Professional market intelligence for renewable energy companies in the European Union

"In order to find suitable solutions to support renewable energy companies in their decision making process the market intelligence process was analyzed. Thereafter the renewable energy market was investigated and for each market segment an example how the Market Intelligence process can support the decision making process was provided all along the intelligence cycle. Finally the successful establishment of an own Market Intelligence program and its contribution to the improvement of the decision making process within a company was proven based on two case studies. The main results are firstly that the renewable energy market in the European Union, due to its dynamic market environment requires a quick and based on profound knowledge reaction on market developments. Secondly, that a wellestablished Market Intelligence program can provide the decision makers within a renewable energy company with a solid information basis and delivers advices for the reaction or can even anticipate such developments and help to act proactively. The main conclusion is that a profound market knowledge and analysis that can be provided by a well-established Market Intelligence program is essential for a renewable energy company to remain competitive and develop even within this dynamic market environment."8

Real-time single-molecule imaging of quantum interference

The observation of interference patterns in double-slit experiments with massive particles is generally regarded as the ultimate demonstration of the quantum nature of these objects. Such matter–wave interference has been observed for electrons, neutrons, atoms and molecules and, in contrast to classical physics, quantum interference can be observed when single particles arrive at the detector one by one. The build-up of such patterns in experiments with electrons has been described as the “most beautiful experiment in physics”. Here, we show how a combination of nanofabrication and nano-imaging allows us to record the full two-dimensional build-up of quantum interference patterns in real time for phthalocyanine molecules and for derivatives of phthalocyanine molecules, which have masses of 514 AMU and 1,298 AMU respectively. A laser-controlled micro-evaporation source was used to produce a beam of molecules with the required intensity and coherence, and the gratings were machined in 10-nm-thick silicon nitride membranes to reduce the effect of van der Waals forces. Wide-field fluorescence microscopy detected the position of each molecule with an accuracy of 10 nm and revealed the build-up of a deterministic ensemble interference pattern from single molecules that arrived stochastically at the detector. In addition to providing this particularly clear demonstration of wave–particle duality, our approach could also be used to study larger molecules and explore the boundary between quantum and classical physics