Wind meets heat: Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt (THI) provides impetus for the energy transition

How can wind power and heat supply be intelligently combined? What opportunities does this combination offer for the energy transition - and what hurdles still need to be overcome? These questions were at the centre of the symposium "Wind & Heat: Synergies for the Energy Transition", to which THI had invited experts from science and industry.

Twelve speakers from research institutions, the wind and heat sectors, community energy cooperatives, electricity network operators and public administration presented their projects on wind energy utilisation and municipal heat supply (Photo: THI).

The expert audience used the conference, together with partner companies of the W-hoch-3 network, as an opportunity to exchange views on technological and organisational challenges in implementing innovative renewable electricity and heat supply projects (Photo: THI).

The expert audience used the conference, together with partner companies of the W-hoch-3 network, as an opportunity to exchange views on technological and organisational challenges in implementing innovative renewable electricity and heat supply projects (Photo: THI).

The programme included contributions on innovative storage solutions, international best practice examples from Denmark, issues relating to heat network planning, electricity grid stability, and regional planning in Germany. Municipal representatives and citizen energy cooperatives also presented successful projects that show how the energy transition can be organised locally.

"Wind and heat belong together - if we are serious about the energy transition, we need to join forces and break new ground," said THI President Professor Walter Schober in his welcoming address. "This is exactly what we are creating space for at THI: research, networking, and practical examples that show how ideas can be turned into concrete projects."

The symposium was organised by the Institute of New Energy Systems (InES) at THI under the direction of Professor Daniel Navarro Gevers and Professor Tobias Schrag as part of the W-hoch-3 transfer cluster, which the European Union. The W-hoch-3 team put together a programme that combined scientific expertise with practical experience and international perspectives - and thus offered the more than 100 participants a platform for knowledge transfer and networking. "Using wind power to generate heat offers enormous potential for renewable heat supply at the municipal level," concluded conference chair Professor Daniel Navarro Gevers.

The presentation materials are available for download at www.thi.de/forschung/institut-fuer-neue-energie-systeme-ines/wissenstransfer/.

Back