The energy transition and climate change call for new solutions in the energy industry. Buildings account for a significant share of Germany's primary energy consumption. Increasing efficiency in the building sector is therefore an important energy policy goal. In order to make progress here, the previous focus must be shifted from individual buildings to sustainable neighborhood solutions.
MEMAP optimiert die Energieeffizienz und erprobt neue Wege für die Energieversorgung von Quartieren und kann so einen wichtigen Beitrag zur Energiewende leisten.
In the MEMAP research project (duration June 2017 to September 2021), a team of seven companies or research institutions is jointly dedicated to developing an open software platform that enables the planning and operation of neighborhood solutions. The so-called multi-energy management and aggregation platform (MEMAP) allows buildings with different energy requirements to be combined. This can make synergy effects in energy-optimized interconnected operation visible and economically viable, improve efficiency of energy supply and save CO2.
MEMAP: The operating system for smart and sustainable neighborhoods
MEMAP captures the status of local energy generators, analyzes the required energy and calculates the optimal plant operation in an operating plan. The local plants receive a signal to switch on or off. In this way, the utilization of the existing plants in the network is optimized in terms of energy. The local generators are only used when they are available for MEMAP. The optimization target can be customized, and optimization of CO2 emissions or cost minimization is possible.
The user portal of the MEMAP platform offers its participants transparency about the various processes. There, detailed data and evaluations about the plant operation of the quarter and the achieved savings can be retrieved at any time. The MEMAP planning tool enables feasibility studies to be carried out for new quarters as well as for the expansion of existing quarters.
The Riemerling industrial estate near Munich serves as the test area. The energy consumption of the buildings located there is recorded every minute. The load profiles obtained for the electricity and heat requirements of the buildings are used to create calculations for a possible energy network. The load profiles are also used in the CoSES laboratory at the Technical University of Munich to realistically simulate and evaluate a possible energy network. The laboratory thus provides ideal conditions for practical testing of the software platform and verification of the achievable savings.
Taking new paths in energy supply
The Energiewende is one of the most important projects that has been tackled politically in Germany in recent decades. The obligations arising from the Paris Climate Agreement must be met in Germany, but also in all other countries. At the European level, too, the Green Deal shows that a rethink of climate policy and the reduction of CO2 is an important goal. Quarters form a building block here, which is still far from being sufficiently utilized. MEMAP optimizes energy efficiency and is testing new ways of supplying energy to neighborhoods, and can thus make an important contribution to the energy transition .
