KoVI SGW

Competence Centre Virtual Institute Power to Gas and Heat

  • Project no.151190
  • Duration 11/2018 - 10/2021

North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) is the most heavily industrialised and also the most energy-intensive of Germany’s federal states. As a result, NRW can and must make a significant contribution to the restructuring of the German energy system (Energiewende) and to national climate protection targets. In view of the complexity of the many and varied challenges and tasks involved, it  makes sense to consolidate existing scientific competence within the state. This is where the Competence Centre "Virtual Institute Power to Gas and Heat" (KoVI SGW) comes in, providing virtual research infrastructure for the state of NRW. It includes eight research institutions and aims to strengthen their cooperation. The eight research partners are the Gas and Heat Institute Essen e. V. (project coordination), the Energy Economics Institute at the University of Cologne, working groups IEK-3 and IEK-STE at Jülich Research Centre, the Wuppertal Institute, the hydrogen and fuel cell center ZBT, Fraunhofer UMSICHT, and the Chair of Technical Chemistry at the Ruhr University Bochum.

The KoVI SGW follows on directly from a previous research project called "Virtual Institute: Power to Gas and Heat - Intelligent Flexibilisation of the energy system in NRW", significantly extending this work to include further technology options, research fields, industrial partners, and knowledge transfer into teaching. The aim is to accelerate the transfer of results into practice.

Within KoVI SGW, the Wuppertal Institute participates in two subprojects and aims to:

  • identify the major challenges and solutions for a climate-neutral transformation of the industrial sector in NRW, consider the possible advantages and disadvantages of the state's locations compared to other regions in the EU and  the MENA area, and   analyse obstacles, opportunities, risks, and path dependencies,
  • record and evaluate comprehensively and at an early stage the various (PtX) technologies for making the electricity system more flexible, consider their environmental impacts throughout the life cycle, and identify and evaluate so-called critical resources,
  • support in-depth studies of the potential of Power-to-Heat (PtH) in North Rhine-Westphalia and  suggest how PtH options could be used in a way that makes ecological and economic sense.

The Competence Centre "Virtual Institute Power to Gas and Heat" (EFRE-0400154) is funded by the Operational Program for the promotion of investments in growth and employment for North Rhine-Westphalia from the European fund for regional development (OP EFRE NRW) and by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalization and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.


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