clean energy for technology centre and neighbourhood
Military hospital becomes the heart of an emission-free power-only quarter
At the campus of Freie Universität Berlin, scientists are transforming the energy supply from fossil to 100 percent renewable energies. On May 27, 2019, there will be an information event on the project with the opening of an information pavilion.
The technology and start-up centre FUBIC, planned in the south of Berlin, will cover its electricity and heat requirements exclusively with renewable energies in the future, supplying itself and its surroundings with clean electricity. FUBIC stands for "Business and Innovation Center next to Freie Universität Campus". With the research project started at the beginning of 2019, the research team is breaking new ground in its technological, economic and user-side complexity as well as in its integral planning.
Military hospital from the 1970s: operating theatres become offices
In the immediate vicinity of Freie Universität Berlin (FU Berlin), a technology quarter for up to 85 start-ups and young companies from the life sciences, health care, and information technology sectors will be built on a 50,000 square meter site with FUBIC by 2023. To this end, existing buildings will be converted and six new buildings erected. The central building of the quarter is a former military hospital from the 1970s with operating theatres, bathrooms and doctors' rooms, which are now being converted into office and laboratory buildings. The FU campus with its research facilities is one of the four largest science locations in Germany.
Only electricity supply in a neighbourhood is unique in Germany
The team of scientists led by WISTA Management, which among other things established and operates the Science and Technology Park Berlin Adlershof, is working with RWTH Aachen University and FU Berlin to develop concepts for a 100 percent green power supply in an initial phase. The renewable energy comes from roof-mounted photovoltaic systems on site and from purchased green electricity from the higher-level grid. Starting in 2023, an energy storage system tailored to FUBIC will ensure the supply of energy to the district at all times and also act as a network service.
In order to be able to speak of an electricity-only district, the heat supply must also be based on electricity. To this end, the researchers model and simulate various energy systems, investigate their efficiency and profitability and then recommend a system for implementation on this basis. The use of waste heat from ventilation systems, laboratory operation and server rooms should support the heat supply. Innovative measurement and control technology and a cloud-based energy management system will also be developed for the technology quarter so that energy can be provided flexibly and in line with demand. Further loading places for electric cars are planned in the neighbourhood, so that the electricity and transport sectors can be successfully linked.
Blueprint for Future Technology Quarters
In the research project, the team of scientists will develop the regulatory, organisational and economic framework conditions that will allow the economic operation of a power-only system in the technology quarter. For example, it is planned to develop and implement flexible electricity tariffs. In addition, relevant stakeholders are to be involved, thereby creating transparency and user acceptance. If an economically viable concept can be implemented in FUBIC, the CO2-neutral and emission-free electricity-only energy supply has great potential to be transferred to other quarters in Germany and Europe.
Information event on the project
On 27 May 2019 there will be an information event on the project with the opening of an information pavilion. Here, the project participants will present the current plans for buildings and the neighbourhood. Afterwards there will be a guided tour of the site.