Day three and four!

12:21 AM by Elena Smirnova
As I thought it's very difficult to keep myself writing constantly. We have so many things to do that the only time I'm on my own is at night! :)
Early mornings became less painful and I guess at the end I will even miss waking up before 6 a.m.
Our lectures started on Monday and we had so far Cultural and Geographical overview of Germany and Wolfenbuttel in particular, Hydro-Power, Wind-Energy, Nuclear Power seminars. More to come! 
All lectures are very informative and practical. I'm amazed by the way German part prepared everything for our visit: from comfortable living and everything-included to educational part, wonderful professors and opportunities to meet the companies in real life. 

On Monday we went to the company Solvis from Braunschweig, specializing in Solar Energy Systems.
Official web page: http://www.solvis.de/
In Russian: http://www.solvis.ks.ua/ 
In English: http://www.solvis.de/int_index.php


Kai Wendker gave us detailed and very interesting presentation about the company together with the tour around the factory.
In short, Solvis was founded in 1986, and has nowadays sales of 66 mil. euro (2009). This number decreased a little compared to previous year due to the new policy in Germany. As I understood, the government used to pay half of the expenses, and thus customers had to care about 50% only. The same policy was applied for reconstruction historical buildings in the down-town, by the way. But new government came and changed the rules. Now you'd pay 100%.

Solvis manufacture and sell solar collectors, boilers, platforms, cooling products, hot water boiler storages, fresh water systems, and some other products. 
The panel of size 2,5 square meters is needed for boiling water by solar energy per person. For everything included (like heating, for example) 10 square meters.
Energy costs saved are approximately 56%! 

The price of the solar panel is 300 euros/square meter or 26 000 for all the equipment and installation. Money is returned in 10 years. Life of the products is 20-30 years.
The capacity of the company is 350 000 square meters/year. As I understood, Solvis is a middle size dor slightly below middle size company. 
Solvis sells products both locally in Germany and abroad: Italy, Spain mostly.There're 600(?) plants located in Germany and abroad. 350 people in average work for a plant.
Kai Wendker said that they have a lot of competitors in Germany and abroad both large and smaller companies, but it's obvious for me that demand is high enough to satisfy everybody in this business.

As  I said in the beginning, we had a chance to walk around the factory and see how the panels and boilers are manufactured.
I couldn't find the picture of the panels we saw at the plant but even on this one you can probably see that it consists of a panel itself and metal rods which look like they divide the panel into small parts. Rods are used for installation.

Rods are made from copper at the moment but the company would like to use Aluminum in future. They are bend by the machines running 20 different programs (vary in size). The rods are attached to the back of the Aluminum panel by the laser machine (takes a couple of minutes for a panel). The machines which Solvis uses were bought from UK, but Germany started manufacturing them too.
In the different area of the factory we saw ready boilers made from Steel and the other material, I forgot the name :) 
In the end, systems are packed and transported by tracks.

 I have to say that before that excursion I could never imagine that Solar Energy Systems is something already widely used in everyday life. When you see it with your own eyes it doesn't look complicated, for real! 
I got a feeling that what we learn in Russia about new technologies is, literally speaking, nothing. And they knock on your door!

I can't but mention as well how clean and well-organized the plant is! I have been to several factories already and never saw anything even close. This is the place you can call a perfect place to work at. The company office and plant is the best example of green and healthy environment. If this is the German punctuality and scrupulousness, when I love it!

p.s. Did you know that we have oil and coal resources for some hundred years only, however, sun is predicted to shine for 5 billion of years at least?
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Day two! Cont.

12:02 AM by Elena Smirnova
I really can't get used to the idea that we'll have to go to lectures at 8 a.m. everyday. 8(!!) means breakfast at 7 and waking up close to 5-6. Seems like I return to my healthy-yoga-style-of-life.
And here comes the story that made my day!
I was at my room when heard somebody came (we have an apartment with two rooms and kitchen, bathroom, etc.) I went to see and met a girl with a travel bag at the door. I immediately understood that she's our last third neighbor in the apartment, and tried to get acquainted. The girl, Laura, was very friendly but didn't speak any English at all, only German. I thought it's strange cause we have lectures in English but didn't pay attention. We were trying to understand each other for half an hour may be. It turned out that she's originally from Lithuania (my mom's native place). I got surprised how small the world is again (I keep on meeting people from my places). But then I showed her around, talked a lot about myself, asked her questions. The girl left her bag in the room and suddenly disappeared. I waited for a while, she didn't show. I went to search for her around the hotel but failed to find. Then there came Megan, the American girl, my neighbor, and she saw that the bag Lithuanian girl brought was hers! So, the poor-not-speaking-English girl was just a person from the airport to bring lost luggage. And because we didn't speak the same language I thought she's the neighbor and kept over-talking with her and showing the apartment while she actually, as i recall now, seemed in a hurry. I wonder what she though about me? :D
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Day two!

12:11 PM by Elena Smirnova
Today is the Victory Day.
What I learned in my life, nationalism (in Russian language - negative meaning only) has no boarders. And people will hate each other as long as we exist at all. I won't say anything, just one picture. The rest you can figure out yourself.

Wedding rings found in Buchenwald concentration camp on the 5th of May 1945. Four days before the Great Victory.
Remember!

Afternoon, Wolfenbuttel
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Day one! Cont.

11:57 AM by Elena Smirnova
The hotel we are staying at, Forsthaus, rather reminds me a grandmother’s place from outside. Small, cozy and old-fashioned. Inside, however, it’s in addition very comfortable and pleasant to the eye shall I say. The whole system is a bit strange and there’s no reception, for example. We are just left here all by ourselves.

The rest of the day was not less productive and interesting. First, we went with Christian and Kirubel around the downtown to look around and apparently search for the food. Strange but on the whole long way we came across about one shop only. I wonder what people eat here in Wolfenbuttel.

By that time two guys from States came to our hotel together with Andrey. We all meet and went to the local Olivia café-place. I see now that Finns are not unique at all about kebabs. In Germany they are everywhere too. But the food was different here and actually really nice. I also noticed Greek café just near, can’t wait to go there!

My last energy was left at the University. Andrey works there on the project and took us to show around. I have to say that I haven’t met the same friendly, active and just great personality for a long.
Oh, by the end of the day I’m tired as I wish I always were at that time. I’m very happy about things I did tonight and especially about those I haven’t done.

I don’t miss Finland so far but I do miss that I can’t say “anteeksi” around anymore.

Evening that feels like Night, Wolfenbuttel
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Day one!

11:42 AM by Elena Smirnova

Okay, here I’m in Wolfenbuttel safe and in one piece. While Kirubel and Christian take a nap I’ll drop a couple of lines before we go to investigate the place.
The journey started today too early in a plane which they’d call in Russia ‘’a corn-plane”, meaning something big enough to water a field with corn. 

The first impression of Germany was rather a cultural shock. Since the time we landed in Berlin and to the moment Andrey picked us up, nobody in the whole country could speak any English at all. The lady at the info answered all my questions about transport and telephone coding, simply: “Nah, it’s easy, you’ll figure out”. Then the other woman selling train tickets in the biggest railway point in Berlin seemed to be completely from the other planet. If not Christian, who has Swedish as his mother tongue, and took a course in German, we would never understand each other with her. Actually the conclusion I’m about to make in the end, languages rule the world, and you can’t live with English only! So Alina, what about our plans to study Chinese? I have also to say that people here really try to be helpful and understand foreigners as much as they can. The girl in the Mac was literally showing me on hands what they have in salads (yeah, try to show a cabbage). I said that I’m vegetarian, ordered a meal and added: “Also green tea, please.” Her face became extra-happy, she smiled and replied: “Oh, yes, I see, you want a chicken”.

From Berlin to our place we had to take the train first to Braunschweig. Wow, really wow: they have the coolest trains I ever saw so far. Alina, you would love the toilets they have.
The new and funny thing was also that on the platforms they have here in Germany special people who go around in the uniform and make people know that the train is coming by whistling. Together with the old-fashioned trains-just-from-the-19th-century moving around as well, it looks very stylish!
Andrey, the student from the University we are going to study at picked us up from the Braunschweig, and we all went to Wolfenbuttel by his car. It turned out that Andreas is originally Andrey. Now that’s not all. His family moved t Germany from Altay. Tell me how is it possible on Earth to meet in a small town in Germany a person from your native place which is very much in the middle of nowhere? Small, small world!
Seems like it’s already time to wake my guys up and go around the town. I just realized that I love first impressions and that’s what I miss in Finland these days.
I shall continue.
Middle day, Wolfenbuttel
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Day zero!

6:55 PM by Elena Smirnova

Everything I won't be able to live without for two weeks(c) is picked out now, packed and pushed into the bag by continuous jumping. First time in my life I actually packed in advance. Meaning more than two hours in advance. I liked it. Hallelujah indeed!


The reason why I decided suddenly to keep this blog has to do with the conference in Germany and surprisingly big interest my friends showed about it. It still sounds very suspiciously for me that you found seminars about Sustainable Energy Technologies a cool topic to write about, but what ever. As you wish!


The International Summer University will take place in Wolfenbuettel, small historic place 220 km west of Berlin (means to me  somewhere in the North of Germany). The school is called Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences. They have a bit weird web site, but otherwise, it seems like a normal Polytechnic with degree programs in Electrical, Mechanical, and Supply Engineering, IT, Law, and Social Affairs. Interesting.
This year there are 12 schools participating in the seminar, from USA, UK, Norway, Italy, Brazil, Spain, Germany, Finland, and yahoo, Russia!
The two weeks include lectures, company visits, cultural program and local activities.
"The regional industry like Volkswagen, a near Hamburg located branch of Airbus, wind farms, power plants and the Braunschweig Research Airport are presented in parallel to the course program."
I'm very much happy about the lectures. Just look at the list!
Lecturers from Wolfenbüttel:
Prof. Klinge: “Wind Energy”, “Hydropower”
Prof. Könemund: “Wind Energy”, “Photovoltaics”
Prof. Bleckwedel: “Fuel Cells”
Prof. Hamann on History and Geography
Guest lecturers:
Prof. Parishwad, COEP, India: “Energy in India”
Prof. Kulatunga, Purdue Univ., USA: “Energy Efficenty
of Electrical Drives”
Dr. Mikael Paronen, Arcada, Finland: “Fuel Cells”
Dr. Michael, Greenenergy: “Geothermics“
Dr. Kümpers, Johnson Controls: “Battery Technology“
Dr. Rademacher, E.ON: “Nuclear Energy”

Everything seems just as it should be. I'm looking forward to this Summer School, and it's a perfect time for a change too.
I also hope that the weather will be nice, because warm clothes somehow didn't fit in the bag :D

Oh, by the way, feel free to leave comments if you want. I guess you don't even need to register and can also write as "Anonym" :) Have fun and great summer to you all!!

Evening, Helsinki.
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