Germany Opens New Windows on Energy

A €230m project on future energy was opened by Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Sigmar Gabriel in Germany on Wednesday.

The project is called SINTEG (Schaufenster intelligente Energie/ Shop window for intelligent energy), with the catchline Digitale Agenda für die Energiewende (Digital Agenda for the Energy Transition), a part of Germany's overall strategic project 'Innovative Digitisation of the German Economy'.

Designed to fund research into innovative technologies and systems for energy supply in the future, SINTEG funds five so-called 'Shop Window regions', each with a specific focus (details below).
The priority topics subject to research for Germany's Energy Transition are the integration of the increased renewable energy production into the overall supply, the flexibility and stability of the national grid, energy efficiency and the construction of intelligent energy grids. The Ministry expects the participating regional authorities and the private companies involved to invest a total €1.60 for each Euro invested by the Ministry, meaning a total investment in the project of some €600m is predicted over the next four years.

"This represents a significant step forward for Germany's research and investment efforts in the energy transition," said Thomas Grigoleit, Director of Energy and Environmental Technology at Germany Trade & Invest, the country's economic development agency. "The amounts invested and the scope of the project should create an enormous array of sub-projects and innovative value-adding solutions for all manner of problems, while also extending the knowledge base and abilities of the many SMEs involved in these sub-projects.

"Therefore, as well as moving Germany's overall Energiewende forward, SINTEG will create hundreds of value-adding propositions ready for export or further investment for those looking for advance in these industries."

The project proposals from the five Shop Window regions are to be submitted over the next six months and will start in earnest during the second half of 2016.

The five Shop Window regions are:

1. "C/sells: Großflächiges Schaufenster im Solarbogen Süddeutschland" - In Bavaria, Baden-Württemburg and Hessen, focussed on optimising production and consumption of solar energy.
2. "Designetz: Baukasten Energiewende - Von Einzellösungen zum effizienten System der Zukunft" - In Nordrhein-Westphalia, Rheinland-Palatinate and Saarland, focussed on using solar and wind energy to supply urban and industrial centres.
3. "enera: Der nächste große Schritt der Energiewende" - In Lower Saxony, focussed on grid services, to stablise grids locally and improve the reliability of energy supply from renewable energies.
4. "NEW 4.0: Norddeutsche EnergieWende" - in Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg, focussed on ensuring that the region will be powered by 70% regenerative energy by 2025.
5. "WindNODE: Das Schaufenster für intelligente Energie aus dem Nordosten Deutschlands" - All five former Eastern states and Berlin, focussed on efficiently integrating renewable production into a system of power, heat and mobility.