ISEA involved in Herzogenrath Energy Park research project

12/07/2023
 

Four chairs and institutes are part of the consortium supporting Herzogenrath in becoming the first city in NRW to establish a CO2-neutral energy supply.

The German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection is supporting the city of Herzogenrath on its way to becoming the first city in North Rhine-Westphalia to establish a CO2-neutral energy supply by 2030. To this end, the "Herzogenrath Energy Park" research project run by a consortium comprising Siemens Energy, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen University of Applied Sciences and Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences is now being funded with around 2.7 million euros. Furthermore, the project has associated local partners in the form of the Eifel-Rur Water Association, the local energy supplier ENWOR and Nivelsteiner Sandwerke und Sandsteinbrüche GmbH.

The project is also closely interlinked with other ongoing research and funding projects: at the local flat glass producer Saint Gobain, CO2-free production is being researched, in which the Chair of Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Systems Technology at the EON Energy Research Center (ERC) of RWTH is involved. RWTH and Nivelsteiner Sandwerke und Sandsteinbrüche GmbH are researching new technologies for sustainable raw material and energy supply in a real laboratory in Herzogenrath/Nivelstein, and the ELMAR project is already testing the use of electric heavy-duty transport machines in the local raw material industry.

Participating in the new project "Energy Park Herzogenrath Research and Development" on the part of the RWTH are the Chair of Urban Water Management and Water Quality Management (ISA), the Institute for Advanced Mining Technologies (AMT), the Chair of Mineral Resources Processing (AMR) and the Chair of Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Systems Technology at the EON Energy Research Center (ERC).

With the help of a digital twin, the project aims to map how the local energy generation share can be increased while realizing minimal supply costs. Part of the concept is also to leverage the potential of the largest photovoltaic plant in North Rhine-Westphalia. Furthermore, it will be investigated how the heat supply can be optimized by using waste heat sources, heat pumps and combined heat and power in a local grid. In addition, integration for the local generation and use of green hydrogen and other gases will be networked. The energy demand in the mobility sector will also be investigated in an integrated manner in the overall concept.

The high complexity of this cross-sector energy supply approach will be addressed in the research and development project by mapping individual system components. Municipal consumers such as a sewage treatment plant will be considered, as will industrial user groups, using the example of the sand works for raw material extraction and energy-intensive flat glass production. On the other hand, there are modern generation plants such as floating photovoltaics and local hydrogen production.

In order to operate as cost-efficiently as possible and derive new business models, marketing options are also being investigated that consider the integration of various wholesale platforms and system services. The research of the RWTH scientists comprises a funding volume of around 918,000 euros of the total 2.7 million euros.

Contact:
Dr. Christian Bussar
Abteilungsleitung Battery Grid Integration and Storage System Analysis
Chair for Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Systems at RWTH Aachen

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