In 2010, the Energy Working Group was founded at Leibniz Universität Hannover under the leadership of Prof. Axel Mertens. On November 17, 2010, the research initiative "Energy 2050 - Transformation of the Energy System" was established to make the competences and interdisciplinary research of LUH in this field visible and to network them more strongly. The Energy Research Initiative had members from all faculties of Leibniz Universität Hannover, such as natural scientists, engineers, mechanical engineers, philosophers and economists and various affiliated institutes.
In 2013, the research initiative was invited to submit an application for a research center. After a successful external review, the Presidential Board of the University decided to establish the Leibniz Research Center Energy 2050 (LiFE 2050) on December 18, 2013. In 2014, a discussion process was started for the realignment of the cooperation with the EFZN, with the result that the EFZN is now a joint institution of the five universities.
