UdZ 01.21

SPECTRUM – APPLIED RESEARCH 36 / UdZ 2-2021 For the comprehensive transformation process in the energy transition, we continue to need innovative ideas and developments” 1 . For this reason, neighborhood-based approaches are also being used today and the concept of “energy neighborhoods” 2 is being tested in various real laboratories. The aim is the exchange of energy within and between different quarters 3 . The consideration of an energy quarter includes all energy producers and users in a network, such as buildings or infrastructural facilities, in a certain area (=quarter). The energy supply of such quarters allows the intelligent use of potentials for everyone in the energy network, i.e. producers, consumers and third parties. Through the energetic interconnection of buildings in a quarter, there is the possibility to ‘shift’ energies between these facilities. 4 Especially when using renewable energy sources, supply and demand are often not congruent, which is why the temporal shift of energy flows has to be compensated by storing energy. The “Musikerviertel” energy district in Ettlingen, which is supplied with 97 percent renewable energy, serves as an example project. It can therefore already be described as a “self- sufficient neighborhood”. In addition, the quarter emits 1,831 tons less CO 2 per year 5 . With the ramp-up of electromobility in Germany, the importance of charging infrastructure in the context of energy quarters is growing. Charging facilities are among the energy-related facilities and must be able to be integrated into an energy quarter. To further advance electromobility in Germany, the simultaneous expansion of charging infrastructure is essential 6 . In particular, the fast-charging infrastructure, which currently accounts for around 15 percent of the charging infrastructure inGermany and is a prerequisite for a switch to electromobility in logistics, is currently not yet sufficiently developed. It is mainly sufficient in large urban areas 7 . For this reason, the German government is having 1,000 charging parks built by 2023, which will be equipped with fast charging stations, provide high charging power and thus enable short charging times. One solution approach to address the problem of insufficient charging infrastructure is to consider charging infrastructure facilities as an integral part of an energy district. In order to establish such an integrated charging 1 BMWi 2019a 2 Innogy 2020 3 BMWi 2019b 4 Stockinger 2019, p. 25 5 Redaktion der Ingenieur-Nachrichten 2017 infrastructure, the spatial and energetic availability must be ensured above all. For the long-term establishment of electrically powered trucks, sufficient charging points must be available at strategically selected locations, such as main logistics hubs. A combination with rest area facilities and corresponding service facilities is also conceivable. In addition, energy availability with a correspondingly high charging capacity must be ensured. Taking these two prerequisites into account, it would make sense, for example, to select a location near regenerative power plants (e.g., wind farms) and a highway. In order to be able to make precise statements about opportune main traffic hubs in NRW, the research project is preceded by an analysis of highway utilization (mileage, etc.) and nominal data (average fleet size, etc.) of European logistics service providers. These findings will then serve as the basis for a well-founded evaluation of logistical requirements for the future charging network. Furthermore, data exchange between the charging point and the user must be ensured in every situation. In addition to real- time information during the charging process, price, fuel and general information about the facility must be accessible to the user. For logistics service providers, it is also fundamental that this data be integrated into the respective navigation systems. In addition, there is currently no way to reserve specific charging points in order to plan a route with an e-truck in advance. In general, logistics service providers have too little or no information about the availability of suitable charging points, which is why route planning with an e-truck is currently too costly to be considered. This fundamental lack of transparency in terms of both available chargingpower ande-truckchargingdemand isbeingaddressed by a platformsolution as part of the ‘iP4MoVE’ research project. Inaddition to thecontinuousexchangeof data fromthemobility and energy sectors, the platform also offers a reservation function for charging services - the central prerequisite for sustainable route planning. In the course of sustainable route planning, integrated into a transport management system (TMS), information about available charging services as well as locations is provided. This information is used to carry out sensible and to make binding reservations for available capacities via the platform. This is the only way to make it possible to use e-trucks in multimodal logistics chains and to create fundamental acceptance for the electrification of freight transport. The results described here enable logistics service providers to plan tours for battery-electric vehicles and to calculate and reserve the necessary layovers; billing is then automated. Incidentally, the platform provides further added 6 BMWi 2021 7 Bundesnetzagentur 2021 “