Vienna (OTS) –
- 2nd program period of Aspern Smart City Research GmbH successfully completed
- 45 million euros were invested in energy research projects
- 20 application examples, 4 funding projects and 166 research questions were processed
- Change of shareholder: Wiener Stadtwerke joins as a shareholder, Wien Energie remains as a project partner
- 3. Program period 2024-2028: Research with a focus on buildings and energy networks
The second program period of one of Europe’s largest energy research projects, Aspern Smart City Research GmbH, was successfully completed. In the last five years, a total of 45 million euros have been invested in research into the future of energy in urban areas. Over 150 employees from the research company of Siemens, Wien Energie, Wiener Netze as well as Wien 3420 and the Vienna Business Agency worked on 20 use cases, four funding projects, numerous energy concepts and over 166 research questions. With success: scientifically based solutions have been created for a modern, clean and decentralized energy supply in cities.
Vienna solution is an international example of success
The awareness of the ASCR as a research brand has increased significantly. Around 3,000 visitors from renowned delegations, companies and from a wide variety of countries have been guests at the research company in the last five years. There they learned more about clean energy production, energy efficiency, “talking buildings” and smart networks. The ASCR’s real research laboratory attracted media attention from Vancouver to Sao Paulo to New Delhi. Locally in Vienna, ASCR research contributes to decarbonization and shows comprehensive paths for clean and decentralized energy supply.
„The Vienna goal ‘Get out of gas’ has a concrete action plan. The energy transition brings new demands on cities. With innovative projects like Aspern Smart City Research, we gain exactly the practical knowledge we need to make Vienna climate-neutral
“ says Finance and Economics City Councilor Peter Hanke happily.
„When the ASCR began its work ten years ago, Aspern was more of a former airfield than a lakeside town. Solving the complex energy issues in urban areas was more of a vision than a plan. We were right back then to start this large energy research project and will consistently continue on this path. The ASCR helps to solve future issues facing our city – from the major goal of climate neutrality, the key word being out of gas in existing buildings, to security of supply, to digitalization and innovation
“, says Peter Weinelt, general director of Wiener Stadtwerke from January 1, 2024, who will be the new ASCR shareholder in the coming program period 2024-2028.
The two managing directors Georg Pammer and Matthias Gressel on the successful conclusion of this intensive program period: “The cross-domain know-how of our shareholders in the areas of technologies, network infrastructure, buildings and urban planning enables us to research the entire energy cycle of a city.
“
Decentralized energy supply needs new synergies
From 2024, Wiener Stadtwerke will start the next program period as new shareholders together with Siemens, Wiener Netze, the Vienna Business Agency and Vienna 3420. “A special thank you goes to Wien Energie, which will complete its research work at the end of this program period,” said the two ASCR managing directors.
After ten years of successful cooperation, Wien Energie is leaving as a shareholder, but remains as an important project partner.
„We have developed many important research results together with the ASCR partners in this integrative environment and have been able to transfer valuable findings into our product development, for example in decentralized energy supply, electromobility and intelligent building control. We will of course continue to use the valuable synergies that this research company, which is unique in Europe, offers us
“, emphasizes Michael Strebl, Chairman and CEO of Wien Energie.
Five key results of “ASCR 2023” for the energy future of cities
(1) Buildings as prosumers
One point of decarbonization of cities is buildings. With numerous measuring points and sensors, the buildings researched by the ASCR provide valuable real-time data. They are resilient prosumers, i.e. energy producers and consumers who can coordinate with the energy grid with regard to their respective energy production and consumption. The buildings make decisions based on weather data or the usage behavior of the residents. “Based on the knowledge and experience gained here, we have succeeded in developing new products and solutions for designing efficient energy systems or expanding existing ones
“, says Patricia Neumann, CEO Siemens Austria. “As part of Use Case 12, b.eos, a system from Siemens for energy efficiency in buildings, was developed. This allows savings potential to be generated and energy costs for buildings to be reduced by up to 20 percent.”
(2) Intelligent sensors and Smart Grid Lab for the networks
Twelve grid stations, five grid storage systems, 24 transformers and 500 installed smart meters enable the Wiener Netze to research and further strengthen the existing electricity grid infrastructure in Aspern Seestadt. “The digitization of networks, research into and testing innovations is very important in regular network operations. And that’s exactly what we can live in and with the ASCR: develop innovative concepts, try them out, analyze them and implement them online
“, says Thomas Maderbacher, Managing Director of Wiener Netze. As part of an ASCR research project, the Wiener Netze have created a Smart Grid Lab, where various problems and faults are simulated under real conditions in order to identify and resolve them even more quickly.
(3) New technologies for energy supply using the example of hybrid controllers
As part of Use Case 18, researchers from Wien Energie and Siemens designed a controller that can intelligently control Austria’s largest hybrid power plant. The Wien Energie power plant supplies over 17,400 households with energy from wind and solar. The controller optimizes the use of network resources and controls Wien Energie’s PV and wind farms in Trumau intelligently and independently. “We are pushing ahead with the expansion of renewable energies. This requires a mix of different forms of energy, such as sun and wind. The hybrid controller allows us to compensate for changing weather conditions to support the network. This is a milestone for decentralized energy supply
“, explains Michael Strebl, Chairman and CEO of Wien Energie.
(4) Digitalization as a lever for the energy transition
In order to make the building sector more energy efficient, energy concepts must be taken into account right from the start. For an office building of the business agency in Aspern Seestadt, TZ 2, the ASCR achieved great success thanks to a digital building twin using “Building Information Modeling”. On the basis of this data, Smart Maintenance – predictive maintenance – could be further advanced and used for the construction of another building before the planning phase began. “In the technology center, all processes from planning to construction to commissioning were carried out digitally in advance, so the actual construction and maintenance of a building can be carried out cost-efficiently and in a resource-saving manner – an important piece of the puzzle on the roadmap to becoming a climate-neutral business location
“, confirms Gerhard Hirczi, Managing Director of the Vienna Business Agency.
(5) Smart cities as an economic location factor
As the Urban Lab of Smart City Vienna, Seestadt tests a variety of innovations for people who live in cities. This means that the ASCR’s research in Aspern Seestadt is an important location factor, among other things, for the establishment of future industries “Active participation in the energy transition is essential for us. That’s exactly why we are partners of the ASCR. Our role in this cooperation is to link energy research with important aspects of urban development
“, emphasizes Robert Grüneis, CEO of Vienna 3420 aspern Development AG.
Questions & Contact:
Lena Medved
Ecker & Partner
+43 676 366 8316
presse@ascr.at