11th Elektrofest raised energy literacy among young people

On Friday, 8 September 2023, the 11th Elektrofest science festival took place, where four electric industry institutions – the Milan Vidmar Electric Power Research Institute, the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the University of Ljubljana (FE UL), and the companies ELES and Gen energija – once again promoted energy literacy among young people. More than 350 students took part in lectures and workshops at four "electro-stations", or strands of expertise.
At the Milan Vidmar Electric Power Research Institute (EIMV), we presented and described the High Voltage Laboratory (LVN), which has been operating for more than 60 years and is the leading testing laboratory in the field of high-voltage engineering in Slovenia, and the System for automatic localisation of atmospheric discharge – SCALAR, where students learned more about the phenomenon of lightning, which has become quite an issue in recent times. According to our experts, there are around 60 000 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes per year in Slovenia, making Slovenia one of the most exposed countries in Europe in terms of lightning density.
The Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the University of Ljubljana (FE UL) has organised a workshop entitled "Iti s easier to drive with electricity”. The presentation included the origins and characteristics of the electric bicycle. ELES gave a presentation on the attractive work of maintenance workers of substations and transmission lines, which is also carried out at height and in extreme weather conditions, as well as the inspection and monitoring of transmission lines and substations with drones. The latter are becoming great helpers when inspecting pylons and conductors, as they can go up to the site of the damage and take a close-up picture of it. In the event tent in front of the FE UL, Gen energija prepared a presentation of two interactive tools: the En-ROADS energy-climate simulator and the "Energy mix" simulator for the production of electric power in Slovenia, as well as two interactive supplements for students: the share of energy consumption in the final energy consumption per individual in Slovenia and a comparison of the areas for electricity production from different types of power plants.
At the Elektrofest science festival, members of the Youth Technology Centre - Institute 404 presented interesting state-of-the-art technology projects. Their vision is to create a global network of technology centres and communities that will give young people the opportunity to understand technology and accompany them throughout the creative process.

We look forward to participating at the 12th Elektrofest.