Researchers from six departments at TU Ilmenau are also working together on an interdisciplinary basis in a project funded by the Carl Zeiss Foundation that will start in July to develop a resource-efficient energy distribution network for Germany based on direct current (DC). What is the advantage of this technology over alternating current?
The use of direct current (DC) in distribution networks enables significantly higher utilization of the network infrastructure and thus reduces the resources required for network expansion, i.e. significantly more energy can be distributed for the same amount of material compared to current AC technology. The project will develop the technological basis for a novel, fully converter-fed distribution grid based on DC technology for urban areas, which can take over the tasks of today's grid levels 5-7 (medium and low voltage). The conversion of distribution grids to DC technology is a comprehensive socio-technical transformation that is not only technologically feasible, but must also be accepted and supported by the various stakeholder groups involved in the transformation.
Against the backdrop of Russia's war against Ukraine and a possible gas shortage, the issue of energy supply, especially security of supply, is more topical than ever. You are currently conducting a study on behalf of Prim Minister Ramelow and the Thuringian Ministry for the Environment, Energy and Nature Conservation to find solutions on how the energy-intensive Thuringian glass industry in particular can be supplied with electricity securely in the future. What specific scenarios are you examining to enable a switch to alternative energy sources in the near future and thus secure the future of the industry?
The complete electrification of production processes in energy-intensive industries is essentially motivated by defossilization of production and the manufacture of CO2-neutral products, as well as economic optimization in view of the sharp rise in the cost of fossil fuels of all kinds. The only form of energy that will be used after electrification of production processes is (regeneratively generated) electrical energy. The substitution of gas by electrical energy for the provision of heat in the production process in the glass industry will be considered here in particular.
The glass industry is one of the most energy-intensive branches of industry. Gas is the main energy source used for heating the glass melting plants. The substitution of gas by electricity as the main energy source is associated with a considerable increase in load at the grid interconnection point of the industrial plants and a significant additional load for the electricity grid. It can be assumed that the currently existing grid infrastructure is not powerful or flexible enough for this. We are primarily investigating how the conversion process can be carried out as quickly as possible from the perspective of the energy grid and which innovative technologies and supply concepts are particularly suitable for this.
At ThEFI, researchers at the TU Ilmenau are working on urgent questions in the context of the energy transition in an interdisciplinary manner in all areas of energy, environmental and systems engineering: They are developing novel switching and protection devices for future DC grids or material-saving components and innovative contact and insulating materials for the energy grid of the future. Research areas also include the use of artificial intelligence (AI) methods to make the energy grid safe or diagnostics of energy technology components. You are also building a microgrid powered exclusively by renewable energies as an interdisciplinary experimental platform for research at ThEFI. Why are a holistic perspective, as pursued by the TU Ilmenau at ThEFI, and intensive collaboration with partners from industry and research so important for all these topics?
Because, as already mentioned, we can only implement the transformation of the energy system if the various disciplines work together. It is not enough to look only at the devices or individual system components. Their orchestration in a renewable energy system is also of fundamental importance. Due to our structure at ThEFI, we have a unique selling point here at the site in terms of interdisciplinary collaboration, which we want to use and further expand.
For this research, scientists and partners of the TU Ilmenau have access to an excellent laboratory infrastructure at ThEFI - from a dynamic grid control center to a high-voltage laboratory and a high-current test field. Are there plans to develop this infrastructure even further?
Of course! We are continuously developing the laboratory infrastructure. You could say it grows with its tasks. Of course, this also includes the continuous processing of research projects and the development of innovations with practical partners.
The most recent example is the SOFIE research group, which is funded by the Free State of Thuringia from the European Social Fund and involves three departments. Here, work is being done on issues that particularly affect local networks. These are characterized, among other things, by the fact that in some cases a very high proportion of the network participants consists of power electronic systems, which, due to their technical characteristics, poses special challenges, but also new opportunities. In this context, a distributed power converter system is being developed at ThEFI, which will then be available for further research projects.
Finally, a somewhat further look into the future: What will our energy grid look like in 20 years? Can a climate-neutral supply of energy really be achieved on the basis of technological innovations alone, without compromising on living standards?
I think we have the opportunity to achieve climate neutrality in energy supply by 2050 - perhaps even by the mid-2040s. However, this will require a lot of technical and societal innovations to maintain the standard of living. Technically, energy information technology and automation will play a major role in this system, as will power electronic devices of all kinds. It will be grid structures with AC and DC technology and storage that can be quickly adapted to volatile generation, and such a system will certainly have to be planned and operated in a fundamentally different way than we have seen in the past. A key factor in this will be scientists who develop the necessary innovations and experts who implement them. Since we also see this as a mission at ThEFI, we will certainly make major contributions to this.
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