It all began with the appointment of Wilhelm Peukert on October 1, 1890 for the first electro technical chair in Brunswick. Though, the name “The electrical collection including an electrical laboratory” seemed somewhat odd.
This changed under his successor Erwin Marx, who was appointed October 1, 1925. His assignment was the expansion of the existing subject areas with the line of high voltage technology. Our department building – the “Mühlenpfordt” house (constructed from 1927 to 1928) was inaugurated in February 1929. Among many research projects, particular mention should be made of the high-voltage direct current transmission (HVDC).
Dieter Kind took over the management of the department on Mai 1, 1962. Thus, the fields of high voltage testing techniques and insulation technology gained importance.
On January 1, 1968 the spin-off Institute for Electrical Power Systems was formed under the leadership of Adil Erk. Consequently, the areas of switchgear technology, and the research of electric arcs as switch element, were established.
As of July 1, 1975, Dieter Kind took over the position as president of the Physikalisch-Technischen Bundesanstalt (PTB), as only engineer so far; therefore, the need for a successor arose. Herman Kärner became the director of our Institute for High Voltage Technology on May 1, 1977. His research and numerous committee activities were focused on insulating material for outdoor applications. The colleague Jürgen Salge, director of the test facility in Hallendorf since 1972, improved the research of high performance impulse techniques.
In 1981, Manfred Lindmayer replaced Adil Erk at the Institute for Electrical Power Systems. Professor Lindmayer pursued research in direction of vacuum-switching technique and the simulation of arcs.
In 1996, both departments were once again combined to form a new and a modern spin-off: The Institute of Electromagnetic Compatibility, which was led by Achim Enders. Manfred Lindmayer was head of the newly deployed Institute of High Voltage Technologies and Electrical Power Systems until 2005.
After Hermann Kärner and Jürgen Salge retired, Udo Stietzel became head of the Institute of High Voltage Technology. Sadly, he held this position only for a short period of time, because of his early death. Following a long vacancy, the position was filled by Michael Kurrat on October 1, 2001. He expanded the research on decentralized power generation and became head of the department on May 1, 2005.
In October 2011 the management of the department was extended by Bernd Engel. While Professor Kurrat put his focus on components of electrical power generation, and electric mobility; Professor Engel is active in the areas decentralized power generation, as well as market- and grid integration.