SynErgie

With the "Kopernikus-Projekte für die Energiewende" (Kopernikus projects for energy transition), the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) sponsors four key areas of energy transition: the development of the power network (ENSURE), the storage of surplus renewable energy by transformation to other energy sources (P2X), the reconfiguration of industrial processes towards a fluctuating energy supply (SynErgie) as well as the improved interaction of all sectors in the energy system (ENavi).

The "Kopernikus projects" are part of the energy research program "Research for an environmental friendly, reliable and affordable energy supply system", initiated by the Federal Government. The Wuppertal Institut is actively involved in three out of the four projects.

The project "Synchronized and energy adaptive production technology for flexible alignment of industrial processes towards a fluctuating energy supply" (SynErgie) extends the measures of the German industry from efficiency to the requirement of demand side management (flexibility of power supply), in order to better synchronize the demand of production processes with the fluctuating offer of renewable energies. This results in enhanced energy procurement conditions for enterprises and opens up additional advantageous and cost-efficient flexibility capacities for the energy system.

The interdisciplinary consortium of over 50 partners and 25 associates from representative industry companies, well-known scientific partners and civic organisations is coordinated by the Technical University of Darmstadt and the University of Stuttgart.

The Research Group Future Energy and Mobility Structures elaborates the analysis of obstacles in the context of analysis and quantification of the flexibility potential. This analysis explains why a technical potential (according to safety relevant issues of the production plant) can only partly be transferred to practical potential. Some of the most relevant restrictions are that loss of production or degradation of product quality must not occur, that internal processes and organisation procedures shall be assured and that regulations shall be respected. These questions are followed by an economic analysis, because the supply of flexibilities has to be feasible to the industry.