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Selected Research Projects at the Institute of Networked Energy Systems

Third-party funded projects launched in 2023

Research Project InterBDL

Increasing shares of renewable energies from partially volatile energy sources require more local storage. Such additional storage is needed to keep the energy network stable in the case of both varying generation and demand. Battery electric vehicles can provide this storage function in the future. The InterBDL research project links actors along this chain. It brings together charging infrastructure and automotive industries, ICT service providers, energy suppliers, grid operators, energy meteorology experts, and BEV vehicle users. It evaluates how to integrate the storage potential of BEV vehicles bidirectionally into the energy system.

Research Project APOLON

Currently, Germany covers its demand for solar modules almost entirely from imports. However, several strategic, geopolitical and ecological aspects lead us to expect a willingness to invest in the resumption of domestic PV production in the coming years. The task of the APOLON project is to show potential investors a competitive technology concept for the implementation of PV production in Germany and the European Union. The basis for this is POLO (poly-Si on Oxide) technology, whose strengths include very high efficiencies and the avoidance of rare materials.

Research Project DriVe2X

The mobility sector is becoming increasingly relevant for the overall energy system in view of its rising share of electrically powered vehicles. This gives rise to the challenge of designing the mass integration of e-mobility in a way that serves the market, the system and the user. Therefore, the DriVe2X project is researching sector-integrating interfaces between e-cars and individual elements of the overall energy system, for example to households, buildings, grids or other infrastructure units.

Third-party funded projects launched in 2022

Research Project GENESE

Standard load curves based on historical load data are often used to model scenarios. However, because these do not represent future developments, the GENESE project aims to generate accurate load curves for specific combinations of technological and societal development in terms of level (electricity demand) and profile (temporal resolution). For this purpose, an open-source demand tool is to be developed, which represents an interface between energy system models and electricity market models.

Research Project MOSENAS

The objective of the project MOSENAS is the development of a battery electric multiple unit for a long-term use on various non-electrified and partially electrified railway lines. The focus is set on the designing of a modularly scalable energy storage system under consideration of operational feasibility, efficiency and compatibility with the surrounding charging infrastructure.

Research Project SEDOS

Sector integration shall make a decisive contribution to achieving ambitious climate protection goals. This includes new challenges for the system-analytical energy planning that cannot solely rely on single subsystems but take a holistic view on the energy system. The objective of the research project SEDOS is to depict the sector integration within energy system models in detail and facilitate greater comparability of the models through open data.

Third-party funded projects launched in 2021

Research Project ALELY

To fully utilize the potential of reducing the cost of electrolysers, the project ALELY (Alkaline Electrolysis) sets its focus on the reduction respectively substitution of raw and functional materials and the lowering of cell overvoltage for the purpose of decreasing the specifically required electricity demand on hydrogen per volume unit. Furthermore, the project incorporates the development of dynamic operating strategies.

Research Project CAMS2_73

Copernicus, the European Union's Earth Observation Program, provides services for various environmental topics to describe the state of the Earth. The solar radiation services support the European and national goals of the energy transition. They facilitate public as well as commercial applications in the planning, monitoring, efficiency improvement and integration of solar energy into the energy supply by means of its open data policy.

Research Project NDC ASPECTS

The EU project NDC ASPECTS develops sectoral and national transformation strategies for countries worldwide, whose national contributions to greenhouse gas reduction are clearly behind the targets of the Paris Climate Agreement. The project will particularly focus on four sectoral systems: transport and mobility, emission intensive industries, buildings, agriculture, forestry and land-use, including their supply by and interaction with the energy conversion sector.

Research Project SYSTOGEN100

In the course of the implementation of the national hydrogen strategy, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research has launched three leading hydrogen projects. In the project SYSTOGEN100, the DLR Institute of Networked Energy Systems is working on an application-oriented, holistic composition of necessary components for an efficient infrastructure to produce “green” hydrogen. The results will serve the lead project H2Giga which combines more than 130 institutes in business and science in a total of almost 30 independently operating groups.

Research Project H₂-ReNoWe

As the use of renewable energy sources grows in the course of the energy transition, the issue of sustainable energy generation is becoming increasingly relevant. The research project entitled “H₂-ReNoWe” (referring to the “Hydrogen Region” of northwestern Lower Saxony) focuses on green hydrogen, i.e. hydrogen produced by sustainable means.

Research Project En4U

Our future energy system must be designed to be particularly flexible in order to keep demand and availability in balance at all times despite fluctuating energy sources. Decentralised flexible electricity consumers such as heat pumps or electric cars are particularly valuable because they offer the possibility of shifting the load on the grid at times directly in the households. The EN4U research project is therefore about gaining a better understanding of what influence they can have on the energy market and how a system-friendly provision of this flexibility can be politically stimulated.

Research Project Wärmewende Nordwest

One of the climate goals set by the German government for 2050 is to reduce greenhouse emissions by 80% relative to the year 1990. Space heating and process heat as well as hot water make up a significant share of energy consumption in Germany, indicating a particular need for action to bring about a heating transition. For example, building renovations and the digitalisation of systems can contribute to restructuring the supply of heat and reducing heating energy consumption.

Research Project ERAFlex II

Energy system and electricity market models support us in shaping the transformation of the energy system. However, different types of models may yield different results due their other perspective on the same system: For example, optimising capacity planning models can obtain theoretically optimal results when laying out an energy system. Their results differ, however, from those of agent-based simulation models which may also include more realistic restrictions like actor behaviour or forecast uncertainties. We refer to this difference as "efficiency gap". Efforts of the ERAFlex II project aim at reducing this efficiency gap by means of a bidirectional model coupling, thus integrating more realistic restrictions from agent-based models into the cost minimization process of capacity planning models. In this way we strive to find realizable states with minimal cost for future energy systems.

Research Project SuSy

Renewable energy is normally converted from direct current to alternating current by means of inverters. The joint project SuSy is examining the potential use of direct current-based distribution grids on ships, so that energy – e.g. from photovoltaic systems or alternatively from fuel cells – can be made available at sea more efficiently, without this conversion process. The main goal is to develop a hybrid electrical system at the distribution level which appropriately combines direct and alternating current and thus to increase the absorption capacity of renewable energy on passenger ships. The aim is for this principle to be subsequently transferable to other types of ships.

Research Project Roadmap Gas Transition

The project goal is to assess the role of synthetic gases in the future energy system, in particular with regard to their impact on the transformation of the European gas infrastructure, the interaction with other sector coupling options and the further development of the regulatory framework. The analysis is to be carried out both from the perspective of the overall system and from the perspective of the actors.

Third-party funded projects launched in 2020

Research Project Digi-HyPro

In this project, the interaction between electrolyser, metal hydride storage, fuel cell, gas grid and gas consumer will be analysed and optimised by comprehensive system simulations using a digital Smart Energy Transform Box (SET Box) in order to optimally match the components for energy- and cost-efficient hydrogen storage without fossil fuels. The simulations will be verified by building a small scale experimental setup of the SET box.

Research Project NFDI4Ing

Large amount of data are processed from different sources within research projects of energy systems analysis. The aim of the NFDI4Ing consortium is to develop a secure data management for engineering and science-related research. By applying the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles, the data shall be made available as open source and citable for the long-term.

Research Project ReMoDigital (Site Stuttgart)

The overall objective of the project is the further development and application of models of the energy and transport system for the evaluation of the resilience of these systems. The aim is to generate insights into the extent to which different stress cases (e.g. technical disturbances, extreme weather situations) affect the systems under consideration, particularly with regard to the digitalisation of the energy system transformation, and how these systems can recover from the disturbances.

Research Project ROLLEN

In order to utilise excess energy from renewable sources, it must be stored or distributed. One option for distribution using electric vehicles is being studied in the project ROLLEN. Equipped with charging systems capable of feeding energy back into the grid, the electric vehicles should variably distribute the excess energy at different places and times.

Research Project WindRamp

If wind power is to be optimally integrated into energy systems, wind speeds have to be predicted reliably. To improve the forecasting of “wind ramps” (these are drastic changes in wind speed within the space of half an hour), the WindRamp project is researching the use of laser technology to observe wind conditions.

Research Project Zero Emission

In the context of the energy transition, hydrogen is seen as the energy source of the future. However, a sustainable energy supply means the production process for this hydrogen must be sustainable too – what is needed is “green” hydrogen. The Zero Emission research project aims to use such renewable hydrogen to power the Lampoldshausen site of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in the future.

Research Project DC-LEO

Expanding renewable energy sources in the mobility sector will play a key role in a successful energy transition. One particularly relevant aspect is finding ways to use existing grid structures efficiently, i.e. leveraging existing infrastructure as a lower-cost alternative to installing new systems. Part of this project is the development of a DC charging infrastructure (DC-LIS) for electric vehicle charging stations that will supply energy directly from the overhead lines that the trams use.

Research Project Ariadne

The Kopernikus project Ariadne is researching which policy instruments are suitable to achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Change Agreement. From a better understanding of the effects of individual political measures and policy paths to an overview of the entire system - together with actors from politics, energy system transformation and society, the project is investigating meaningful strategies for energy system transformation and their acceptance by citizens.

Research Project Sesame Seed

The more our energy system is based on fluctuating renewable energy sources, the more relevant storage systems become for balancing demand and generation. The technical modeling of such storages turns out to be very complex. Therefore, simplified approaches have to be chosen for national and international energy systems, which at the same time adequately reflect the system effectiveness of the storage facilities. Therefore, the Sesame Seed research project aims to develop a standardised and scientifically validated approach for evaluating energy storage systems for different applications. The models developed in the project will provide answers to technical, economic, and regulatory storage questions and will subsequently be published open-source.

Research Project TradeRES

The TradeRES project will develop and test innovative electricity market designs that can meet society’s needs of a (near) 100% renewable power system. A long-term sustainable market design needs to provide efficient operational and investment incentives for an electricity system that is characterized by a high share of variable renewable energy sources (VREs) by increasing integration with other energy sectors, e.g. transport and hydrogen, and by increasing participation of flexible electricity demand from households to industrial consumers. Furthermore, this market design needs to provide security of supply by ensuring sufficient controllable electricity generation capacity.

Research Project HyResponder

With the increased use of hydrogen in industry and in mobility, it is becoming increasingly important for emergency responders and paramedics to be prepared to handle hydrogen technology in the event of an accident. For this reason, a training program for hydrogen safety was developed in the project HyResponse and then further expanded and implemented throughout Europe in the research project HyResponder. By developing safety strategies and establishing a European network for trainers, a comprehensive programme is being created to considerably improve the response capabilities in the event of hydrogen accidents.

Third-party funded projects launched in 2019

Research Project eGoⁿ

The increased use of renewable energy sources and the progress made in sector integration are influencing what the energy system will look like in years to come. The groundwork must be laid to ensure its stability. In the eGoⁿ research project, an existing planning tool that works across different sectors and grid levels is being enhanced so that sector integration can be incorporated into the studies being done. The aim is to use this planning tool on an open platform to determine how best to expand grids and storage systems in Germany.

Research Project ELogZ

As part of the energy transition, the mobility sector, just like the electricity and heat sectors, must be made more sustainable – and this means not only private cars. The ELogZ (energy-efficient logistics centre) research project is focusing on the logistics industry and looking at analysing, developing and simulating an electricity-based energy supply concept for a logistics site, specifically the electrification of temperature-controlled transport.

Research Project Smart4RES

The increasing integration of weather-dependent renewable energy sources is forcing the adaptation and improvement of Europe’s energy systems. The project Smart4RES will tackle these problems in the hopes of fundamentally improving the overall energy model and the value chain for the forecasting of renewable energy sources.

Research Project UNSEEN (Site Stuttgart)

For the development and analysis of energy scenarios, the application of models is crucial. Considering the fact that energy systems analysis is an important instrument for policy advice, the question of the reliability of scenarios is essential as these scenarios are subject to a large number of uncertainties. This challenge is addressed in UNSEEN. By inspecting a very large parameter space, a hitherto unattained number of model-based energy scenarios is to be evaluated. In particular, this also includes extreme and disruptive scenarios.

Research Project UNSEEN (Site Oldenburg)

Energy systems need to stay stable if they are to guarantee a reliable supply, even in the event of fluctuations caused by grid bottlenecks or power station failures. The UNSEEN research project is developing a method for simulating and evaluating numerous scenarios involving these impacts in order to be prepared for disruptions of this kind. Artificial intelligence is being integrated to speed up the necessary processes and forecast a large number of potential optimisation measures.

Research Project SiNED

The energy transition and the increasing development of renewable energy sources mean that existing strategies for regulating and maintaining the energy supply need to be adapted. In the future, these so-called system services will be provided by local generators and, in this context, further improved to meet the requirements of the energy transition and digitalisation. This is precisely where the SiNED project is focusing its research: to ensure that these processes are optimised.

Research Project SOLREV (Site Stuttgart)

The goal of the DLR sub-project of SOLREV is the investigation and evaluation of models for providing solar radiation data and forecasts to support the integration of large volumes of solar energy into the grid and to ensure the long-term yields of solar power plants and facilitate German participation in IEA PVPS Task 16.

Research Project VERMEER

With the increasing share of variable renewable energy sources (VRE) in energy systems, the dependence of electricity production on weather conditions increases. In addition to dispatchable power plants, storage systems, demand-side management, the expansion of electricity grids and the import and export of electricity with foreign markets can provide the increased need for flexibility. The aim of the project is to assess the security of supply of electricity in Germany in extreme weather situations, taking into account the potential for intra-European balancing.

Research Project Economic indicators of the energy system

The aim of the German energy transition is the transformation of the energy system towards a more climate-friendly system. Some indicators required for the monitoring of the energy system transition have so far been made available mainly within the framework of the energy balances and the AGEE-Stat. The macroeconomic indicators of the energy system transition, such as investments, effective domestic demand and employment, will be determined for the years 2018-2022 within the framework of this project and made available for the monitoring process of the energy system transition.

Research Project LOD-GEOSS (Site Stuttgart)

The project is about the development of da networked data base concept based on the ideas of linked open data and the semantic web for input and output data of energy system models in energy systems analysis. Further a link shall be established to the Global Earth Observation System of Systems for spatially and temporally resolved data.

Research Project LOD-GEOSS (Site Oldenburg)

The large quantities of data required in energy systems analysis are collected within the individual research projects. Frequently, these data are collected separately in each project without being linked together. To simplify the search and access process as well as to enable an efficient exchange of data, the LOD-GEOSS project is researching the development of a networked database concept. For this purpose, the Institute of Networked Energy Systems is investigating the possibility of using the global and European Earth observation programmes (GEOSS and Copernicus respectively) in energy systems analysis.

Research Project HI-CAM

HI-CAM is a research initiative of the Helmholtz association on climate change adaptation and mitigation. For the next two years, scientists and communication specialists in HI-CAM will focus on the following three topics: (i) the development of science-based scenarios to support a mitigation strategy leading to a carbon-neutral Germany in 2050, (ii) the development of sectorial impact projections and their cross-sectorial interconnectedness in order to develop appropriate adaptation to extremes options from a systemic perspective, (iii) the development of coherent communication strategies and campaigns to raise the awareness and interact with society on the issue of climate change impacts, risks and challenges

Reseach Project HYCAVMOBIL

Hydrogen is becoming an increasingly important source of energy for sector integration within the framework of the energy transition. HyCavMobil (Hydrogen Cavern for Mobility) is a research project that examines whether hydrogen can be stored in salt caverns and then used for fuel cell mobility.

Research Project e-shape

EuroGEOSS represents Europe’s contribution to the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) and is intended to promote the use of GEO-generated data. The e-shape project supports the development of EuroGEOSS, including by means of seven “showcases” covering the fields of food safety, sustainable agriculture, health monitoring, renewable energy, monitoring of ecosystems, management of water resources, catastrophe resilience and climate monitoring.

Research Project EcoCab

A significant proportion of the materials used and energy consumed on cruise ships is due to the large number of passenger cabins. Each individual ship is fitted with 3,000 or more cabins. By developing innovative concepts and technical solutions for ship cabins, the EcoCab project is making an important contribution towards planning a holistic strategy aimed at improving efficiency and sustainability throughout the shipbuilding industry.

Research Project CAMS-72

Copernicus, the European Union’s Earth observation programme provides services in different environmental themes embodying state of the planet Earth. The solar radiation services meet the needs of European and national policy development for the energy transition and they support with their open data policy public and commercial downstream services in planning, monitoring, efficiency improvements, and integration of renewable energies into the energy supply grids, targeting particularly the solar energy applications.

Research Project solar fuels

Both in research and in practice, experts agree that – notwithstanding the goal of 1 million electric vehicles – significant penetration of the German vehicle fleet with electric cars and utility vehicles will take a long time. This results in a need to quickly provide technologies that can promote a rapid reduction in the fossil CO2 emissions from transportation.

Research Project FlexMex

The overarching objectives of the FlexMex model experiment are on the one hand the systematic evaluation of different modelling approaches of energy system models, and on the other hand the quantification of model uncertainties on the basis of ensemble calculations. In doing so, different promising model approaches of a temporally and spatially resolved analysis of the future power supply in Germany are compared. The focus is on the evaluation of different load balancing options.

Research Project MODEX-Net

A high-performance European-wide power grid is needed in order to integrate renewable energies into existing systems within the framework of the energy transition, while maintaining a high level of supply security. Grid modelling is becoming more and more important in terms of planning such power grid. The MODEX-Net research project involves an examination of existing grid models taking into account the European context. The goal is to harmonise grid comparison criteria and the results of these comparisons, therefore increasing the comparability, transparency and development potential of grid models.

Third-party funded projects launched in 2018

Research Project Wobas-A

For solar power stations, the constant alternation of sun and clouds result in a continuous disruption of the balance between power supply and demand. Short-term forecasts are therefore used to restore this balance and ensure a constant electricity supply. In the project WobaS-A, a cloud camera-based forecasting system realised in the previous project WobaS is being improved and prepared for use in various power stations with parabolic fluted reflectors, solar towers and photovoltaics.

Research Project Multi-criteria analysis for building and assessing sustainable scenario pathways

In the frame of the Helmholtz Research School on Energy Scenarios DLR conducts a new PhD project financed by a Helmholtz scholarship. The International Research School on Energy Scenarios is a common institution of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) together with partners from the University of Stuttgart, ISI Fraunhofer Institute and German Aerospace Centre (DLR). The research school provides an internationally unique opportunity to become an outstanding researcher in energy scenario analysis. It provides high quality training for doctoral researchers in a structured, three year's program.

Research Project MENAfuels

The production of large quantities of synthetic fuels (and chemicals) requires significant quantities of low-cost renewable energy. Especially the sun- and wind-rich countries of the MENA region with their large renewable energy potentials are suitable locations for the production of synthetic fuels and their precursors. Moreover, trade relations and infrastructures already exist with many countries on which can be built. Yet, which potentials are available in the individual states? At what cost are the resources available? Which transport structures are needed? Which effects does the import have on value creation both in Germany and in the MENA states? Which interest do the states of the MENA region have to use their renewable energy potentials for domestic supply, but also for export? Which competitors are to be expected outside the MENA region and the EU?

Research Project South Africa Mini-Grid

In the follow-up project to ENGINEER, a monitoring system for local power distribution networks (mini-grids) is being developed and set up under the aegis of the BLP GIZ South Africa Mini-Grid in order to learn more about sustainable, decentralised energy supply and thus establish a framework for other regions. These projects under Germany’s Federal Government-Länder Programme (BLP) in cooperation with the country’s international development agency, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), are helping to electrify South Africa, where some 15% of all households still lack mains electricity.

Research Project INTEEVER II

The project addresses research needs arising from the previous project INTEEVER (FKZ 03ET4020). On the one hand, this concerns the degree of abstraction and differentiation of technologies for balancing consumption and generation in the German and European electricity system, and thus the input data of the models, which have a significant impact on the results. On the other hand, the project aims for a close coupling of energy system modelling and power flow simulation in the European transmission grid.

Research Project HyReK

The supply of energy from renewable energy sources is subject to natural fluctuations in the weather and shifts in consumer demand. In order to ensure that the grid’s stability is maintained despite these fluctuations, regulating power stations are needed to compensate for the disparities between the planned amounts and the actual energy consumption. The HyReK project develops and optimises operational management strategies and specialised hardware components for a hybrid regulating power station.

Research Project IKT free

Security is absolutely critical when it comes to digitalised energy systems technologies. The distribution grid is an increasingly networked energy system. The project IKTfree aims to preserve the distribution grid as a robust system in the face of interruptions or the failure of information and communications technologies (ICT).

Research Project HyForPV

A new forecasting method based on a combination of different data sources is being developed and standardised in the HyForPV research project for the purposes of system integration and further expansion of photovoltaics.

Research Project KEROSyN100

The KEROSyN100 research project is a practical example of the sector integration of power and mobility. The project focuses on a power-to-jet plant that will be used by a community in Schleswig-Holstein to produce synthetic kerosene from surplus wind energy.

Research Project HySeas III

The Institute of Networked Energy Systems is one of the partner organisations involved in the “HySeas III” research project developing the world’s first sea-going hydrogen-powered ferry with fuel cells. The role of the DLR scientists within the larger project is to provide comprehensive analyses. These include, but are not limited to, economic and environmental assessments and evaluating the expected job creation and market potential.

Research Project BENiVer (Site Stuttgart)

This joint project represents the Accompanying Research of the funding initiative "Energy transformation in transport" (“Energiewende im Verkehr”). The overall objective of the project is to support the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy in the field of electricity-based fuels.

Research Project BEniVer (Site Oldenburg)

The accompanying research project BEniVer carries out in-depth analysis of the development of synthetic fuels. The aim is to connect the funding initiative’s 15 technical research projects involving over 100 research groups and industry partners, identify potential synergies and ensure the comparability of the research results.

Research Project PEROSEED

The high-profile strategic project PEROSEED aims to complete a first complete development cycle for novel multi-layer solar cells with perovskite layer - from material design to the final module including system aspects. This project is therefore also designed as a model case for recycling management and includes all system steps in a quantifiable way.

Research Project Lifetime INH5000

System components and operational modes have a significant effect on the durability and efficiency of fuel cells. The Institute of Networked Energy Systems is conducting research on operational strategies to improve efficiency and reduce wear in thermal power stations’ fuel cells and provide validation of their performance under real operating conditions.

Research Project Transport 5.0

The main objective of the German Aerospace Center's (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) cross-sectoral Transport 5.0 project is conducting research into and the development of safe, adaptive and cooperative automation for road and rail transport, as well as shipping and aviation. A central goal is the development of cross-domain, self-organising cooperation schemes and organisational principles for a user-centred transport system.

Research Project EVer

In order to achieve Germany's environmental goals, major changes in the energy and transport sectors are required.As a result of the necessary changes in the energy and transport sectors, the coupling of these sectors over the next years and decades is essential. The aim of the project "Energy and Transport" is to quantify and analyze the interactions between the transport system and energy production.

Research Project ANSWER-Kommunal

Municipal heating plans are an effective planning tool to develop sustainable and cost-effective solutions for heating supply. During the heat planning process, decarbonisation strategies are developed for each municipality through an intelligent combination of energy savings, increased efficiency and renewable energies, taking into account the interactions with the electricity supply. A standardised methodology for the preparation of municipal heating plans does not yet exist in Germany. The aim of the ANSWER-Kommunal project is to develop a transferable, standardized analysis and results grid for municipal heating plans. This is intended to ensure transparency, comparability and the possibility of adding the climate protection contributions of individual municipal heating plans and also to provide municipalities with technical support in drawing up the heating plans.

Research Project InNOSys

The political debate on the sustainable transformation of the energy system often focusses on the aspects of climate protection and associated expenses for private households and the industry. Other aspects such as resource demand, social acceptance or life cycle emissions of pollutants are often neglected. However, the national strategy of the German Government has to consider these issues as well in order to develop and implement political measures to foster a transformation towards a sustainable energy system. The main objective of the project InNOSys is the development of a new generic modelling and assessment approach for energy scenarios which allows a multicriteria assessment and optimisation of technically and structurally feasible development pathways of the energy system in Germany. Assessment criteria include economic, ecologic and social indicators.

Research Project ENaQ

The Institute of Networked Energy Systems and 20 partners from industry and the research sector have won the bid to create an energy-efficient neighbourhood (ENaQ) on part of the site formerly occupied by the Fliegerhorst airfield in Oldenburg. The project seeks to involve the public in the design and implementation of an environmentally friendly residential district on the site, which will include around 110 residential units in existing and new buildings located not far from the town centre.

Research Project SciGRID_Gas

The Institute for Networked Energy Systems aims with the SciGRID_Gas project at developing an open model of the European gas transport network for the ENTSO-G network. The model will provide a reference gas transport network for scientific investigations and will be based on public and non-public data sets. SciGRID_Gas will be compatible with the existing open source model of the European electricity transmission network SciGRID, which was developed at the predecessor institute NEXT ENERGY from 2014 to 2017.

Third-party funded projects launched in 2017

Research Project REfuels-Brazil

The demand for fuels in Brazil is rising rapidly with an annual growth rate of around 5%. Expanding the supply of existing alternative fuels in Brazil, such as biodiesel and ethanol, cannot keep pace with this development, or could lead to increased, undesirable environmental side effects. In the National Strategy of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTIC), therefore, alternative fuels are a priority in order to continue to meet growing demand with innovative technological alternatives while contributing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The aim of the project is the further development of fuels from renewable energies (solar, wind, hydropower but not primarily biomass) and their conversion into aviation use in Brazil. Thus, impulses of global reach for climate protection can be set.

Research Project MetPVNet

In order for solar energy to account for a higher proportion of the energy mix in Germany, the grid management system must be more effectively adapted in line with the increased weather dependency of the grid feed-in, and there is a need for planning data. This project is developing innovative energy meteorology methods for satellite-based radiation and PV yield forecasts at the system level and is testing their application in an energy management system at the distribution grid level.

Research Project START

In the START project, the partners pursue three overarching goals. The first objective is to establish and deepen bilateral research cooperation between German and Australian research organisations. The second objective is a comprehensive analysis and a deeper understanding of the transformation towards zero-emission energy systems in Germany (embedded in the European energy system) and Australia, focusing in particular on the common challenges of both countries, their respective technological options, regulatory barriers, policy options and economic opportunities. The third objective is to connect research with stakeholders from politics, business and society.

Research Project IBiFi

In order to continue with a cost-effective energy transition we will need storage systems in the megawatt range. High-efficiency long-life redox flow batteries are ideal as they barely discharge at all. Bipolar plates and graphite felts are core components of these batteries. The IBiFi research project aims to develop a less complex and more cost-effective manufacturing process in order to combine these components.

Research Project InnoSEn

The project focus lies on the analysis of knowledge and its dynamics in innovation networks relevant for key technologies of the “Energiewende”. Models and methods from the interdisciplinary innovation research as well as energy system models are used in order to cover sociological and socio-economic aspects in the analysis.

Research Project EMGIMO

The EMGIMO project develops attractive solutions for generating electricity in environmentally friendly ways in urban areas. The focus is on something called sector coupling, which integrates electric mobility and carbon-neutral electricity in commercial buildings in a grid-compatible way. With the help of “machine learning” algorithms, the Institute of Networked Energy Systems develops prognoses with respect to managing the building’s load, which makes it possible to project generation times and high load times. Technical feasibility will be tested in a pilot building located in Munich.

Research Project ZERO BRINE

The project aims at demonstrating new solutions to recover and recycle valuable materials present in industrial waste-water streams, in order to implement a circular economy approach in various process industries. This approach consists in the development of technological solutions and business models to redesign the post-treatment chains of the effluents generated by the industrial processes.

Research Project BIPVpod

The BIPVpod research project aims to combine photovoltaic technology, optimised energy generation and design on a sustainable basis using individual building-integrated photovoltaic modules.

Research Project Energy Systems Integration

One of the challenges of the energy transformation is among others the intelligent networking of the various components of our energy systems. The collaborations across sectors, e.g. between generators, storage options, consumers and different transport systems are currently only represented insufficiently. The project focusses on the technological and economical interaction of the components of the energy system.

Research Project Power-to-flex

Diverging supply and demand for renewable energies can be balanced out across the overall network. An alternative to this is decentralised use. The Power to Flex project is developing innovative pilot projects for storage methods on a small scale so that power produced directly in households and small business can also be used at flexible times as electricity, heat or fuel.

Research Project HYPP

The objective of the HYPP project is to operate photosynthesis and photovoltaics using one and the same module. It involves development of a solar cell that allows the light wavelengths required for photosynthesis to pass through and yet absorbs as many of the others as possible. There are many options for using such a hybrid module, ranging from energy-producing building facades to greenhouses.

Research Project SYSEET

Germany is committed to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 95% until 2050. Therefore a decarbonisation of fuels for industry and long-distance traffic is also necessary. This requires both renewable electricity and different carbon sources, and leads to particular challenges: the necessary power demand will be a multiple of direct electricity consumption. Available carbon sources are either fossil (e.g., from industrial exhaust gases), limited (e.g., from biomass), or lead to additional energy demand (atmospheric CO2). The SYSEET project therefore pursues a systematic assessment of the supply of gaseous and liquid energy carriers based on renewable energy, biomass and CO2.

Research Project C/sells

The C/sells project is based on the idea of combining infrastructure cells into an organism in which economic opportunities, technological necessities and the aim for sustainable operation are harmonized. The C/sells project aims to span an east-west solar arc of flexibility from Bavaria via Hesse to Baden-Württemberg. This cellular structure, which supports joint actions within and between the cells and also across borders, leads to a robust energy infrastructure.

Research Project global 2.0°C and 1.5°C scenarios

The Paris Agreement sets a long-term target of holding the global average temperature increase to well below 2°C and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Most of the available global long-term scenarios are not ambitious enough to meet these targets with a high degree of certainty or are based on options that have proven to be either unsupported by markets and the society and/or may cause significant damage to ecosystems. The aim of the project is to develop two 100% renewable and integrated energy and transport scenarios leading to a full decarbonisation (‘defossilisation’) of the global energy sector within one generation (by 2050).

Research Project ENERA

ENERA represents the next step in the energy transition: a value creation network made up of existing and new stakeholders in the energy industry. The Energy Systems Technology Department at the Institute of Networked Energy Systems is developing a platform to simulate different scenarios for flexible energy use on a laboratory scale as part of a sub-project.

Research Project Smarte Pfosten (smart light posts)

The aim of this research project is the development of "smart light posts", for example by upgrading existing street lamps, which will establish an open hardware and software platform for smart city services in public spaces.

Research Project ENGINEER

A lack of electrification limits economic development. The ENGINEER project has built a self-contained power grid in a South African village with the broader aim of providing greater economic opportunities and improved living conditions to off-grid regions. Residents are provided with solar power by a so-called hybrid mini-grid, and the concept can be transferred to other regions.

Third-party funded projects launched in 2016

Research Project BaSyMo

With the BaSyMo joint research project, the Institute of Networked Energy Systems aims to advance the development, design and ergonomics of a modular battery system. The goal is to develop a standardised battery design that can be used in a variety of applications.

Research Project ENavi

Mit der Energiewende hat sich Deutschland zum Ziel gesetzt, das gegenwärtige Energiesystem in ein weitgehend CO2-freies und auf erneuerbaren Energien basierendes System zu transformieren. Ein wirtschaftliches, umweltverträgliches, verlässliches und sozialverträgliches Energiesystem benötigt eine ganzheitliche Betrachtung auf Systemebene. ENavi sieht die Energiewende daher als einen gesamtgesellschaftlichen Transformationsprozess und verknüpft wissenschaftliche Analysen mit politisch-gesellschaftlichen Anforderungen.

Research Project Energy [R]evolution country studies Belarus

The Energy [R]evolution Project series is continued in cooperation with Greenpeace and newly the Böll Stiftung with a scenario for Belarus. The country study show, how the globally developed pathways towards a climate protecting and globally more equitable energy system can be implemented in practice on national level for Belarus.

Research Project 4NEMO

The 4NEMO project aims at an extended integration of economic and social dynamics and related uncertainties into energy system models. For this purpose, existing models will be developed further in order to allow for a better comparison between models. Moreover, integrated scenarios will be developed and used to conduct a model comparison exercise. Respective results will be used to show strengths, weaknesses and comparative advantages of the different models and to improve the transparency in energy-system modelling.

Research Project MuSeKo

Until 2050 the share of renewables is projected to rise to 80% of German electricity generation and to 60% for overall energy consumption. In order to integrate this new and partially intermittent electricity generation while maintaining the security of supply it is necessary to render generation and demand largely flexible. At the same time achieving a high share of renewables in the heat and transportation sector requires a substantial substitution of far fossil fuels. Methodological developments of the existing energy system models are required for the analysis of renewables system integration via coupled electricity, gas, heat and transportation sectors.

Research Project ERAFlex

The rising share of supply-dependent renewable energy in the power system leads to the need for increasing flexibility at different system levels. At the decentralized level in the electricity sector, the controllable (dispatchable) conventional and renewable energy generation, energy storage, demand response, and the expansion of transmission and distribution girds must be brought together integrative as flexibility options. However, implementation measures of the energy transition policies show discrepancies with the model results a system optimization approaches on purely techno-economic basis.

Research Project Drahtlos

Parking an electric car at home and ensuring an efficient energy supply within your own four walls: inductive charging and intelligent energy management are not just convenient solutions. Anyone who fills the interface between an electric car and domestic energy supply also enjoys financial benefits, as shown by the project “Drahtlos”.

Research Project DYNAMOS

Incorporating renewable energy to produce powerful systematic effects: high-frequency fluctuations and their consequences on demand for market-oriented system services

Third-party funded projects launched in 2015

Research Project BEAM-ME

BEAM-Me is a research project within the German 6th Energy research program funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. The research project aims at improving computational performance of energy system models. Energy system models (ESM) are widely used in research and industry to analyze todays and future energy systems and potential pathways for the European energy transition. Current studies address future policy design, analysis of technology pathways and the analysis of future energy systems. To analyze these questions and support the transformation of today’s energy systems, ESM are required to become increasingly complex in order to provide valuable quantitative insights for policy makers and industry. Especially when analyzing uncertainty and integration of large shares of renewable energies, ESM requires a detailed implementation of the underlying electricity system.

Research Project ResiFlow

A team of developers at the Institute of Networked Energy Systems is developing a patented battery for localised use based on vanadium redox flow technology called “ResiFlow”. The battery can be adapted for use on its own in commercial and agricultural locations.

Research Project BuildHeat

The majority of people in Europe live in apartment buildings. These buildings have a great potential for greater energy efficiency. The BuildHEAT research project funded by the European Union has set itself the goal of reducing the energy consumption of these buildings by up to 80 per cent by exploiting the existing potential for savings. The aim is to develop technologies that are faster and easier to install than conventional systems.

Research Project D2Service

The D2Service project aims to develop methods to simplify the maintenance of different types of fuel cell-based micro combined heat and power plants (micro-CHP systems). The primary objective is to significantly reduce the cost and effort of repair work.

Research Project open_eGo

Do we need more storage systems or more pipelines in order to secure stable energy supplies now and in the future? – Answers to this question are becoming more and more pressing given the increasing share of renewable energies in electricity supply. The research project open_eGo provides a freely available planning tool in order to optimally design the grid infrastructure for future loads at all voltage levels from an economic standpoint.

Research Project Macroeconomic effects and distribution issues of the German energy transition

The aim of the German energy transition is the transformation of the energy system towards a more climate-friendly system. Major elements of this transformation are the increase of energy efficiency as well as the expansion of renewable energies. For the political monitoring of the energy transition a number of indicators are required some of which are provided by energy balances or the working group on Renewable Energies – Statistics (AGEE-Stat). However, the provision of indicators regarding macroeconomic effects of the energy transition is methodically rather difficult. So far methods and indicators for individual areas have been developed but none that cover all aspects of the energy transition.

Research Project RegMex

This project aims at the development of a coordinated scenario framework for energy system model analysis. In doing so, all relevant and interested research groups are involved.

Research Project ES2050

To successfully continue and complete the energy transition in Germany (“Energiewende”), it is important that technical and scientific, ecological, economic, and social aspects of the transformation be analysed comprehensively and at an early stage and incorporated in the process. In this research topic, scientists transfer the method of Life-Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) to the level of energy systems.

Research Project Effects of the measures taken by the Federal Government within the target architecture for the energy transition

A study by a consortium of Prognos AG, the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) on behalf of the BMWi analyzed the effects of the various energy policy instruments within the target architecture for the energy transition and how they promote the achievement of energy policy goals.

Research Project Green Access

How can the power network incorporate the maximum number of renewable energies at the lowest possible cost? One solution lies in the automation of medium and low-voltage networks, which are generally used to integrate photovoltaic and wind power plants. The Green Access research project examines how the building blocks of an intelligent network work together for optimum efficiency.

Research Project INTEEVER

The integration of high shares of spatially and temporally distributed fluctuating energy resources is an increasing challenge for the future energy supply. In order to integrate renewable energies into the energy system while ensuring the security of supply at the same time, an extensive transformation of existing energy infrastructures is necessary.

Research Project Lighthouse project „Power-to-Gas“

Power-to-Gas is a process for the storage of green electricity and for the generation of CO2-neutral fuels (hydrogen and methane). The outstanding importance of Power-to-Gas for future load management and for a promising future, sustainable mobility - and thus for the decisive elements of the energy system transformation - among energy policy actors in Germany is undisputed. The validity of the concept has been shown by ZSW, who has been able to achieve a technically flawless functioning within the framework of several projects.

Research Project SciGRID

Will we need transmission lines all the way from the North Sea to southern Germany if we are to succeed in making the transition to renewable energies? Can the deployment of storage units address local bottlenecks in the transmission grid? The SciGRID research project has created an open model of European transmission networks to help us answer these types of questions by using, for example, detailed energy system simulations.

Research Project Solar Potential Analysis for Pakistan

The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) has been commissioned by the World Bank to investigate Pakistan’s potential for the exploitation of solar energy.

Research Project VEU

DLR focuses its expertise on sustainable transport systems in the research project VEU. How will we be mobile in tomorrow´s world? What options do we have to develop transport more sustainably? A network of twelve research institutes overseen by DLR is researching those and other questions with regard to our future mobility.

Research Project Helmholtz-Kolleg "Energieszenarien" (energy scenarios)

In the context of Germanys “Energiewende” as well as in the transition of the current energy system towards increased sustainability, energy-economic and -political decision making is mainly relying on methods of system modelling and scenario analysis. These methods produce a large quantity of scenarios and sometimes lead to contradicting results due to methodological uncertainties, different model approaches and assumptions as well due to different system boundaries. With respect to this context a holistic approach regarding future energy scenarios is necessary and one of the main goals of Helmholtz’s Research School on Energy Scenarios.

Research Project Helmholtz-Allianz "ENERGY-TRANS"

In this scheme the development of Germany's energy supply is considered as a socio-technical system. During a period of 5 years technical aspects of the “Energiewende” will be investigated in close connection with the related social processes.