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University of Bayreuth, Presse release No. 020/2023 - 2 March 2023

Innovative charging technology for the traffic turnaround: New joint project at the University of Bayreuth on electromobility

Growing electromobility poses new challenges for the infrastructure: Stations for charging batteries must be optimally integrated into the stationary energy network available on site. A comprehensive charging concept for different vehicle types is necessary. The goal of the joint project "eMobiGrid", in which the University of Bayreuth, three medium-sized companies and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft are working closely together, is to develop practical solutions for these challenges and thus accelerate the traffic turnaround. The Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport (BMDV) is funding the project, with a total of around three million euros for three years.

"For a sustainable transportation turnaround to succeed in Germany, very different vehicle systems – ranging from passenger cars and trucks to tractors and construction machinery – must be integrated into an overarching energy infrastructure that promotes electromobility. Commercial companies and private vehicle owners as well as public transport operators must be able to use this infrastructure. This requires forward-looking concepts that can be implemented without great expense. I am very pleased that we are now tackling these challenges in an alliance of partners who bring with them a high level of scientific and technical expertise as well as many years of experience," says Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gerhard Fischerauer, who holds the Chair of Measurement and Control Systems at the University of Bayreuth. At the same time, he points to the high financial commitment of the partners, who are contributing a total of around one million euros to the project in addition to the funding from the BMDV.

Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Digital and Transport, Oliver Luksic (2nd from right), after handing over the funding notifications. Representing the project consortium were Bernd Zeilmann (Richter R&W, left), Dr.-Ing. Birger Becker (EnQS, 2nd from left) and Bernd Wunder (IISB, right).

A central aspect of "eMobiGrid" is the sole use of standardized and intelligent measurement systems that comply with existing energy legislation. At the same time, the project partners want to work together to increase the degree of utilization of renewable energies. For this reason, they are relying on local DC grids. These enable low-loss coupling of battery storage systems, photovoltaic systems, wind turbines and hydrogen technologies, thereby relieving the burden on those power grids that are only weakly developed. In addition, they buffer the overproduction of renewable energies by allowing the batteries of electric vehicles to be used for charging other devices. The DC grids, in turn, are to be coupled with a higher-level AC grid.

However, the overall concept envisaged by the project partners must be extensively tested before it can be applied in practice. In the course of these tests, methods such as "hardware-in-the-loop" and "digital twins" are to be used, among others. The Chair of Measurement and Control Systems, which is a member of the Center for Energy Technology (ZET), can look back on many years of experience in earlier collaborations with two other "eMobiGrid" partners: the company Richter R&W Steuerungstechnik in Ahorntal and Fraunhofer IISB in Erlangen.

Bernd Zeilmann of R&W emphasizes the necessary practicality of all solutions to be developed: "We will align all our solutions with industry-grade resources: programmable logic controllers instead of desktop computers, real-time operating systems instead of Windows, smart meter gateways instead of insecure Internet communication." Prof. Fischerauer strongly agrees with this orientation of the project and says: "A compromise is needed between what is feasible in engineering terms and what can be implemented in practice. We know about measurement and control technology, optimization strategies or AI-supported data evaluation. But if the resulting solutions cannot be easily installed, parameterized, maintained and operated later on, there will be no comprehensive energy transition.

Project partners:
The company Richter R&W Steuerungstechnik in Ahorntal/Upper Franconia is the consortium leader of "eMobiGrid". Together with the company eCharge Hardy Barth in Birgland-Schwend/Upper Palatinate, it will work on the systemic tasks that arise in connection with a new grid interconnection facility to be designed. This facility is intended to enable batteries used in a wide variety of vehicles to have access to the same stationary DC grid. The Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Systems and Device Technology IISB in Erlangen is primarily concerned with the necessary power electronics and battery technology. The Chair of Measurement and Control Systems (MRT), a member of the Center for Energy Technology (ZET) at the University of Bayreuth, together with the company EnQS in Karlsruhe, is taking on the research and development work in the field of intelligent measurement and automation technology.

Funding:
"eMobiGrid" is one of six new collaborative projects funded by the German Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs and Transport (BMDV) to expand electromobility. In total, these projects are being funded with around ten million euros. These funds come from the BMDV's Electromobility Funding Guideline, which is coordinated by the Berlin-based National Organization for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NOW GmbH) and implemented by the project executing organization Jülich (PTJ).

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gerhard Fischerauer

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gerhard Fischerauer

Chair of Measurement and Control Systems
University of Bayreuth

Phone: +49 (0)921 / 55-7230
E-mail: mrt@uni-bayreuth.de

Christian Wißler, Wissenschaftskommunikation

Christian Wißler

Deputy Press & PR Manager, Research Communication
University of Bayreuth

Phone: +49 (0)921 / 55-5356
E-mail: christian.wissler@uni-bayreuth.de