Energy transition strategies were discussed at the Berlin Energy Days - the leading event for the energy transition and climate protection in Germany. At the same time, an appeal for decisive climate protection emanated from the major congress.
The Berlin Energy Days 2022 were opened as a hybrid large-scale congress at the beginning of May by Jürgen Pöschk, initiator and main organizer of the Energy Days. In his opening speech, he appealed for an honest and responsible discourse in connection with the current energy crisis. "We should not allow ourselves to be restricted by old ideological guard rails. Ethical approaches that aim to remain true to one's ethical and ideological principles are useless in the current crisis," said Pöschk. The urgency of achieving climate neutrality was also underlined by climate scientist Prof. Stefan Rahmstorf from PIK (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research) in his subsequent overview of the current state of climate science.
Currently, the highestCO2 concentration in the atmosphere has been observed for 3 million years, probably even for 15 million years. In addition, the past decade is most likely the warmest for at least 20,000 years, according to Rahmstorf. However, the climate scientist also emphasized: "From a physical point of view, the 1.5 degree limit can still be maintained."
The Urban Infrastructures Forum 2022
How can Berlin becomeCO2-neutral? This question was the focus of the Urban Infrastructures Forum. In addition to three best practice cases of the energy transition, the digital event offered participants a keynote speech by Stephan Schwarz, Senator for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises of the State of Berlin, and a panel discussion with the participation of Daniel-Jan Girl, President of the Berlin Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Andreas Kuhlmann, Chairman of the Management Board of dena, Snezana Michaelis, Member of the Board of Gewobag, and Dr. Tanja Wielgoß, CEO of Vattenfall Wärme Berlin AG.
The topics covered a wide range, from potential energy savings to the importance of innovation and the future of the city's heating network. Senator Schwarz emphasized: "The expansion of renewable energies means more security and also more independence." The effects of the attack on Ukraine were also discussed. When asked what would happen if Russia turned off the gas tap, Dr. Tanja Wielgoß replied: "If Germany is cut off from gas, then the emergency plan kicks in. We feel equipped to maintain this network." Snezana Michaelis called for the real-time availability of data on residents' energy behavior. Citizens should become actors in climate protection. Daniel-Jan Girl called for more courage and cooperation in the energy transformation: "Berlin must become a city of opportunity."
Making energy efficiency funding for companies rebound-resistant
While energy productivity in Germany has risen by over 60% since 1990, energy consumption has stagnated over the same period. One of the reasons for this is the rebound effect - as efficiency increases, the use of energy becomes more attractive and there is an increase in demand. In this sense, increases in energy efficiency are not necessarily ecologically effective. The "ReInCent" research project has investigated rebound effects in companies and developed funding instruments. By educating and sensitizing employees, set targets, which must be constantly reviewed, can be achieved and climate protection can be successfully implemented by saving energy.
Mineral oil industry in transition towards net zeroCO2
"Germany as a business location - On the way to net zeroCO2 emissions. What contributions is the mineral oil industry making?" This was the title of the event organized by en2x - Wirtschaftsverband Fuels und Energie. More than 100 participants were present in the hall or connected online. In his keynote speech, en2x CEO Adrian Willig pointed out the industry's balancing act between the current management of the Ukraine crisis and the goal of climate neutrality supported by the industry.
Thomas Behrends from TotalEnergies Raffinerie Mitteldeutschland and Detlev Wösten from the specialty refinery company H&R explained the technological advances using practical examples in Leuna and Hamburg.
This was followed by a panel discussion with Volker Ebeling from the Hamburg-based energy company Mabanaft, Melanie Form from aireg - Aviation Initiative for Renewable Energy in Germany, Johannes Daum from the National Organization Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology and SPD Member of Parliament Bernd Westphal. It became clear that the existing mineral oil industry can make a key contribution to achieving the climate targets. The companies are focusing on various solutions, including renewable electricity,CO2-neutral hydrogen and alternative fuels. However, investment-friendly framework conditions, faster approval procedures and affordable electricity prices are necessary for the ramp-up of the new products.
In the twilight of the energy crisis and energy transition
A disruptive approach made the more than 200 digital and personal guests at the session organized by ASUE and DVGW at the 2022 Energy Days sit up and take notice. Entitled "Successful only as a team: green gases and green electricity", it began with a keynote speech by Prof. Kai A. Konrad (Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance). His surprising thesis that oil and natural gas should continue to be extracted, but that they should be used as materials in the long term in order to avoid generatingCO2 emissions and thereby make the costs of fossil fuels uneconomical was met with a mixed response. On the one hand, the participants active in the energy industry were confronted with a "rush to burn" of cheap energy sources, which is extremely dangerous for the climate, while on the other hand, representatives of renewable energies felt they were being shown up by the traditional oil and gas industry.
Under the moderation of energate editor Heiko Lohmann, the panelists then agreed that pyrolytic processes powered by green electricity in particular had great potential for the future, climate-neutral supply of energy and raw materials. Markus Staudt (BDH) confirmed that there was a demand for corresponding products with his answer to the question of whether hydrogen would also be found in the heating market: "Of course!". Dr. Volker Bartsch (DVGW) finally added with a view to Ukraine: "Germany can provide 300 TWh of green gases - with manageable resources!".
Annual update on the energy transition
It became clear at the congress that it is now more urgent than ever to push ahead with the energy transition. Many ideas and projects were presented, now it's time for implementation. The integration of fluctuating renewable energies into the overall system is a challenge for the decarbonization of the German energy system. The flexibilization of demand in industry and commerce will play a decisive role in this. To this end, energy supply companies and grid operators will have to exchange data on an ongoing basis and new business models will have to be created. To date, there has been a lack of incentives for grid-friendly flexibility measures.
With agriphotovoltaics, agricultural land is used twice: for agricultural crop production and to generate electricity. More acceptance of this must be created among farmers and the population. In addition, the classification under nature conservation law must be uniformly regulated. Fraunhofer ISE states that agri-PV has immense potential. Theoretically, Germany's current electricity requirements can be covered on 4 % of German agricultural land.
Climate protection and increasing energy efficiency can help to increase competitiveness. Many energy efficiency measures are subsidized. However, the funding instruments should be linked to success.
