Hightech-Region Stuttgart: Clean Energy
Strengths of the Stuttgart Region Europe's leading high-tech region and strongly export-oriented (Source: Eurostat) Centrally located in the economically powerful Frankfurt-Munich-Zurich triangle where some 21 million people live and work (Radius 200 km) A dynamic business location with flourishing medium-sized businesses, global players and a lively start-up community An unmatched conglomeration of research institutions working in the areas of renewable energies, energy management and fuel cell technology Regional competence and innovation centres for both fuel cell technology and solar energy A highly qualified and motivated workforce Numerous clean energy pioneer projects The region's 1,820 hours of sunshine a year make the Stuttgart Region one of Germany's sunniest locations
The Stuttgart Region with its 179 cities and communities is one of Europe's most dynamic business locations. This industrialised region has a unique combination of global players, innovative medium-sized enterprises, dynamic start-ups and renowned research institutions. A well-rounded mix of strong industries – among them, automotive and mechanical engineering, software and the creative industries – has helped keep this region healthy and thriving. Its technological excellence, its capacity for innovation and its export quota are all outstanding.
icaré 2, Solar airplane from the University of Stuttgart's IFB Institute, Photo: Uli Reinhardt, Zeitenspiegel
By initiating a program for clean energies, the Stuttgart Region Economic Development Corporation is working toward its goal of establishing this region as one of Europe's most important providers of clean energy technologies. It is crucial for the Stuttgart Region as a manufacturing location that such products are not only discovered and developed here but also made here or in the State of BadenWürttemberg, and that they be routinely used here as well.
A diverse and thriving local economy
From globally active multinational companies to start-ups, the Stuttgart Region's clean energy cluster now has nearly 300 companies, many of which maintain their own research and development departments. An additional 600 craft and trade businesses as well as numerous architects, engineers and consultants are also involved. Companies specialising in mechanical engineering and production technology have also discovered the potential of this young sector and profit as suppliers from the current boom. One of these is HMS Höllmüller from Herrenberg, mechanical engineers whose customers include Sun Power and Würth Solar. One of the world's largest builders of turn key solar factories is M+W Zander from Stuttgart. Many traditional medium-sized businesses have been able to establish a new line of business by expanding into the clean energy sector.
Photovoltaic power plant on the roof of the Lapp Kabel Logistics Centre in Stuttgart-Vaihingen
Clean energy companies from the Stuttgart Region BBT Thermotechnik GmbH Eisenmann AG ENGCOTEC GmbH Fichtner GmbH & Co. KG HMS Höllmüller IBS, Ingenieurbüro Schuler GmbH Lapp Kabel M+W Zander NuCellSys GmbH Schlaich Bergermann und Partner Solo Stirling GmbH Transsolar Energietechnik GmbH WS Reformer GmbH
www.junkers.com www.eisenmann.de or www.archea.de www.engcotec.de www.fichtner.de www.hms-germany.de www.ing-buero-schuler.de www.lappkabel.de www.mw-zander.com www.nucellsys.com www.sbp.de www.stirling-engine.de www.transsolar.com www.wsreformer.com
To name a few: Solo Kleinmotoren GmbH from Sindelfingen produces power tools for horticulture and forestry purposes, and its subsidiary Solo Stirling GmbH now makes stirling motors that produce electricity, heat and refrigeration in a clean way. WS Reformer GmbH, a subsidiary of the WS Wärmeprozesstechnik from Renningen, makes reformers that help fuel cells access the public natural gas supply, which will ultimately facilitate the use of stationary fuel cells. NuCellSys GmbH, a subsidiary of DaimlerChrysler and Ford located in Kirchheim/ Teck, develops fuel cell systems for vehicles. Lapp Kabel, located in Stuttgart-Vaihingen, is one of the world's foremost suppliers to the manufacturing and automation industries, the automobile industry as well as for building services and transport applications. Their cable systems can be found not only in the Transrapid in Shanghai but also in photovoltaic and wind installations alike.
Transsolar Energietechnik GmbH, originally a spin-off from the University of Stuttgart, is a specialist for energy-efficient heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. Junkers from Wernau, which belongs to Bosch subsidiary BBT Thermotechnik GmbH, is one of Europe's leading providers of thermotechnology. Eisenmann from Böblingen, a supplier of systems for the automation industry and for surface and environment technologies, now collaborates with partner Archea to make turnkey biogas plants. ENGCOTEC GmbH from Stuttgart has completed numerous solar projects locally and around the world, including one on top of the Mercedes Benz engine plant in Stuttgart and another on the southern roof of the Reichtag in Berlin.
The engineering services provider Fichtner has 1,100 employees including 300 at their headquarters in Stuttgart. They devise comprehensive solutions for projects in the areas of energy and environmental technology, water and infrastructure. Since 1988 the engineering company Schuler, located in Bietigheim-Bissingen, has designed more than 140 cogeneration power stations and has installed some 70 large wood chip heating plants. The engineering consultants Schlaich Bergermann und Partner are world famous not only for their lightweight roof support structures that cover, for example, soccer stadiums. Their concept for a solar updraft tower is equally spectacular. An overview of the companies located in the Stuttgart High-tech Region: Industry source book “Future Energies” www.zukunftsenergien.region-stuttgart.de Become a member of the Clean Energy Cluster in the Stuttgart Region.
100 MW solar updraft tower Schlaich Bergermann Solar
Tidal power plant IHS/University of Stuttgart, RENETEC, Consulting Engineers Schlaich Bergermann und Partner
Strong in research and development
The Stuttgart Region has research and development potential second to none thanks to the concentration and the diversity of its R&D organisations. Numerous institutes at the Universities of Stuttgart and Hohenheim and at the region's universities of applied sciences are dedicated to new energy technologies, energy efficiency or the design of energy-efficient buildings.
In addition, outstanding research organisations like the German Aerospace Center, the ZSW Baden-Württemberg (The Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research), the Fraunhofer institutes and the Steinbeis Transfer Centres all document the region's eminent research potential in the field of clean energy.
Research and development in the Stuttgart Region University institutes Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences – College of Technology – Egle Institute Zafh Centre for Applied Research at Applied Sciences Universities – Sustainable Energy Technology Esslingen University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Building Services, Energy and Environmental Engineering Nürtingen-Geislingen University University of Stuttgart, ILR Institute for Power Electronics and Electric Drives University of Stuttgart, IER Institute for Energy Management and Rational Energy Use University of Stuttgart, IGE Institute for Building Energetics University of Stuttgart, IKE Institute for Nuclear Energetics and Energy Systems University of Stuttgart, IPE Institute for Physical Electronics University of Stuttgart, IHS Institute for Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulic Flow Engines University of Stuttgart, ITW Institute for Thermodynamics and Thermal Engineering University of Stuttgart, IVD Institute for Process Engineering and Power Plant Technology University of Stuttgart, IVK Institute for Combustion Engines and Vehicle Engineering University of Stuttgart, IFB Institute for Aeronautical Engineering University of Stuttgart, MPA Materialprüfungsanstalt (Materials Testing) University of Stuttgart, SWE Endowed Chair for Wind Energy University of Hohenheim, Institute 740 – Farm Machinery and Farm Structures University of Hohenheim, Institute 495 – Agricultural Engineering in the Tropics and Subtropics University of Stuttgart, ZES Energy Research Center Stuttgart
www.hft-stuttgart.de/Forschung/Egle-Institut www.zafh.net www.hs-esslingen.de www.hfwu.de www.uni-stuttgart.de/ilr www.ier.uni-stuttgart.de www.ige.uni-stuttgart.de www.ike.uni-stuttgart.de www.ipe.uni-stuttgart.de www.ihs.uni-stuttgart.de www.itw.uni-stuttgart.de www.ivd.uni-stuttgart.de www.ivk.uni-stuttgart.de www.ifb.uni-stuttgart.de www.mpa.uni-stuttgart.de www.uni-stuttgart.de/windenergie www.uni-hohenheim.de www.ats.uni-hohenheim.de www.zes.uni-stuttgart.de
Non-university research organisations German Aerospace Center The Fuel Cell Research Alliance Baden-Württemberg Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics (IBP) The Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB Steinbeis Transfer Centre EGS (Energy, Building and Solar Technology) ZSW Baden-Württemberg (The Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research)
www.dlr.de www.forum-brennstoffzelle.de www.ibp.fraunhofer.de www.igb.fhg.de www.stz-egs.de www.zsw-bw.de
Collector in an outdoor test ITW Institute, University of Stuttgart
Wind energy plant Welzheim
Fermentation plant Leonberg
Research and Test Centre for Solar Plants
The Endowed Chair of Wind Energy (SWE)
Fully automated biogas laboratory at the University of Hohenheim
The University of Stuttgart's Institute for Thermodynamics and Thermal Engineering (ITW) with the affiliated Research and Testing Centre for Solar Plants (TZS) is the largest testing centre for thermal solar technology in Germany. The TZS is accredited according to current European standards which entitles them to test thermal solar power plants.
The SWE is made possible through a foundation endowed by Dipl.-Ing. Karl Schlecht, founder and Chairman of the Board of Putzmeister AG in Aichtal. Collaboration within the University of Stuttgart, with businesses, other universities and research organisations actively fosters the development of new applications using wind energy and other renewable energy sources.
The biogas test lab at the University of Hohenheim is designed to facilitate the development of a new generation of more efficient biogas plants. The test facility has 28 reactors making it possible to simultaneously test different types of biomass using various methods and different devices. In the process the reactors are monitored, mechanically filled and the exact amount of gas produced is automatically recorded by a computer.
Pioneer facilities
www.itw.uni-stuttgart.de www.uni-stuttgart.de/windenergie
www.uni-hohenheim.de
Education and training opportunities
Although further education options in the field of regenerative energy technologies are rare, this is not the case in Stuttgart. The Stuttgart Region Solar Energy Centre (sez), an institution run by the electricians' guild at its ETZ Centre for Electrotechnology, offers craftsmen and engineers classes and workshops in regenerative energy technologies. www.sez-stuttgart.de
In addition to that, many students in numerous departments at regional universities and universities of applied sciences are also being prepared to work as professionals in regenerative energy fields.
MUSEUM RITTER with Squares of Light by Waltraut Cooper, 2006, © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn
Pioneer projects
From a nursery school built according to passive house guidelines to a renovated retirement home that became a model of energy efficiency, more than twenty exemplary Stuttgart Region projects are now featured online at www.zukunftsenergien.region-stuttgart.de (only in German) A fermentation plant using a fuel cell Bio-waste optimally used for energy Today, organic waste can no longer be used as landfill but has to be processed instead. Böblingen County's solution is to make energy-rich biogas out of its biowaste in its own fermentation plant in Leonberg and then feed this biogas into a combined heat and power plant to produce electricity and heat. Some 30,000 t of bio-waste are processed annually in this plant. The 8.2 million kWh of electricity made each year in two combined heat and power plants is ultimately channelled into the public grid. This amount is enough to supply some 2,300 households with all the electricity they need for a year. Some of the biogas made here ends up in a special demonstration plant that is the world's first facility to use a molten carbonate fuel cell (Hot Module) to convert biogas into electricity and heat. Large photovoltaic power plants in the Stuttgart Region Lapp Kabel, one of the leading suppliers for the photovoltaic sector, is showing others the way. The company's own logistics centre at their headquarters in Stuttgart-Vaihingen now has a solar power plant heating the centre's 4,500 qm of floorspace. The installation on the Lapp logistics building is the second largest such plant in the Stuttgart Region. Only the solar plant on top of the DaimlerChrysler engine factory in Stuttgart is larger. A photovoltaic power plant with a surface area of 2,000 qm has also been installed on the roofs of a public housing project in Geislingen an der Steige.
Fairs and conventions
Providing solar heat locally for the new housing development Rotkehlchenweg in Fellbach The city power company in Fellbach opted for a new and unconventional solution for its new neighbourhood development project Rotkehlchenweg. This applies not only to designing buildings for minimal energy consumption but also to the centralized heating solution for the entire neighbourhood. The overall energy concept was developed by the Steinbeis Transfer Centre for Energy, Building and Solar Technology (www.stz-egs.de) in Stuttgart. Three solar power plants and a condensing boiler provide the neighbourhood with heat.
“CEP – Clean Energy Power®” Stuttgart The fair “erneuerbare energien” continues in 2008 under the new name “CEP – Clean Energy Power®”. The fair offers a broad spectrum of topics related to renewable energies, rational use of energy and energy-efficient building and renovation. Half-day and whole day conventions and workshops inform participants about new scientific and practical developments. The balance: 250 exhibitors, 8,000 fair visitors and 1,000 convention guests. The relocation of the fair from Böblingen to Stuttgart in 2007 is expected to trigger yet more growth. www.erneuerbareenergien.com/english
An exemplary energy concept for the “Museum Ritter” in Waldenbuch Ritter, the chocolate maker with a penchant for squares, designed its new “Museum Ritter” according to ecological principles. In order to use energy as responsibly as possible, they chose to exploit solar energy, biomass and geothermia. They have also managed to use 100% regenerative energy to cool the air. A thermic solar power plant on the roof of the museum provides 40% of the heat needed, an additional 40% comes from hot underground water that is circulated through 73 upright pipes located inside the building's pilings. Aside from these measures four boilers that burn wood-pellets also provide energy.
“Pellets” now with a European dimension The trade fair Pellets, the accompanying industry forum of the same name and the exhibition with a total floor space of 5,000 qm demonstrate the increasing internationalisation of the wood pellets industry. The trade fair alone brought 420 visitors from 21 countries to Stuttgart. The organisers later renamed it accordingly: In the future the trade fair focusing on heating with wood pellets will be called “Interpellets”. www.pelletsmesse.de f-cell – from R&D to the market Over time the f-cell fair has developed into one of Germany's most important events for fuel cell technology. Some 600 participants from 20 countries take part in the many individual events. F-cell is an important link between science, manufacturers, suppliers and users. In the beginning quite small, the fair gets bigger every year. In 2006 more than 50 exhibitors came to the fair. www.f-cell.de/english
Projects and initiatives
The Cluster Initiative of the Stuttgart Region Economic Development Corporation (WRS) The WRS initiates and manages networks like the two that focus on biomass and fuel cells. The WRS's other important tasks include soliciting grant money to realize specific projects and providing interested groups with appropriate information. For example, they compile and distribute a fuel cell source book, dispense information about how biomass can be used as fuel, publish an industry guide in the internet about clean energy sources, and maintain a solar roof exchange platform where solar investors can find roof space available in the region for investment purposes.
EU Project POLYCITY Three large housing development projects in Germany, Spain and Italy are being supported as part of the POLYCITY project. The main focus is on optimising energy consumption and using renewable energy for fuel. The German project area is the Scharnhauser Park neighbourhood in Ostfildern. Here an exemplary ecological residential area is being developed over an area of some 140 ha. Only buildings that conform to low-energy building specifications are allowed. A central block heat and power plant that runs on wood chips supplies most of the energy required.
Beyond that, the WRS' experts support businesses by offering unbiased consulting free of charge about all aspects of choosing a new location, whether expanding or building anew, whether starting a new business or seeking venture capital.
Centre for applied research in universities – sustainable energy technology The zafh.net is one of three centres of excellence in the state of Baden-Wßrttemberg. The participating universities of applied sciences all conduct research on new technologies for the year-round use of renewable energies for heating and cooling and to make electricity. Heating and cooling buildings sustainably is a particularly innovative area of research that has to do with developing solar thermal refrigeration machines, exploring shallow geothermic sources and investigating the possibilities of cooling passively. It is all about finding economical and energy-efficient solutions and getting these developed to the marketable stage.
Regional Competence and Innovation Centres in the Stuttgart Region The only way to reach the goals of using more renewable energies and getting fuel cell applications to the marketable stage faster is by supporting intensified cooperation between businesses and research institutions. An especially good way of formalising this kind of cooperation is through regional competence and innovation centres. Networks like these use regional funding sources to improve communication and exploit synergies between businesses, research establishments and universities working in related technology fields.
www.polycity.net
www.zafh.net
The Competence Centre for Regenerative Energies and Renewables: www.kinet-online.de The Competence Centre for Fuel Cell Technology: www.kibz.de
Contact Holger Haas Telephone + 49 711-2 28 35-14 holger.haas@region-stuttgart.de Elke Gregori Telephone + 49 711-2 28 35-58 elke.gregori@region-stuttgart.de Dr. Taj Kanga Telephone + 49 711-2 28 35-803 taj.kanga@region-stuttgart.de Investor Support Services Wolfgang KĂźstner Telephone + 49 711-2 28 35-41 wolfgang.kuestner@region-stuttgart.de
Telefax + 49 711-2 28 35-55 www.region-stuttgart.de www.zukunftsenergien.region-stuttgart.de www.f-cell.de www.albaufstieg.de www.bioprom.net www.policity.net
Title page: Dish/Stirling Solar-Kleinkraftwerk, Schlaich Bergermann und Partner, in cooperation with SOLO Kleinmotoren GmbH, Sindelfingen and Helmut Fischer GmbH, Talheim
Managing Director Dr. Walter Rogg
Graphic design and layout: projektgruppe.de
Stuttgart Region Economic Development Corporation FriedrichstraĂ&#x;e 10 70174 Stuttgart Germany