17.05.2024
Source: Energie & Management Powernews
A new Deneff institution presented itself at the Berlin Energy Days. Awa-Netz aims to bring together waste heat sources and their users in order to increase efficiency.
The important role of networks for greater energy efficiency and climate protection was a topic at the Berlin Energy Days. They took place on May 15 and 16 at the IHK. To mark the occasion, Valentina Fröhlich presented a new network, the Awa-Netz. The project manager of the Deneff Energy Services Hub said that it was high time to use waste heat because it has a double effect on greenhouse gas emissions. Excess energy would no longer be wasted at the source, and users would save additional energy use.
Accompanied by new legal regulations, the topic must now be made mandatory in some companies. Section 16 of the Energy Efficiency Act and ISO 50 001 require the use of waste heat for companies with an annual consumption of 2,770 MW or more. An internet platform has also recently been launched on which companies must report their potential so that they can find buyers. (We reported)
The new "Awa-Netz" initiative aims to help connect waste heat sources and their customers, explained Fröhlich. Fröhlich explained that the Bytes-to-Heat project, which aims to tap into waste heat from data centers, has already identified obstacles. According to surveys by Deneff, there is already a potential of 11 to 13 billion kWh of waste heat in the vicinity of heating networks. This amount could be tapped by networks that are planned or under construction.
Removing obstacles to the use of waste heat
For example, companies often consider the amortization periods for waste heat to be too long and decision-making processes are too short-term, for example for ramping up or ramping down production. In addition, there is sometimes a lack of space for waste heat recovery. For waste heat to be used with consumers outside the company, there would have to be a physical proximity to the users and a suitable consumption structure for a heating network. Here, for example, usage times and temperatures do not always match the source.
Awa-Netz wants to immediately promote solutions for scaling waste heat utilization. This is because companies often lack the expertise to use it. To this end, stakeholders are to be networked and best-practice examples published. A "Federal Waste Heat Conference" will bring together all German stakeholders and will meet for the first time on October 10, 2024 in Berlin, announced Fröhlich. German industry has a total of 60 to 70 billion kWh of secured technically usable heat potential in exhaust gas. This needs to be tapped in order to increase energy efficiency and achieve climate protection targets cost-effectively.
Author: Susanne Harmsen
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