.-Ing. Sylvia Schattauer every success in her new role.

More information: Dr.-Ing. Sylvia Schattauer übernimmt Präsidentenamt (tu-clausthal.de)

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Fraunhofer IWES
Fraunhofer IWES secures investments in technological developments through validation, shortens innovation cycles, accelerates certification procedures, and increases planning accuracy by means of innovative measurement methods in the wind energy and hydrogen technology sectors. There are currently more than 300 scientists and employees as well as more than 100 students employed at nine locations: Bochum, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Görlitz, Hamburg, Hannover, Leer, Leuna, and Oldenburg.