The EU funding programme European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) supports projects for technology transfer between universities and university hospitals and Bavarian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The aim is to stimulate innovation in SMEs. The aim is to support companies in their current issues through science and research. Across Bavaria, 24 projects were selected for this funding. The topics range from climate-adapted urban development to immunotherapies.
The selected research project at OTH Regensburg is entitled ‘Planning and Operation of Energy Systems for SMEs and Industrial Companies’ (PlanBEKIn) and is led by Prof. Dr Oliver Brückl. This will result in a total funding amount of around 1.3 million euros for the university. "The project is all about this transfer between OTH Regensburg and several regional companies with the aim of developing and implementing a system for optimising energy use in companies. In addition to electricity procurement, the project will also focus on making the best possible use of the connection capacity of the electricity grid and the provision of grid services by the companies. The project thus acts as an interface between the company, its electricity supplier and the electricity grid operator," says Prof. Brückl, who works in the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology on the topics of electrical networks, grid and energy management.
‘I am very pleased that we at OTH Regensburg are receiving financial support from the EU's ERDF funding programme,’ says Prof. Brückl. At OTH Regensburg's Technology Campus (TC) in Schwandorf, he and his team, together with manufacturers and users, will develop an intelligent energy management and optimisation system (iEMOS) as part of PlanBEKIn. The iEMOS comprises three components for SMEs: planning optimisation for investment decisions, operational optimisation for deployment and scheduling decisions, and the option of self-sufficient and emergency power supply.
‘The question that companies are asking themselves more and more frequently is: How can I use electricity when it is cheap on the exchange, how can I economically bridge phases with high electricity exchange prices?’ explains Prof. Brückl. In future, dynamic electricity grid fees could be offered not only by electricity traders but also by electricity grid operators. Put simply, the idea behind the project combines price signals for electricity from the exchange with information on grid utilisation and the associated grid fees. This creates a completely new system that uses automatic calculations to issue recommendations on investment and deployment decisions for companies.
Prof. Brückl is convinced that the funded project will result in a very good solution with high marketing potential – many companies have already declared their willingness to participate, and their classic operating systems are to be further expanded and optimised. Another network project is being developed to accompany the PlanBEKIn research project. ‘Cooperation with regional SMEs and OTH Regensburg is very important for further development. Companies interested in the topic are therefore welcome to contact us,’ says Prof. Brückl.
The PlanBEKIn project will run until 31 August 2028. Current research projects at OTH Regensburg are available here.
