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The research project “PnP grids - Grid-forming control for distributed power converters” has been honoured with the 10th ISGAN Award of Excellence. The prize, which is awarded by the International Smart Grid Action Network (ISGAN) in cooperation with the Global Smart Energy Federation (GSEF), honours outstanding innovations in the field of smart grid technologies.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology IEE has developed an underwater energy storage system that transfers the principle of pumped storage power plants to the seabed. After a successful field test with a smaller model in Lake Constance, the researchers are now preparing a test run off the Californian coast with partners: In the "StEnSea" project, they will anchor a hollow, 400-ton concrete sphere with a diameter of nine meters at a depth of 500 to 600 meters. By emptying the sphere, the storage is charged. When water flows in, electricity is generated – it is discharged. The power of this prototype is 0.5 megawatts, the capacity 0.4 megawatt-hours.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology IEE in Kassel has a new leader: Prof. Dr. Martin Braun is taking over as the new director of the research institute on November 1, 2024. He is also a professor for sustainable electrical energy systems at the University of Kassel.

A new study from the Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology IEE has analysed the economic effects on the European energy system of introducing offshore hydrogen production. The study considers the expansion of the German 70 GW buildout target of offshore wind and examines the economic effects by allowing offshore hydrogen production on two energy islands connected with 10 GW offshore wind each, compared to a scenario where all electricity from offshore wind farms is transported to shore and can be used within the German energy market without further restrictions.

As part of the "Modular, regenerative and self-sufficient energy supply with H2 technology" (MarrakEsH) project, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK), six partners from research and industry are working on the development and practical testing of new technologies for self-sufficient energy generation and storage using green hydrogen. The project will take place from October 2023 to September 2026.

The SecDER project has developed a new type of protection system that automatically protects virtual power plants with decentralized energy systems against outages. The system uses artificial intelligence to detect cyberattacks and faults. Unlike conventional systems on the market, the new system only works with data from communication between the systems in virtual power plants. Precise knowledge of the energy systems and their measured variables is not necessary. This means that the solution is independent of proprietary system technology and can be used regardless of the manufacturer. The prototype solution realized in the project is now to be further developed together with the energy industry.

It is not always possible to install as much capacity on designated wind energy areas as originally assumed. As part of the joint project, MENTOR, the Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology IEE is in the process of developing models and methods that show how local restrictions affect the wind energy outputs and yields that can be realized in each case. This makes it possible to better assess the usability of existing and planned areas along with better estimating repowering potential. Fraunhofer IEE is working on MENTOR together with the German Wind and Solar Energy Agency, the University of Kassel, and the Federal Environment Agency.

Whether grid control and planning, the operational management of photovoltaic systems and storage facilities or their design: These and other tasks require load time series that map the increasingly dynamic consumption of many households far more accurately than standard load profiles. The Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology IEE and its partners in the SyLas-KI research project have therefore developed an AI-supported tool that can be used to create high-resolution synthetic load time series for numerous different consumers. They are indistinguishable from real measurement data in terms of their characteristics but meet all data protection requirements.

Heat pumps are considered an important building block for the heating system of a decarbonized future, as they heat and cool efficiently with electricity. They are particularly useful in an energy system based on renewable energies, as their consumption is easy to plan and the heat can be stored. This allows the heating system to react flexibly to energy generation from the sun and wind and thus support the power grid. This is the result of a transnational research project of the International Energy Agency (IEA). The Fraunhofer Institutes IEE (Kassel) and ISE (Freiburg) were involved from Germany.

Germany is essentially sitting on a huge treasure trove of unused capacity when it comes to the grid connection of renewable power plants. This is shown by the study on the joint use of grid connection points carried out by the German Renewable Energy Federation BEE together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology IEE.

Offshore wind farms with zero-cent subsidy bids and post-EEG wind turbines must generate their income solely from the electricity market. This requires forward-looking operating strategies that take into account not only market prices but also the expected wear and tear on the turbines the next day. The Fraunhofer IEE is now working with the companies MesH Engineering and anemos Gesellschaft für Umweltmeteorologie on the BMWK-funded OTELLO project to develop new tools that can be used to optimize schedules for wind farms. Among other things, the experts are integrating short-term forecasts of turbulence intensity - the key factor for turbine wear and tear.

Today, the service life of inverters in photovoltaic systems is far shorter than that of the modules. As part of the PV4Life research project, the Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology IEE is now working with partners to develop models that map the individual ageing of power converters. This can be used to derive customized, AI-supported operating strategies that promise a longer service life without compromising the performance of the devices.

Electricity consumers should be able to change their electricity supplier quickly and smoothly in future. TenneT TSO GmbH has collaborated with both the Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology IEE and the Institute for Applied Systems Technology (AST) of Fraunhofer IOSB in the "MakoMaker Space" project demonstrating how the process could be completely digitalized and based on data room technologies in the future. The new process avoids inconsistencies in data, thus enabling rapid automated processing and should meet the requirements of the Federal Network Agency for 24-hour supplier changes.

The BMWK-funded joint research project "F-HiL Reloaded" is devoted to researching and developing a holistic power-hardware-in-the-loop test, inspection and validation system for the integration of grid-forming power converters into the energy supply system as well as intelligent test procedures. The consortium consists of Siemens AG, OPAL-RT Germany GmbH, SUMIDA Components & Modules GmbH, Moeller Operating Engineering GmbH, the Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology and Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences. The project was launched in late 2023 with a kick-off event and is scheduled to be completed in September 2026.

Heat pumps and charging stations should be able to be dimmed in order to ensure reliable operation of the distribution grids in critical grid situations. The communication required for this runs via the CLS channel of the smart meter gateway. The UtiliSpaces project has now been launched at Fraunhofer ISE in Freiburg, which aims to research the existing challenges of implementation in this complex environment in practice. The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research with a grant of 2 million euros and coordinated by Fraunhofer IEE.

pandapower is an easy-to-use tool for modelling, analyzing and optimizing power grids with a high degree of automation. It was developed at both the University of Kassel and the Fraunhofer IEE in Kassel. Thanks to its international use and integration into various processes, the software has already achieved 500,000 (partly automated) downloads since its release in 2016. Whether in Germany, Europe, the USA, China or many other countries around the world - pandapower is used by researchers and experts in companies alike and has established itself as one of the leading solutions in the energy sector.

Research at Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft would be inconceivable without its employees, including those with migration backgrounds - they are the foundation of our scientific system. Internationality, diversity, and respect are integral components of the Fraunhofer mission statement and the Fraunhofer Code of Conduct.

Together with its partners, Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology IEE is paving the way for the establishment of large-scale production of green hydrogen and its downstream products in Chile. The project’s research focuses on the production potential of hydrogen and liquid fuels from solar energy. In addition to technical issues, researchers are investigating the economic, logistical, and socio-economic aspects of scaling up, through which they will also support the installation of a pilot plant.

South Africa could play an important role as a reliable producer of green hydrogen - also as a supplier for Germany - in the coming years. However, when it comes to storing and distributing the raw material, challenges arise. This is where the recently launched Fraunhofer joint project "HySecunda", in which nine Fraunhofer Institutes and the Fraunhofer Academy are cooperating, comes in. The project aims to find optimized solutions for the production, storage and certification of green hydrogen. The consortium is also providing support with capacity building in the region and in current projects on hydrogen-based fuels for aviation.

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 Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technologies IEE investigated how to use active switching loss reduction networks for power semi-conductors to enable smaller, more lightweight, and more cost-efficient photovoltaic converters. Using newly developed additional circuitry, switching frequencies for a 50 kW PV inverter could be increased by a factor of 2.5 – 3 for the DC input stage and by a factor of 10 – 12.5 for the inverter output stage. The project was worked on in cooperation with project partners Infineon Technologies AG and SUMIDA Components & Modules GmbH from 2019 to 2023, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action BMWK.

The electrification of agricultural and construction machinery currently powered by combustion engines is an essential contribution to reducing emissions. The progressive expansion of renewable energy sources means that climate-damaging emissions can be completely avoided in the future. 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.

The demand for electricity will increase due to electromobility and heat pumps. This means that the number of wind energy and photovoltaic systems will also have to grow. What does this mean for the electricity grids, also in terms of peak loads and the weather dependency of generation plants? Fraunhofer IEE and the University of Kassel are now investigating this in the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action-funded project "Decarbonization Transport - Energy System Feedback" (DeV-KopSys-2) with a focus on the mobility sector. The scientists are presenting their results in a spatially and temporally high-resolution, interactive transformation atlas. Individual queries are also possible free of charge via this link.

In order to achieve set climate targets, the expansion of wind energy in Germany must be significantly accelerated, meaning that many new wind farms must be built in a short space of time. Every wind farm project begins with an assessment of the expected energy yields at the respective location. The Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology IEE and its partners are developing new methods based on artificial intelligence for this purpose in the research project "STRAIGHT - Increasing the quality and efficiency of yield estimates for wind farms". The ambitious goal is to at least halve the time required to estimate yields in order to help accelerate the expansion of wind energy.

Hesse's Minister of Science and Arts, Angela Dorn, Fraunhofer Executive Board Member, Alexander Kurz, and Kassel's Head of Building and Construction, Christof Nolda, together with over 300 selected guests from the fields of business, science, politicspolitics, and the public celebrated the inauguration of the new Fraunhofer IEE campus in Kassel today as well as the institute's 35th anniversary. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the state of Hesse have invested almost 70 million euros in the new building.

Authorities require project planners to carry out comprehensive nature conservation assessments when approving wind farms. This often delays the start of construction. Fraunhofer IEE is now working with the universities in Kassel, Kiel and Chemnitz as well as partners from the field to develop a system that can automatically detect and classify birds and other animals on the sites using audio signals. Artificial intelligence (AI) is being used for this: the researchers are using deep learning methods to register the species in terms of time and space. In this way, the consortium hopes to help create legal certainty and speed up approval procedures.

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 electricity grid is becoming increasingly decentralized and digitalized, which poses new challenges for grid operators. Solutions to these challenges could lie in the use of artificial intelligence (AI). The German Energy Agency's "Data4Grid" project is researching the possibilities of using AI and data analysis in electricity distribution grids. The expert report is now available online and examines, among other things, the handling of sensitive data and the legal framework for AI in the energy industry. The Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy Systems IEE prepared a scientific report on data analysis and AI in the electricity distribution grid.

It is possible to achieve maximum returns in the direct marketing of wind power if plant control systems consider not only fluctuating electricity prices but also ever-changing production costs (i.e., wear and tear of plant technology). As part of the “KORVA” research project, the Fraunhofer IEE and its partners have now developed the very first model for helping system operators to incorporate such considerations into their control strategies. This software tool enables them to control the plants so that they strike the optimum balance between revenue and costs. Machine learning (ML) methods are also used for this purpose.