Since January 1, 2024, German distribution system operators have been required to reduce the power consumption of controllable consumer devices (SteuVE) to as low as 4.2 kW when necessary to support the grid. Transmitting the continuously variable dimming commands required for this has so far posed a challenge for the energy industry.
After six days and our first appearance as an exhibitor with a new booth concept that stood out and was well-received, we can say: The Light + Building trade show in Frankfurt was a smash hit! With over 2,100 exhibitors and more than 150,000 visitors, the energy was palpable throughout the vast, thematically diverse exhibition halls every single day. At this monumental trade show covering every aspect of building and lighting technology, we wanted to make a statement with our debut appearance.
[:de]E-world Energy & Water 2024 in Essen came to a close on Thursday, February 22, with record numbers, following a few somewhat quieter years. The trade show was vibrant, well-attended, and busier than it had been in a long time—it set a new record with 923 exhibitors from 30 countries and approximately 30,000 trade visitors. The aisles were packed, the booths were bustling, and the exhibitors’ schedules were jam-packed, confirming once again that the industry is on the rise.[:]
We are pleased that the certification process for our new production lines in Landau has been formally completed with the presentation of the certificate. This means that the new facility has been approved by the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) for the production of certified smart meter gateways (SMGW). With the capacity expansion at the new facility to over 1 million SMGWs per year, we are ensuring that our customers have access to the quantities they need as the rollout of smart metering systems scales up. The way is now clear for a smooth scaling up of your rollout in line with the ongoing rollout targets for 2024 and the coming years.
The rollout of CLS devices is also picking up speed. SMGW market leader PPC and meter operator Zählerhelden from Dornstadt plan to install several thousand CLS gateways starting in April of this year. In addition to implementing Section 14a of the Energy Economy Act (EnWG) for end users, the joint solution focuses on other applications for market- and grid-oriented control.
The Bosch Home Comfort Group, Prolan, Robotron, and PPC are taking a joint step forward in the energy-sector development of heat pumps. This collaboration demonstrates that today’s infrastructure—comprising heat pumps, control boxes, and iMSys—is already equipped to meet the grid-oriented requirements of Section 14a, and that market-oriented control and time-varying applications can be implemented via the SG-Ready standard.
The SISSY innovation project was successfully launched at the turn of the year. The focus of this project, funded by the BMWK, is on further developing the intelligent metering system into a central, secure, and scalable gateway at the controllable grid connection point. The standards created through this project will soon make control in accordance with Section 14a of the Energy Economy Act (EnWG) feasible for large numbers of units, thereby making it cost-effective. The project partners are EGS, TMZ, Robotron, KEO, EEBUS, and PPC.
New requirements resulting from the amended Section 14a of the Energy Industry Act (EnWG) have been in effect since January 1, 2024. For E3/DC’s home power plants, their integrated energy management system, and PPC’s interoperable iMSysplatform, experts from both companies were able to demonstrate in tests that users not only meet the new requirements of Section 14a but will also be able to utilize additional market-related applications as well as grid- and system-supporting applications in the future.
While digitalization in the electricity sector has already gained momentum, the heating sector is still proceeding cautiously. There is a lack of transparency in local and district heating networks, a lack of control mechanisms to increase flexibility, and a lack of an integrated, holistic view of electricity and heat. As part of the WARAN research project, EWE NETZ, BTC, wesernetz Bremen, swb Erzeugung, be.storaged, SWR AG, the FfE, and PPC aim to advance these issues in municipal heat supply—specifically regarding sector coupling and digitalization—through a unified and standardized iMSys infrastructure.