DYNAFLEX^® – Making production systems fit for the future

In the future, producing companies and energy operators will increasingly use low-carbon and renewable electricity. The advantage of “green“ electricity is offset by a disadvantage: It occurs in fluctuating quantities because raw material sources such as the sun and wind fluctuate. Large plants in continuous operation are no longer the status quo. This means that both energy supply and production must adapt to the changing framework conditions. 

Aim

The aim of the Performance Center DYNAFLEX^® is to be able to plan future-proof production systems. They should be coordinated, adaptable, flexible and modular. The Ruhr metropolitan region, with its network of scientists and companies, is to become the leading platform for process dynamics and adaptivity in the energy transition and raw materials shift. Potential partners are companies from the energy, production, chemistry, biotechnology, and plant engineering sectors. In addition, the research results are to be passed on directly to the next generation of scientists via the partner universities and the Fraunhofer Academy, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft's training center, and as further education for specialists and professionals. 

First milestones

The researchers have already set up the structure-building networking platform www.dynaflex.de to educate regional science clusters and as a basis for open interdisciplinary cooperation in simulation. A toolbox was developed as a repository for excellent scientific methods in the field of process dynamics – e.g. for dynamic balancing, analytics or modeling. Furthermore, the researchers are developing new business models and operating concepts for the energy sector and production. Simulation models are used to develop solutions to ensure that energy-related machines and processes retain their functionality over many years despite highly volatile boundary conditions.