Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology

The Fraunhofer IEE in Kassel researches for the national and international transformation of energy systems.

Digital technologies are expected to improve the efficiency and system integration of additional renewable sources, as well as making the entire energy system reliable, smarter, and more efficient. Future digital applications may allow district energy systems to fully optimize the operation of their plant and network assets while realizing immediate and feasible decarbonization of urban heat supply: With data to optimize district heating systems and new business opportunities.

Within the Research Project “PV-MoVe”, Researchers at the Fraunhofer IEE investigated how to use active switching loss reduction networks for power semiconductors to enable smaller, more lightweight, and more cost-efficient photovoltaic converters.

The aim of the MUSiCel research project is therefore to research and test innovative components and methods for an efficient, locally emission-free energy supply for agricultural and construction machinery. At the heart of the supply system is a mobile and compact high-performance DC-DC converter that is integrated into the vehicle.

It is warm underground. Accessing this energy source on a large scale to heat houses and apartments is the task of the new UrbanGroundHeat research project. Geothermal energy is  CO2-free and can be easily tapped in many places in Germany, but has not yet been widely developed for legal and economic reasons. As a result of the energy crisis, conditions have changed. A cooperation of research and industry under the leadership of the Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology IEE now intends to facilitate the use of geothermal energy for municipal utilities, cities and communities.

The map shows the global potential for power-to-X technologies in coastal and inland sites in countries outside the European Economic Area. Now the interactive tool has been published in an English and Spanish version for international use.

The HyAfrica project is exploring deposits of natural hydrogen in several African countries to provide alternative energy for local areas. The long-term joint research and innovation partnership between the European Union and the African Union in the field of renewable energy (LEAP-RE) is funding the project with a budget of nearly one million euros. HyAfrica is the first international research project to explore the potential of natural hydrogen as a new energy source.

Green ammonia is becoming increasingly important in the debate about PtX imports and climate protection. There are good reasons for this, as the effort required to produce and transport the chemical compound is relatively low. Fraunhofer IEE in Kassel has therefore now expanded its global PtX atlas: it now also provides data on the production potential of green ammonia in 97 countries and areas worldwide, and also shows the respective production and transport costs. The PtX Atlas, which is freely accessible online, shows where in the world which quantities of green hydrogen and other PtX energy carriers can be produced and exported to Europe at what cost.

he integration of photovoltaics into power grids requires increasingly better forecasts, especially with increasing capacities, because uninterrupted grid operation does not accept avoidable errors. In this context, rare meteorological events still present particular challenges. In addition to volcanic ash and Saharan dust, a solar eclipse requires the attention of grid operators, electricity traders and forecasting service providers. At the Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology IEE, a solution has now been developed to combine the degree of occultation with established weather forecast models specific to the location and time.