The objective of the project is the development of a modular digital platform that can be used to intelligently control industrial energy flows and demand responsiveness in local energy communities. At the same time, FlexBIT is pursuing the goal of automated manufacturing by operationalizing energy and demand response management as a digital component of the manufacturing environment. It is focusing on the industrial energy community in Magdeburg with the project partners aRTE Möbel GmbH and Aue Bestattungen GmbH. Both companies use PV systems to generate power and will benefit from new energy-sharing models in the future.

In particular, manufacturing processes, air compressors, battery storage systems and electric vehicle charging infrastructure are being integrated into the energy management system at aRTE Möbel GmbH. Battery storage systems, chillers and electric vehicle charging points are the centerpiece of digital control in the energy community at Aue Bestattungen GmbH. The goal is to use renewable energies more efficiently locally and to integrate industrial demand responsiveness intelligently.

Another key activity in the project is the development of blockchain-based digital trust-solutions by Fraunhofer IFF. Such technologies will document energy flows transparently and tamper-proof, improve the traceability of energy sustainability and boost trust between producers and consumers.

“With FlexBIT, we are demonstrating how industrial companies can actively contribute to the energy transition while developing new energy sharing models’ business capabilities,” explains Pio Alessandro Lombardi, the project’s research coordinator at Fraunhofer IFF. “The new legislation opens specific opportunities for action in Germany for the first time”

The project combines key cutting-edge issues, such as the energy transition, industrial decarbonization, energy system digitalization and local renewable energy use. As one of the early practical demonstrators of the new regulatory opportunities, FlexBIT is highly relevant for both Magdeburg’s innovation base and the state of Saxony-Anhalt. The digital control and trust mechanisms developed will additionally establish the ecosystem for other functions of the automated manufacturer pursued by the Fraunhofer IFF.

This research was funded by CETPartnership, the Clean Energy Transition Partnership under the 2023 joint call for research proposals, co-funded by the European Commission (GA N°101069750) and with the funding organizations detailed on Funding Agencies and Call Modules. The project runs for thirty months.