Modern, decentralized energy systems are a highly complex matter. Planning these optimally and cost-efficiently is a major challenge for energy planners.
The Empa spin-off "Sympheny" offers software that helps planners to find the right energy concept for a building, a neighborhood or even an entire city and thus meet their sustainability and energy efficiency goalsA sustainable energy system can be compared to a symphony. To ensure that the various components harmonize with each other, it is not enough to simply write a few notes on a piece of paper. Rather, it requires experienced composers who find the ideal composition and the appropriate instruments for it, as well as a conductor who ensures that the musicians harmonize perfectly with each other. A melodious symphony is only created when everything plays together perfectly. In the energy system, the role of the composer is taken on by energy planners. However, their task is becoming increasingly complex as new technologies are constantly coming onto the market and requirements - for example in terms of sustainability and reliability - are constantly changing.
The increasing complexity is primarily due to the switch from centralized to decentralized energy systems. This change is being driven by the shift towards a climate-friendly society. In decentralized energy systems, several buildings are combined in a district or area, which use renewable energies and various conversion and storage technologies together. The buildings are not only energy consumers, but also energy producers by storing surplus energy, for example from their photovoltaic system, and feeding it back into the grid. This makes them an important part of the system themselves. A key advantage of decentralized energy systems over traditional, centrally organized energy systems is that the energy can be provided where it is consumed. This minimizes transport routes, which in turn enables more efficient interaction between the individual energy and storage technologies.
For planners, this means that they must consider the energy systems in their entirety and find the optimum solutions from a large number of technologies and their possible combinations. Innovation is also constantly increasing the range of available solutions. At the same time, energy planners must ensure grid stability and always keep an eye on economic efficiency. Creating a melodious symphony and not simply relying on standard pieces that dozens of orchestras have already played is therefore a highly complex task. One company that has recognized this problem and is providing a remedy is the Empa spin-off "Sympheny". The name was not chosen at random. The aim of the start-up is to harmonize the different energy flows of a site - and thus achieve maximum energy efficiency and sustainability.
Web tool simplifies energy planning
Sympheny offers planners a cloud-based tool that allows them to easily and cost-effectively plan the optimal energy system for a building, neighborhood or even a city. "Our platform takes into account a variety of factors such as the available renewable energies and suppliers at a specific location, the different energy requirements or the relevant technologies. At the same time, the various goals of the planners are also taken into account, such as the reduction ofCO2 emissions, the expansion of renewable energies or cost reduction," explains Andrew Bollinger, CEO of Sympheny. Based on this wide range of information, the online tool helps planners to find the optimal energy system for the location. It answers key questions, such as whether and which photovoltaic systems should be installed on the roof or façade, which seasonal storage systems should be installed and how the thermal networks should be structured. Above all, however, the platform can help energy planners to consider these different questions in an overall context and provide answers that take into account the numerous dependencies and interactions between the technologies and energy flows at a particular location.
Know-how from research
The basis for the software is provided by many years of research work. Empa's Urban Energy Systems Lab has been researching new methods for optimizing decentralized energy systems for several years. The research ultimately resulted in the tool, which has been continuously developed further in collaboration with industrial partners. Last year, the team finally decided to take the plunge into the market. The spin-off "Urban Sympheny AG" was founded in April 2020.
"We see great market potential for our solution, as energy planning is becoming increasingly complex. The time factor also plays a key role for energy planners. It is therefore important to help them find the optimal solution as quickly as possible. Our powerful algorithms and our cloud-based, user-friendly application greatly reduce the complexity for planners. This enables them to make faster and better planning decisions," says Bollinger. At the same time, the software also promotes the integration of sustainable and renewable energy sources. In this way, the Sympheny team aims to make a valuable contribution to the energy transition.
A piece of practical experience
Joint projects with industry partners show that the Sympheny tool has enormous potential. One example: together with Empa, Sympheny helped the utility company IBC Energie Wasser Chur to find new energy concepts for districts in the Grisons capital that would enable them to reduceCO2 emissions to net zero by 2040. The team first created a digital model for the city using Sympheny software. In order to find the optimal solutions, the next step was to use Sympheny's algorithms to evaluate various possible energy concepts and calculate their costs andcarbon footprint. With this selection of possible concepts, the utility company can now more easily find the solution that helps it to achieve its "net zero" target at minimum cost.
In the detailed analysis, the project team also defined the measures required to convert the existing energy system for each solution. Of particular interest to IBC Energie Wasser Chur is the fact that it is possible to convert its current energy system into aCO2-free system without increasing life cycle costs - even though high investments are required for the conversion. During the transformation process, the company also has the opportunity to recalculate the upcoming conversion steps based on the latest data, such as new technologies, and make any necessary adjustments. This significantly reduces the risk of converting the energy system.
