Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHTLocal Energy Systems
The "SW.Developer" project has produced decision-making aids and a reference work on technology data relating to the energy transition
How can municipal utilities align their portfolio with both the goals of the energy transition and the development of the energy industry environment? The Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT and Stadtwerke Düsseldorf addressed this question in the "SW.Developer" project. The results: A collection of fact sheets for technologies, energy supply concepts and subsidies, an evaluation tool for local, integrated supply solutions and an online event format.
"Our future energy system will be characterized by a strong decentralization combined with high complexity and dynamics. In this environment, municipal utilities will also have to realign themselves," is the assessment of Jana Schneeloch from Fraunhofer UMSICHT. New business areas, new partnerships and new internal structures are particularly in demand. The difficulty: "Municipal utilities often lack an overview of topics that were previously not directly linked to previous business areas," says Florian Winkler from Stadtwerke Düsseldorf. Resources and suitable tools for dealing with in-depth analysis and further development are also generally in short supply.
This is where the "SW.Developer" project – funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection – came in. The aim was to create a development environment that supports municipal utilities in facing up to the challenges of the energy transition. The result is a collection of fact sheets, an evaluation tool and an online event format.
Freely available reference work for technology data and topics relating to the energy transition
The SW.Wiki is freely available and offers municipal utilities support in the implementation of local energy supply systems. Information on technologies, concepts and subsidies is presented in 120 fact sheets. A link allows users to look at different solution options and also consider related variants. The technical data can also be juxtaposed in a comparison table.
Evaluation tool for local, integrated supply solutions
With the help of SW.Evaluator, municipal utilities can evaluate individual technology concepts and portfolios. The concept evaluation involves concepts for electricity and heat supply as well as e-mobility integration in typical buildings and districts using mathematical optimization. Total costs and direct CO2 emissions can also be presented as relevant key figures. The portfolio evaluation focuses on the sale and contracting of the respective technology concepts as a product solution.
Series of events for exchange within the municipal utility community
The online event series SW.aktiv was launched in May 2021. It offers the municipal utility community the opportunity to exchange ideas on topics such as heat, hydrogen, digitalization, heat planning and infrastructure around five times a year. The structure: First, experts present successful technologies and solutions, which are then discussed together with all participants. The next event will take place on December 3, 2024.
The complete project results are available in the final report. In addition, a follow-up project, "Roadmap.SW", has already been launched. The objective: to support municipal utilities with decarbonization and digitalization. In addition to Fraunhofer UMSICHT as consortium leader, project partners include the Association for the Conservative Use of Energy and Water (ASEW), FIR e. V. at RWTH Aachen University and Ideenstadtwerke from Neustadt am Rübenberge.