Ind-Supply

The decarbonization of companies is an important element of the energy transition. Many small and medium-sized enterprises are located in industrial or commercial areas. The muncipal heat planning covering these areas do not always account for the decarbonization strategies and possibilites of these companies. Furthermore, their decarbonization strategies depend heavily on the requirements of individual production processes. Due to the diverse composition of commercial areas, there are currently no standards for developing holistic transformation paths. This is where the Ind-Supply research project comes in. The aim is to develop a planning tool for industrial areas that will support planners and municipalities in complex energy supply decisions, thereby enabling climate- and resource-optimized development. The project is a joint research project between Prognos AG, greenventory GmbH, Offenburg University of Applied Sciences, Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences, Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences (HKA), and Fraunhofer ISE.

In 2022, the industrial sector was responsible for over 177 million tonnes of CO₂ eqivalent or 23% of total emissions in Germany.¹ Industrial areas are very diverse in terms of their structures (e.g. building age classes, industries) and resource consumption. Companies often lack necessary information for sustainable decisions on energy supply options. In addition, the complexity of planning and energy management is increasing due to the potential future (non-) availability of hydrogen or implementation risks in disrict heating grids.

In the Ind-Supply project, we will develop a planning tool for industrial areas to support municipal decision makers and planners. The aim is to reduce the complexity of energy supply decisions and thus enable a more sustainable and economical heat and electricity supply.

The first step is to develop a classification of commercial and industrial area archetypes to enable a quantitative comparison and transferability between industrial areas. This will be achieved on the basis of key performance indicators on urban planning and energy supply and consumption. Based on this, the case studies can be transferred to other industrial areas. Furthermore, KPIs for climate- and resource-optimized development of industrial areas will be developed. These KPIs will be integrated into the planning tool as benchmarks.

To this end, data analysis with AI will be used to identify additional waste heat potentials. Decarbonization options will be examined at the process level. Fraunhofer ISE will contribute its expertise in the field of techno-economic modeling of transformation pathways and analyze the possible energy supply options for entire commercial areas using the DISTRICT model. This is done using actual case studies in close cooperation with stakeholders. In addition, the REMod model is used to analyze the national transformation pathways of different decarbonization approaches in the industry.

_{¹ Agora Energiewende (2023): Die Energiewende in Deutschland: Stand der Dinge 2022. Rückblick auf die wesentlichen Entwicklungen sowie Ausblick auf 2023.}