(German title: Smarte Batchprozesse im Energiesystem der Zukunft)

Accounting for 11% of electricity demand, the process industry is one of the main consumers of electrical energy in Germany. Converting the process industry to a renewable electricity supply is therefore crucial to the success of the energy transition. Up to now, the electricity requirements of the processes have been covered according to demand. With a variable renewable power supply, however, processes must be able to be operated flexibly in line with the electricity supply in the future. For the design and operation of flexible processes, fundamentally new methods and procedures must therefore be developed and tested in real applications. At the same time, the electrical energy supply must be flexibly adaptable in order to harmonize the integration of renewable energy sources with supply-oriented process management. New concepts and technologies must also be developed and investigated in this area. Expertise from the fields of chemistry, biotechnology and process engineering, electrical energy technology, production management and sustainable recycling management must be brought together in a targeted manner. The interdisciplinary project team is tackling this field of research. A particular focus is placed on batch processes and DC-based supply networks. The former are widespread in the process industry, both in medium-sized and large companies, and therefore make a significant contribution to electricity demand. The latter are particularly advantageous for linking electricity-based production processes with renewable generators and storage facilities.

Batch processes are characterized by the fact that various units (agitators, pumps, electric heaters, etc.) are started up and shut down during a cycle in order to carry out different process steps one after the other. For this reason, the demand for electricity in these processes is not continuous, but highly variable over time. This is offset by the fluctuating supply of electricity from renewable generation. The challenge is to dynamically adapt the operation of the batch processes to the electricity supply and at the same time implement the processes cost-effectively, sustainably and with high quality. In order to efficiently combine supply-oriented process management with renewable electricity generation, new structures and components are required in the energy grids. To this end, the generation, storage, distribution and use of electricity in the processes must be optimally coordinated. This requires an interdisciplinary approach that links the underlying chemistry (biological and chemical syntheses), the process engineering level (reaction technology and purification processes), the energy technology level (grid technologies and power electronics), the process control level (energy and thermal management) and the process management level in a holistic manner and which is supported by a transdisciplinary life cycle analysis. Batch-based production processes and DC-based supply networks are set up and investigated on a laboratory scale in demonstrators. Generic methods and technologies are derived from the knowledge gained.

The project is supported by an advisory board from industry in order to incorporate the concerns of practical application into the research at an early stage and to reflect the results directly in the application. The project will profoundly strengthen RPTU's strategic research field of “Resource Efficiency and Sustainable Development” and thus make a significant contribution to the further development of the University of Technology's profile. The project will decisively strengthen the interface between the natural sciences, process and energy technology and economics against the background of resource efficiency. The project team will build on these activities in subsequent research activities in this future-oriented field, particularly in cooperation with companies to transfer the technologies into application.