ees Island Challenge 2026 – BEYOND EARTH
How on earth can you land on the moon? At the DLR site (German Aerospace Center) in Cologne, Germany, this is exactly what becomes possible. Here, astronauts simulate everyday life on the moon. What is still missing is a powerful, autonomous energy system. This is where the ees Island Challenge at ees Europe 2026 comes into play.
The ees Island Challenge is a competition that brings together interdisciplinary teams to develop practical and forward-looking solutions for energy systems. The challenge brief is defined by the ees Europe team in collaboration with partners.
The 2025 kickoff focused on the Caribbean island of Curaçao. Participating teams developed concepts to expand renewable energy on the island, with a particular emphasis on energy storage.
This year, the focus shifts to the FLEXHab space habitat at the DLR site in Cologne – the “Moon on Earth.” FLEXHab is a space-camping container that accommodates up to four astronauts, who live and work there during a simulated lunar mission. Find out more about the project here .
As part of the ees Island Challenge 2026, participating teams will design an autonomous energy system to supply the FLEXHab and present their concepts at ees Europe. The system is intended to function as a containerised energy “island”: operating off-grid while remaining safely interoperable with the local power grid.
We look forward to the ees Island Challenge 2026!
Helmholtz Institute Berlin