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The driving force behind electrification

DPMA President Eva Schewior congratulates Professor Rainer Marquardt on being awarded the European Inventor Award

Eva Schewior, President of the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA), has paid tribute to electrical engineer Rainer Marquardt on the occasion of his being awarded the European Inventor Award for his life’s work. "I offer my heartfelt congratulations to Professor Rainer Marquardt on this outstanding honour!" said the DPMA President. "High-performance power grids are the foundation for electrification and the widespread and efficient use of renewable energies. Rainer Marquardt's invention makes a significant contribution to the development of modern, high-performance power grids. It plays an important role, for example, in connecting offshore wind farms to the power grid."

Electrical engineering researchers at the Bundeswehr University in Munich honoured for their significant contribution to high-performance power grids

With the development of the Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC), Marquardt has created a technology that enables the efficient control and conversion of electrical energy, even at very high power levels. The MMC is now regarded as the global standard for modern power grids. It is used, amongst other things, for the integration of renewable energies, the connection of offshore wind farms and high-voltage direct current transmission over long distances via so-called power highways, thereby making an important contribution to the energy transition. In 2001, Siemens AG, where the researcher had worked for some time, filed the basic patent (DE 101 03 031 B4) for his invention with the DPMA. Today, it forms a central technical foundation for the expansion of high-performance, reliable and climate-friendly energy infrastructures worldwide. In 2024, the Deutsches Museum ceremoniously added an original prototype by Professor Marquardt to its collection.

Rainer Marquardt studied communications engineering at the University of Hanover. He then began his academic career at the university’s Institute of Power Electronics, where he was awarded a Dr.-Ing. degree with distinction. He subsequently joined Siemens AG in Erlangen, where he worked in research and development in the fields of power electronics and modern electric drive systems. In 2000, he accepted a post at the University of the German Armed Forces in Munich and took over as head of the Institute of Power Electronics and Control Systems.

Awards ceremony with a live stream on 2 July in Berlin

The European Inventor Award is one of the most prestigious awards for innovation in Europe. Since its launch by the European Patent Office (EPO) in 2006, it has honoured inventors and teams whose innovations help to address major societal and technological challenges. This year, the award ceremony will take place on 2 July in Berlin. Further information on the categories, the selection criteria and the live stream of the ceremony can be found at European Inventor Award website.

Picture 1: EPO

Last updated: 10 June 2026