Ongoing Research Project

Municipal heat planning (MTP) is the cornerstone of a successful local heat transition, as the diversity of renewable heat sources and local building structures requires individual solutions adapted to each municipality. But how can the sum of individual solutions be compatible with achieving national climate targets in the various sectors in the long term? What interactions occur between local planning, transport infrastructure planning and energy market developments? How can municipal heating plans be evaluated automatically in order to answer these questions in the first place? Scientists from the Öko-Institut, EWI and Fraunhofer ISE as well as employees from Trianel and digikoo look into these questions in the joint project KOMpare. | Duration: 01/2025- 12/2027

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. | Duration: 10/2024- 09/2027

The energy, transport and heating transition represents a considerable challenge for the electricity grids. According to current planning guidelines, the increased use of heat pumps and electric vehicles would require a massive expansion of the distribution grids. This would result in high costs and could slow down the transition to a CO2-neutral society. Grid operation platforms can use smart metering systems (iMSys) and control boxes to record grid conditions and reduce grid loads through targeted control interventions, incentivized by variable grid charges. If the grid load can be reduced through targeted incentives, this must be taken into account in grid planning in order to minimize grid expansion. | Duration: 01/2025 - 12/2028

Berlin has set itself the goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2050. The extensive use of solar energy is an important component of this. The Berlin Energy and Climate Protection Program 2030 stipulates the creation of a Solarcity Berlin master plan that will enable solar potential to be tapped as quickly as possible. The Berlin agency “Zebralog” and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) were commissioned by the Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises to work with a group of experts to develop a catalog of measures to accelerate the development of PV potential. | Duration: 10/2018 - 12/2019

This project aims to develop and demonstrate an advantageous and innovative alternative to CHP units: the combustion of gases in a micro gas turbine (mGT) and downstream utilization of the high exhaust gas temperatures in an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC). The efficiency can reach that of a CHP unit and offers decisive advantages of the mGT over conventional combustion. These are, above all, very low-pollutant combustion (especially NOx) and high fuel flexibility. A central component and at the same time a challenge in such a combination are high-temperature resistant ceramic heat exchangers and other components, which are being developed in the project. Two system variants are being built and tested in the project. The combination of mGT and ORC on a common drive shaft to form a micro-hybrid turbine (“MiHyT”) with a ceramic coaxial heat exchanger is new. | Duration: 12/2024 - 11/2027

Project in the Business Area: Hydrogen Technologies; Topic: Fuel cell; Duration: 05/2022 - 11/2025

Hops are grown on a large scale in the Hallertau region: Almost a third of the hops produced worldwide are grown on around 17,200 hectares of Hallertau hop gardens. As a crop that remains in the same location for several years, hops are particularly exposed to climatic influences. Dry periods in July and August sometimes led to significant yield losses: in the particularly affected years of 2013, 2015 and 2018, yields were up to 40 % lower, depending on the hop variety. This is where the "HoPVen" project comes in, in which the world's first agri-PV system in hop growing is being scientifically investigated. The dual use of the land for both agriculture and energy generation through photovoltaics can increase resilience to the consequences of climate change and diversify the income streams of farms. | Duration: 11/2023 - 10/2026

Project in the Business Area: Photovoltaics; Topic: Photovoltaic Modules and Power Plants; Field of Work: Integrated Photovoltaics; Duration: 01/2023 - 12/2025

Einleitungstext | Laufzeit: 01/2023 - 12/2026

The aim of this project is to develop cost-effective cell and module technologies based on highly efficient III-V multi-junction solar cells for markets in which high efficiency promises particular advantages, for example in electric aircraft and vehicles. | Duration: 09/2022 - 08/2025