Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering IESE
Energy is the indispensable basis for the functioning of our economy. Despite all efforts to increase efficiency, we still consume ever more fossile energy and are dependent on suppliers. Our locally available renewable energies offer independence, security of supply, and affordability in the long term.
The changes in the energy industry in Germany in the past 15 years are remarkable, considering the increase in the proportion of renewable energies. However, this success is put into perspective if one takes into account that an import/ export balance that was still balanced in the year 2000 today shows a strong export surplus fed from cheap fossile power plant outputs. The desired reduction of CO 2 emissions in power generation failed to materialize because, due to the no longer functioning trade with CO 2 certificates and low fuel prices, the coal-fired power plants, which are particularly harmful to the environment, are able to produce power at competitive rates, whereas modern gas-fired power plants are unable to compete.
The energy system is becoming the more decentralized the more electricity is generated from photovoltaics and wind, but also from CHP and biogas plants. Already today, several millions of volatile plants are connected to a (by historical design) centrally controlled power grid in Germany, whereas prior to the turnaround in energy policy, there were only a few thousand plants with stable generation. Are these plants interconnected via ICT? No, they are not!
IESE makes very specific contributions to realizing the vision of the energy system of the future. It focuses mainly on a safe and reliable ICT system architecture (by design), on integrated, transparent data usage control, on standardization, and on openness. In various projects, the above-mentioned cellular-hierarchical system is being implemented prototypically and is the subject of ongoing research; concepts for integrated data usage control (from collection to final use) of data are being tested; and safety and security features are being defined, tested, and demonstrated.