The 40,000 square meter Winterling site in Schwarzenbach/Saale is to be given an innovative energy supply system and thus a further incentive for potential tenants. The Institute for Water and Energy Management at Hof University of Applied Sciences (iwe) is currently planning the entire factory complex of the former porcelain manufacturer in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, the Bavarian Center for Applied Energy Research (ZAE), the Institute for Energy and Competition Law in the Municipal Economy (EWeRK), the owner gKU Winterling Immobilien and other partners. In the “InEs” project, different forms of energy and waste heat are to be used. The town of Schwarzenbach/Saale itself is also involved in the project.
“The project now underway will help in the medium and long term to revitalize the entire company site, which is rich in tradition, even more – I am convinced of that,” says Cäcilia Scheffler, board member of gKU Winterling and thus representative of the owner of the buildings
Elementary for a long-term lease are the energy costs and the question how a modern energy supply for such a gigantic area can look like to be sustainably attractive for investors.”
Cäcilia Scheffler, executive Board member gKU Immobilien
2 million euros in funding
Hof University of Applied Sciences is part of a consortium led by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems and the Bavarian Center for Applied Energy Research (ZAE), which can now build on the existing urban master planning for the Winterling site by the Fickenscher architectural firm from Hof and plan and implement an innovative energy supply system for the entire site. A corresponding application to the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) for funding for the planning and conception of the project has now been approved. The total sum approved in the grant notice for the planning phase alone up to August 2023 is an impressive EUR 2 million. The official project title is: “InEs – Innovative Energy Supply System for a Commercial Quarter in Transition (Part 1: Planning)”.
Image: gKU;
Intelligent linking of energy sources
“Our goal is to profitably combine forms of energy and make all existing sources usable. To do this, we need to involve many partners and think creatively,” says Gloria Streib, project manager at ZAE, which is responsible for data collection and the development of necessary technologies, among other things, in the project. The team from Hof University of Applied Sciences is helping to plan the new energy supply system and is drawing up aCO2 life cycle assessment that will provide information about the future viability of different parts of the building.
Waste heat recovery and heat storage
To achieve a smart energy supply for the complex, different systems need to be technically adapted to run optimally. This applies, for example, to the treatment of wastewater from the Lallemand-DHW yeast factory, where biogas is produced by an innovative process developed by UTS (Umwelttechnik Schwarzenbach). “The potential of waste heat utilization is enormous here. We would like to use this on site and at the same time install a heat storage system in the basement that allows the energy to be supplied to the complex when it is needed,” says project team member Oliver Stark. Another starting point for strengthening the energy supply system is cooperation with the STELLA company, which maintains a photovoltaic system in the southern part of the Winterling site. It is conceivable here, for example, to have a joint neighborhood electrical storage system. But first, the installation and readout of state-of-the-art measurement technology will lay the foundation for planning.
Building issues follow
In the future, various issues, especially structural ones, will have to be resolved in order to link the energy sources and install building-integrated thermal storage systems
In the implementation phase, the main issues will be statics, insulation and sealing. The basement rooms are rather unsuitable for the cylindrical heat tanks due to their geometry, so there will have to be adjustments here as well in order to implement the overall system now emerging in the simulation.”
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Tobias Plessing
But for the time being, this remains pie in the sky: the implementation of the now created energy supply system in reality is to be tackled via a follow-up application from the end of 2023.
Optimistic view of the future
The town of Schwarzenbach itself is excited about the prospects arising from the cooperation: “The reactivation of the Winterling site is one of the major urban development challenges facing our town. The current project will provide the energy basis for revitalizing the area in the future. As a municipality, we are extremely happy about this,” says Mayor Hans-Peter Baumann.
Involved in the project as a joint partner
– gKU Winterling Immobilien (owner)
– Bavarian Center for Applied Energy Research e. V.
– Institute for Water and Energy Management at Hof University of Applied Sciences (iwe)
– Institute for Energy and Competition Law in the Municipal Sector e. V. at
Humboldt University Berlin
– Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, Freiburg
Associated partners:
– City of Schwarzenbach a.d. Saale
– Stadtwerke Schwarzenbach a.d. Saale
– UTS Umwelttechnik Schwarzenbach GmbH
– Lallemand-DHW GmbH, Zweiniederlassung Schwarzenbach a.d. Saale
– STELLA Keramik GmbH
– DELSANA GmbH & Co. KG
– CERVOTEC GmbH & Co. KG
– Eurowind Energy GmbH
