Selected Projects
Ongoing projects
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10.2024- 09.2029
Transformation of the Energy System of Lower Saxony (TEN.efzn)
Commissioned by: Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture, funded by zukunft.Niedersachsen
In Lower Saxony's largest joint project to date, “Transformation of the Lower Saxony Energy System” (TEN.efzn), more than 180 researchers at 15 universities, universities of applied sciences and non-university research institutions in Lower Saxony as well as other partners from science and industry are working together to develop solutions for the energy system of the future. The TEN.efzn research program comprises six specialized research platforms as well as a transfer area to promote exchange between science, industry, politics and civil society. The activities are bundled via the Energy Research Center of Lower Saxony (EFZN), a joint scientific center of the universities of Braunschweig, Clausthal, Göttingen, Hannover and Oldenburg. A unique feature of the program is the interlinking of technical and scientific energy research with social science transformation research.
The Institute of German and International Mining and Energy Law is participating in the research platform “Trustworthy digitalization of safety-critical energy systems”. This research platform examines from a technical and sociological perspective how the trust of end consumers can be guaranteed in an increasingly decentralized, digital and automated energy system. Legal research questions deal, among other things, with the provision of flexibility in a decentralized energy system and the roles of stakeholders, in particular energy communities. Another focus is on data availability for the secure operation of the energy system and new business models as well as on the requirements for the operation of energy management systems and automated data processing. The legal framework will be compared with the technical and sociological research results and any need for adaptation identified.
To the EFZN press release -
05.2021-08.2024
H2-Wegweiser Niedersachsen: Energy system analysis for technical, economic and societal integration, storage and conversion of hydrogen
Commissioned by: Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture
The project investigates in a transdisciplinary approach how a hydrogen-based energy system of the future can be designed. In addition to the technical design, legal, ecological and economic aspects are considered. The project is being carried out in cooperation with twelve industrial partners and five public partners and research institutions. Under the umbrella of the "Science Alliance Hydrogen Technology" of the Energy Research Center of Lower Saxony (EFZN), it is in exchange with four other hydrogen innovation laboratories of the state of Lower Saxony and the public.
In the overall project, the IBER takes over the investigation of the legal framework of the energy industry for a hydrogen-based economy. For this purpose, the ongoing legislative work will be classified and it will be examined to what extent, in which steps and with which content a regulation of pure hydrogen infrastructures (electrolysers, hydrogen networks, hydrogen storage) should take place. Special emphasis is put on the legal framework for hydrogen storage and differentiation of regulation depending on the sustainability of production processes.
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11.2019- 04.2025 System services for secure power grids in times of advancing energy transition and digital transformation (SiNED),
Commissioned by: Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture
In this joint project of the Energy Research Center of Lower Saxony (EFZN), the existing ancillary services for future power grids are further developed and adapted to the changed requirements and possibilities due to digital transformation and advanced energy transition. Solutions for the secure operation of future power grids with a high proportion of decentralized generation plants are being jointly developed and tested in order to find solutions for the coordinated use of ancillary services to cope with fluctuating feed-in and for congestion management in coordinated grid operation.
In addition to the technical, information technology and economic research questions, the legal restrictions and the adjustments to the regulatory framework that will be required in the future are also being investigated. Important legal questions concern the admissibility of information access with regard to grid related data as well as data access in the context of the service provision by electronic vehicles, load-side congestion management as well as the multiple use of loads for other ancillary services in addition to congestion management, and the framework conditions for electricity storage.
Completed projects
| 2017- 2020 | enera - The next big step in the energy transition; sub-project "Legal framework for the energy sector in the enera project", commissioned by: BMWi (Schaufenster Intelligente Energie - Digitale Agenda für die Energiewende (SINTEG)). The development and demonstration project erena led to significant innovations in grid operation management by a smart grid operator, in the use of regionalized products and in the adaptation of the energy supply system to a large number of decentralized flexible generation-, consumption- and storage- facilities. The sub-project "Legal framework for the energy sector in the enera project" therefore accompanied the targeted innovations from a legal perspective during the demonstration phase and assisted in deriving the requirements for adaptation on the basis of the project results. The sub-project focused on the one hand on the legal framework for the relationship between electricity grid operation and energy markets. On the other hand, questions arose regarding the procurement of flexibility for the elimination of congestions in the power grid. The scope and limits of the enera flex market 1.0, as well as a hybrid market model for the combination of market-based and cost-based flexibility procurement were legally examined. Finally, the interaction of peak shaving as a grid planning tool with feed-in management was analyzed. Link to the enera project: www.projekt-enera.de/ Link to the SINTEG program: www.sinteg.de/ Final report, Cuvillier Verlag, Göttingen 2021 (vol. 71 of the publication series of the Energy Research Center Lower Saxony). The volume is also available free of charge as an open access publication. |
| 2018 - 2020 | Co-lead of the working group "Electricity Market Design" in the ESYS project of the Academies of Science , commissioned by BMBF, final documents available at: energiesysteme-zukunft.de/publikationen. (3 documents: position paper "CO2 bepreisen, Energieträgerpreise reformieren", position paper "Netzengpässe als Herausforderung für das Stromversorgungssystem - Optionen zur Weiterentwicklung des Marktdesigns", analysis "Netzengpässe als Herausforderung für das Stromversorgungssystem. Regulatory fields, status quo and options for action"). |
| 2016 - 2017 | New pricing models for the energy sector - Reform of the structure of grid charges and state-induced price components, commissioned by: Agora Energiewende, final report available at: www.agora-energiewende.de |
| 10/2010- 06/2016 | e-Home Energy Project 2020, commissioned by: E.ON Avacon. |
| 07/2015- 01/2016 | Battery storage systems in multi-purpose operation: legal framework for the energy sector; commissioned by: EWE; Final report: Cuvillier Verlag, Göttingen, 2016 (Vol. 38 of the publication series of the Energy Research Center Lower Saxony). |
| 09/2014- 05/2015 | Battery storage in the low and medium voltage level; commissioned by: ETG/VDE; final report available at https://shop.vde.com/de/vde-studie-batteriespeicher-in-der-nieder-und-mittelspannungsebene-3 |
| 09/2012- 02/2013 | Suitability of storage technologies for maintaining system security; commissioned by: BMWi. |
| 12/2011- 05/2012 | Feasibility study on the interconnection of rail and power line infrastructures, Lot 3 - Investigation of the legal framework; commissioned by: BNetzA; Final report available at www.iber.tu-clausthal.de/fileadmin/IBER/Dokumente_Dateien/Abschlussbericht_Bahnstromtrassen.pdf |
| 09/2011- 10/2011 | Grid Expansion in Germany - Legal Framework and Need for Action; commissioned by: German Council of Economic Experts; available at www.sachverstaendigenrat-wirtschaft.de/fileadmin/dateiablage/download/publikationen/arbeitspapier_05_2011.pdf |
| 10/2009- 12/2011 | Ecological impacts of 380 kV underground lines and HVDC underground lines; commissioned by: BMU; final report of the legal working group: Cuvillier Verlag, Göttingen, 2012 (Vol. 4.4 of the publication series of the Energy Research Center Lower Saxony) |
| 01/2009- 12/2010 | Wind energy storage through re-use of disused mines; commissioned by: BMU; final report available at www.gbv.de/dms/clausthal/E_BOOKS/2011/2011EB1130.pdf |