The cities of Stuttgart and Überlingen are collaborating together in the “Urban District 2050 – Solving Challenges Together” research project. The project goal is to remodel and develop two districts to create affordable, climate-neutral housing. The two municipalities are tackling the tasks in different ways. Their systematic approaches will enable, however, the experience gained by the respective demonstration districts to be also utilised by the other city.  more...

Boilers powered by biogenic fuels emit more particulate matter than oil and gas boilers. In order to safely undercut the stricter limit values in all operating states, which have been in place since the beginning of 2015, researchers and plant manufacturers are working together to achieve the emission-reduced operation of biomass heating systems by means of secondary emission reduction measures.  more...

The ecclesiastical funding body wanted to use ecological building materials for the construction of a new primary school and, with the energy-optimised building, ensure a high degree of learning comfort with manageable operating costs. This resulted in the first Passive House school building to be constructed using a timber frame structure in Saxony- Anhalt. Multi-year monitoring and accompanying sociological research have verified both its energy efficiency and acceptance.  more...

Energy agencies of the German Federal States of Baden-Württemberg, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia have developed a tool under the name KOM.EMS for establishing and operating an energy management system for municipal administrations. The tool aids in evaluating, optimising and perpetuating energy management. The online tool was unveiled to the public on 13 September.  more...

Since its refurbishment, the vocational college in Detmold generates more primary energy than it consumes. For this purpose, the facades and the top storeys have been insulated with cellulose, passive house windows have been installed and the roof areas have been covered with PV panels. The existing heating system continues to be used with reduced temperatures. Since 2016, there has been a comprehensive monitoring of its operation.  more...

The German cabinet has passed the new, 7th “Innovations for Energy Transition” Energy Research Programme. The programme replaces its predecessor from 2011. Content-wise, the programme builds on the successes of recent years, sets new courses and defines focal points for research funding and innovation policy in the energy sector. For the years 2018-2022, the German Government is budgeting 6.4 billion euros for energy research.  more...

Large-scale solar thermal systems are being increasingly used in heating networks. The Steinbeis Research Institute Solites in collaboration with international partner organisations has created a newly designed information service on solar-supported heating networks at www.solare-waermenetze.de. At the heart of the web platform is a database that provides comprehensive technical and economic expert knowledge.  more...

In addition to the “Biotonne”, the organic waste bin used by German households for mainly disposing of domestic vegetable waste, the separate collection of coarse woody materials from garden and park waste could provide a significant amount of fuel for thermal utilisation. Scientists have investigated the potential provided by biomass that is better suited for combustion in CHP plants instead of composting.  more...

A new, almost climate-neutral urban district is being built on the site of a former freight yard in Esslingen. Over a period of five years, scientists in the planned Neue Weststadt district are experimenting with an innovative energy supply concept with which electricity surpluses from intermittent renewable energies will be converted into hydrogen, stored and, if necessary, returned to the grid. The district will also serve as a real-world laboratory for the system-supportive coupling of the heating, cooling, electricity and mobility sectors.  more...

Last week, TU Dresden officially launched the long-term National 5G Energy Hub research project. This is aimed at making the future 5G mobile standard usable for applications in energy technology. Project partners are TU Dresden in cooperation with RWTH Aachen, Deutsche Telekom and Ericsson. In addition, the associated partners Techem, VDZ, E.ON and the city of Dresden are also involved.  more...