Quantum Leap on the Way to the Energy Turnaround with Fuel Cells: Super-Thin Films of Graphite Bipolar Plates: Thin, Flexible and Highly Conductive

Efficient bipolar plates are needed to store electricity from renewable energies. Here the focus is concentrating on graphite-compound-Bipolar plates, which are one of the most used components in a Fuel Cell Stack system. Among other things, polypropylene is a suitable matrix material, but other polymer materials such as PPS and PVDF and phenolic resins can also be considered. However, for a correspondingly high conductivity in the fuel cell system, the plastic must be filled with up to more than 80 % graphite. To ensure that the compound is not brittle afterwards and is as easy to process as possible, an impact modify cation was further developed that makes it possible to produce thin films.

Digitalization in Buildings and Smart Cities on the Way to 6G

The energy turnaround created a high volatility in the energy production based on renewable energy. To integrate renewable energy economically in buildings and smart cities an additional concept of energy storage and energy supply based on energy management concepts must be claimed. The political views have changed during the last years and energy efficiency in buildings is seen important because 35% of greenhouse gas is produced by the final energy consumption. The deployment of local energy production concepts is an important step to energy turnaround. To generate and distribute energy effectively in buildings, digital components such as sensors, actuators, meters, and energy management systems must be installed in the buildings and the digital components must be able to communicate via communication networks. The paper describes systems for local energy generation, necessary communication networks for buildings and smart cities and digitization applications in industrial buildings. As an example of energy management, the Oktett64 system is presented, which is based on Enterprise IT technology and has implemented AI and blockchain technology. Digitalization with platforms such as Oktett64 are based on technologies that are superior to today's often commercially available Programmable Logic Controllers. The article also shows how the future mobile communications standards 5G beyond and 6G can offer special solutions for the digitization of buildings in their edge clouds.

System-Supporting Operation of Solid-Oxide Electrolysis Stacks

Flexible, system-oriented operating strategies are becoming increasingly important in terms of achieving a climate-neutral energy system transformation. Solid-oxide electrolysis (SOEC) can play an important role in the production of green synthesis gas from renewable energy in the future. Therefore, it is important to investigate the extent to which SOEC can be used flexibly and which feedback effects and constraints must be taken into account. In this study, we derived a specific load profile from an energy turnaround scenario that supports the energy system. SOEC short-stacks were operated and we investigated the impact that the load profile has on electrical stack performance and stack degradation as well as the product gas composition by means of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The stacks could follow the grid-related requirement profiles of secondary control power and minute reserves very well with transition times of less than two minutes per 25% of relative power. Only short-term disturbances of the H2/CO ratio were observed during transitions due to the adjustment of feed gases. No elevated degradation effects resulting from flexible operation were apparent over 1300 h, although other causes of degradation were present.

Predictive Control of District Heating System Using Multi-Stage Nonlinear Approximation with Selective Memory

Innovative heating networks with a hybrid generation park can make an important contribution to the energy turnaround. By integrating heat from several heat generators and a high proportion of different renewable energies, they also have a high degree of flexibility. Optimizing the operation of such systems is a complex task due to the diversity of producers, the use of storage systems with stratified charging and continuous changes in system properties. Besides, it is necessary to consider conflicting economic and ecological targets. Operational optimization of district heating systems using nonlinear models is underrepresented in practice and science. Considering ecological and economic targets, the current work focuses on developing a procedure for an operational optimization, which ensures a continuous optimal operation of the heat and power generators of a local heating network. The approach presented uses machine learning methods, including Gaussian process regressions for a repeatedly updated multi-stage approximation of the nonlinear system behavior. For the formation of the approximation models, a selection algorithm is utilized to choose only essential and current process data. By using a global optimization algorithm, a multi-objective optimal setting of the controllable variables of the system can be found in feasible time. Implemented in the control system of a dynamic simulation, significant improvements of the target variables (operating costs, CO2 emissions) can be seen in comparison with a standard control system. The investigation of different scenarios illustrates the high relevance of the presented methodology.

Synthesis of the NRP 70 joint project “Waste management to support the energy turnaround (wastEturn)”

A great deal of energy can be sourced both directly and indirectly from waste. For example, municipal waste with an energy content of around 60 petajoules is incinerated in Switzerland every year. The energy recovered directly from this waste covers around 4 % of the Swiss energy demand. However, the greatest potential offered by waste management lies in the recovery of secondary raw materials during the recycling process, thus indirectly avoiding the energy-intensive production of primary raw materials. In order to optimise the contribution to the energy turnaround made by waste management, as a first step, improvements need to be made with respect to the transparent documentation of material and cash flows, in particular. On the basis of this, prioritisation according to the energy efficiency of various recycling and disposal channels is required. Paper and cardboard as well as plastic have been identified as the waste fractions with the greatest potential for improvement. In the case of paper and cardboard, the large quantities involved result in considerable impact. With the exception of PET drinks bottles, plastic waste is often not separately collected and therefore offers substantial improvement potential. Significant optimisation potential has also been identified with regard to the energy efficiency of incineration plants. To allow municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) plants to use the heat they generate more effectively, however, consumers of the recovered steam and heat need to be located close by. A decisive success factor when transitioning towards an energy-efficient waste management system will be the cooperation between the many stakeholders of the federally organised sector. On the one hand, the sector needs to be increasingly organised along the value chains. On the other hand, however, there is also a need to utilise the freedom that comes with federal diversity in order to test different solutions.

3D Point Clouds and Eye Tracking for Investigating the Perception and Acceptance of Power Lines in Different Landscapes

The perception of the visual landscape impact is a significant factor explaining the public’s acceptance of energy infrastructure developments. Yet, there is lack of knowledge how people perceive and accept power lines in certain landscape types and in combination with wind turbines, a required setting to achieve goals of the energy turnaround. The goal of this work was to demonstrate how 3D point cloud visualizations could be used for an eye tracking study to systematically investigate the perception of landscape scenarios with power lines. 3D visualizations of near-natural and urban landscapes were prepared based on data from airborne and terrestrial laser scanning. These scenes were altered with varying amounts of the respective infrastructure, and they provided the stimuli in a laboratory experiment with 49 participants. Eye tracking and questionnaires served for measuring the participants’ responses. The results show that the point cloud-based simulations offered suitable stimuli for the eye tracking study. Particularly for the analysis of guided perceptions, the approach fostered an understanding of disturbing landscape elements. A comparative in situ eye tracking study is recommended to further evaluate the quality of the point cloud simulations, whether they produce similar responses as in the real world.

Human-Centered Design in the Energy Turnaround Project Enera – It Pays to Go Off the Beaten Track!

In this article, we give insights into the development of an ‘interface of energy’, which is developed as part of the energy turnaround project ‘enera’. This interface shall allow communication between the human and the future energy network which will be dominated by renewable energy sources and on-site power generation. We show how we applied Human-Centered Design methods to address the challenge of designing a user interface for an infrastructure that is still in development. Further, we show how this approach was successfully combined with public relations, such as feedback sessions on prototypes as part of an open Barcamp. We give insights into interviews, profiles, personas, public operations, user needs, prototyping and testing. As a special feature we conducted prototyping and prototype testing workshops in a residential house within the project region. These turned out to be very successful for many reasons, e. g., in that the natural environment served as a creative stimulator. Besides, the workshops had a lasting effect on the participants, who were members of the project as well as volunteers living in the project region.

"Infrastructure linking for E-Mobility – approach to integrative traffic and energy network planning"

"This paper gives an introduction to the strategic research field of the cross-infrastructural planning process and the system operation for charging stations from the traffic and energy network view. In the course of the energy turnaround in Germany (grid and plant expansion, liberalization) as well as changes in the transport sector (increasing traffic volume vs. increasing loss of transport infrastructure [Radke 2017; Daehre 2012]) complex cross-infrastructure solutions and tools (simulation systems) will be needed in order to ensure the technical reliability as well as the economic and ecological orientation of these systems. Based on the current stock of charging points and the forecasted total demand, there is a need for the comprehensive construction of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. This creates user acceptance and lowers the barriers to electric vehicles in the private and commercial sectors."