Efficient building and systems technology

Project duration: January 2014 - December 2017

The increasing use of renewable energy technologies to cover energy demand requires the development of technical solutions for efficient, flexible and cost-effective generation and load management.

An interdisciplinary research network consisting of the Solar Institute Jülich and the Faculties of Energy Technology, Electrical Engineering and Information Technology and Civil Engineering at FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences is dedicated to the challenge of equipping buildings with heat pumps (HP) or combined heat and power (CHP) units and thermal storage capacity. In this way, it acts as an interface between the electricity and heating markets and helps to balance out fluctuations in the electricity grid.

In addition to generator management and building load management, the concept to be developed also includes human-machine communication. This opens up the possibility of efficiently utilising excess capacities in the fluctuating energy supply from renewable sources and stabilising the electricity grid by providing positive and negative balancing power. Using the example of a fictitious reference building (hardware-in-the-loop, simulation), the potential of the concept is determined, whereby in particular the scope for decision-making for the operator in the interaction of CHP, heat pump and storage capacity is prepared and presented, taking into account the weather and utilisation forecast as well as the requirements from the power grid.

Project funding:

Project duration: 01.07.2022 - 31.01.2025

The aim of this ZIM project is to develop a new type of SCR wire mesh element for exhaust gas aftertreatment in order to reduce the nitrogen oxides (_NOx) produced during the combustion of fuels in the engine as far as possible. The planned KAT system is designed for small CHP units with an output of up to 50 kW and is suitable both for original equipment and for retrofitting existing exhaust gas systems in CHP units. The aim is to achieve a high SCR catalytic converter efficiency of ≥ 95 %.

For the design of the knitted wire mesh elements, a new type of CFD flow simulation is required, with which the modelling of complex, multi-layer knitted wire meshes and their exhaust gas properties can be carried out for the first time. This development and series of tests to validate the calculations are being carried out by the Solar Institute Jülich at FH Aachen.

A further development within "EasyPlug" is the automation of the combined manufacturing process of the knitted wire mesh elements, which are currently wound by hand to a large extent and therefore cannot guarantee reproducible quality across the board. This generation of consistent quality and the associated guaranteed nitrogen oxide reduction capacity is to be made possible by automating and connecting the individual components (knitting, winding, pressing).

The co-operation partner eloona GmbH develops the geometry of the knitted wire mesh elements on the basis of the optimum production parameters determined by simulation. The developed geometries are being researched in particular for their coating capability and an optimised coating method is also being developed.

Project duration: February 2022 - August 2022

umlaut SE, the Institute NOWUM-Energy and the Solar Institute Jülich were commissioned by the copper town of Stolberg, the Aachen city region, the Aachen Chamber of Industry and Commerce and AGIT mbh to carry out a study on the climate-friendly transformation of industry in Stolberg. This study is set in the context of the challenges of structural change and the energy transition in the Aachen region as well as the reconstruction efforts following the floods in July 2021. The project is supported by the majority of the industrial companies located in the Stolberg valley axis. The aim of the study is to draw up a roadmap for the decarbonisation of Stolberg's industry and a funding application for a core project that represents the start of this roadmap.

At the beginning of the study, basic consumption and process data will be collected with the help of a questionnaire and inspections of the participating industrial companies and analysed with regard to energy saving and substitution potential. Furthermore, the potential of the entire Stolberg region for the further expansion of a regenerative energy supply infrastructure is analysed. On this basis, project ideas for the climate-friendly transformation of the valley axis will be developed. In consultation with the clients and industrial companies, a core project idea is determined for which a suitable funding programme is identified and a funding application is drawn up. This funding application is submitted to the client at the end of the project together with the roadmap, which also contains the other project ideas developed.

Project partner:

• umlaut SE
• Institute NOWUM-Energy of the FH Aachen

Client:

• Kupferstadt Stolberg
• Aachen city region
• Aachen Chamber of Industry and Commerce
• Aachener Gesellschaft für Innovation und Technologietransfer mbH

Project start: January 2020

Duration: 1.5 years

Algae are photosynthetically active organisms and can accumulate large quantities of nutrients. For example, they can contribute to the removal of nitrates and phosphates from wastewater streams and thus help to reduce the pollution of surface and groundwater. The processing of nutrients from waste streams by algae is an up-and-coming technology that should help to realise intensive agriculture in the bioeconomy region without increasing water pollution, but can also be exported to other regions worldwide. The biomass obtained can also be utilised in biorefineries and converted into higher-value products. In a global context, the algae biomass obtained from wastewater (e.g. from the food industry) is also a promising material basis for curbing progressive desertification in remote regions.

In order to demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of this new technology in "structural change", a scalable demonstrator is being developed that consists of linkable modules based on 20-foot ISO containers. Two modules will be built as demonstrators by the SIJ and the IBG-2; an algae photobioreactor module and a spectral module that provides light and energy from sunlight. Both systems are part of the "Container-based biorefinery" demonstrator.

Project partners:

• Research Centre Jülich / Institute of Bio- and Geosciences 1: Plant Sciences (IBG-2)

Project duration: January 2019 - December 2023

The primary objective of the research project is to develop a procedure for the ecological assessment, optimisation and control of technical building enclosures based on a dynamic life cycle analysis, taking into account both short-term (hourly fluctuations in specific emissions (g CO2/kWh) from electricity generation) and long-term (decarbonisation of the electricity market) effects. The project uses current scenarios that simulate the dynamically developing energy market over a period of several decades. Accordingly, data sets with a high temporal resolution of the emissions that have an impact on the life cycle assessment are generated. In this respect, the aim is to further develop a simulation tool in MATLAB/Simulink for the dynamic simulation of thermotechnical systems with the additional sectors of the electricity market and transport in combination with a limited load flow calculation for the electricity supply network to be analysed and a freely definable balance area. The method should be applicable to both individual buildings and neighbourhoods.

Project partner:

• Viessmann Werke GmbH & Co.
• ina Planungsgesellschaft mbH

Project sponsor:

• Federal Ministry of Education and Research

Project duration: 31.05.2023 - 20.05.2024

Like the federal government, NRW has set itself the goal of completely decarbonising its heating supply by 2045. Among other things, this means that the space heating and hot water demand of 123 to 148 TWh/a in 2045 must be completely covered by climate-friendly and renewable energies. In the study, which is being carried out by a consortium consisting of the Fraunhofer IFAM, IEG, UMSICHT, Bochum University of Applied Sciences and the Solar Institute Jülich, all relevant heat generation options were analysed and their energy potential determined. The greatest available potential for the year 2045 was determined for near-surface geothermal energy with a potential of 135 TWh/a, (medium) deep geothermal energy (hydrothermal) with 38 TWh/a and industrial waste heat with a potential of 35 TWh/a. However, other heat sources such as waste heat from electrolysers or data centres also have a regionally significant potential. The study also analysed the potential of ground-mounted solar thermal energy in NRW for the first time.

With the potential study on heat supply in NRW, the LANUV is supporting cities and municipalities in the creation of municipal heat plans in accordance with the Heat Planning Act. The law stipulates that the existing and potential must be determined regionally and then described in a scenario analysis as to how a climate-neutral heat supply can be achieved within the municipal area. The data collected by the LANUV makes heat planning easier for the municipalities, as the nationwide data can serve as a basis and therefore does not have to be collected by each municipality separately. All results collected in the study will be freely available for download as geodata after completion.

Project partners:

• Fraunhofer IFAM
• Fraunhofer IEG
• UMSICHT
• Bochum University of Applied Sciences
• Solar Institute Jülich of FH Aachen

SEG Jülich is planning a new development area for single and multi-family homes, a daycare centre and a healthcare facility. In addition, at least 8 plots are to be created for so-called "tiny houses".

On behalf of Stadtwerke Jülich (SWJ) and Stadtentwicklungsgesellschaft (SEG), SIJ is preparing an energy concept study in collaboration with Fraunhofer IEG, which includes the following points:

• Assumptions on heating/cooling and electricity requirements and other relevant parameters are agreed with the client.
• Definition of reference buildings to KfW55 standard with air-to-water heat pumps, PV systems and a wallbox with 11 kW charging capacity.
• In a first step, 10 alternative concept variants including grid-based solutions are developed, described and dimensioned and assessed using generalised empirical values with regard to technical and economic properties according to the Typtage method. An evaluation matrix is agreed with the client.

Three variants are selected together with SEG/SWJ, which are then evaluated and optimised in more detail in dynamic simulation calculations. Demand scenarios are calculated on the basis of weather data (1 current, 1 future year), whereby total demand and peak load are determined. An investment and operating cost estimate is carried out in each case, as well as a climate impact assessment in_{CO2 equivalents}. The robustness of the calculations is checked by means of sensitivity analyses (weather, load profiles, key cost assumptions).