Developer Daniel Manschke from Volterion fills the electrolyte into the battery storage units in the climate quarter of Stadtwerke Herne. Photo: Stadtwerke Herne
Violet, green, blue and yellow - inside the innovative battery storage systems now available in the Climate quarter of the municipal utility company, will be colourful in the future. The electrolyte, which can store up to ten kilowatt hours of self-produced solar power, changes color depending on the state of charge.
Each of the new storage tanks holds 500 litres of the storage liquid. Redox-flow batteries in the cellars of the seven houses. The developers of the Dortmund-based manufacturer Volterion, a spin-off of the Fraunhofer Institute UMSICHT, installed and filled them themselves in Herne. This is because the climate district is an interesting technical demonstration object for them: Up to now, they have only installed battery storage systems in large-scale projects. In the single-family homes in Sodingen, the battery is only about the size of a two-door wardrobe.
Compared to conventional rechargeable batteries Redox-flow batteries are characterized by high operational reliability and extreme durability. Even a complete discharge does not harm them.
"With the battery, our energy concept of solar system and heat pump is now complete," explains Stephan Becker, project manager at the developer Stadtwerke Herne. "The climate quarter is now entering the home stretch." The final inspection with the future residents is scheduled to take place in about two weeks.
In April of last year, the municipal utility company began construction of the seven modern plus-energy houses. The small car-free model settlement combines the latest storage technology with renewable energy generation. The supply concept varies in individual details. With scientific support, the most efficient combination is to be found after the residents have moved in.
The Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) is looking for municipalities that enable new solutions for climate-, environmentally- and socially-compatible mobility in their urban districts, as well as a pleasant stay in public spaces. This includes, above all, the development and optimisation of infrastructure for pedestrian and bicycle traffic, the linking of different mobility offers, the increase of the quality of stay through...
A socially responsible coal phase-out is feasible and affordable, according to a report commissioned by ver.di.
"We expect that in none of the scenarios, even at peak times around 2030, will annual costs of more than 250 million euros be incurred for early retirement, but also for retraining and other career-related measures," explained ver.di Federal Executive Board member Andreas Scheidt.
The Enervis report commissioned by ver.di can be downloaded here as a PDF:
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The number of CarSharing customers in Germany rose to 2.46 million over the course of last year. Above-average percentage growth was recorded by station-based CarSharing services. Station-based CarSharing also remains the backbone of the expansion in terms of area and is now available at 740 locations in Germany.
At the beginning of 2019, 2.46 million customers in Germany are registered with a car-sharing service, 350,000 more than in the previous year. Station-based car sharing providers are experiencing above-average growth with an increase of 21.5 percent. In free-floating CarSharing, customer growth is slowing somewhat and amounts to 14.9 percent. Overall, CarSharing in Germany continues to be on a clear growth path.
Graphic: bcs
Gunnar Nehrke, Managing Director of Bundesverband CarSharing e.V., comments:
"The positive development in the German CarSharing market over the past years shows: More and more people want to deal responsibly with the resource car and practically shape the traffic turnaround."
The association is particularly pleased with the strong growth in the area of station-based CarSharing services, as several scientific studies had shown in 2018 that this variant has a particularly high traffic-relieving effect. Association Managing Director Nehrke explains:
"In station-based CarSharing, 70 to 80 percent of customers no longer own a car. Cities and municipalities should specifically promote this variant by setting up CarSharing stations in public areas.
In connection with CarSharing funding, the association criticises the Federal Ministry of Transport: "Even one and a half years after the Carsharing Act (CsgG) came into force, cities and municipalities cannot practically apply this law in all points because the Ministry does not present the ordinances that are the basis for it.
Christian Hochfeld, Director of Agora Verkehrswende, explains the current development of CarSharing:
"It is important that CarSharing becomes visible and available in public spaces. However, CarSharing should not be seen as an individual measure, but as an integral part of a municipal mobility strategy. After all, the right traffic policy framework conditions - such as comprehensive parking space management and the expansion of environmental zones - can further strengthen the positive effects of CarSharing services."
Strong growth also on the supply side
20,200 CarSharing vehicles will be available in Germany at the beginning of 2019, 2,250 more than in the previous year. Station-based providers account for more than half of the supply with 11,200 vehicles, while 9,000 vehicles will be used in free-floating CarSharing.
In the "free-floating" market segment, 890 vehicles belong to combined station-based/free-floating offerings. This new form of offering is used by some formerly purely station-based providers in order to be able to offer the advantages of both CarSharing variants from a single source. New combined systems were launched in 2018 in Leipzig and Karlsruhe, for example.
Station-based CarSharing remains the backbone of CarSharing expansion
Graphic: bcs
Station-based CarSharing is currently available at 740 locations in Germany. This is 63 locations more than in the previous year. Pure free-floating services are currently available in seven metropolitan areas and a few surrounding communities of these major cities.
E-share stagnates at a high level, more e-vehicles in the fleets of station-based providers
Graphic: bcs
The number of electric vehicles in the German CarSharing fleet remained almost unchanged in 2018. However, there are shifts in the number of electric vehicles in the individual fleet segments: The number of electric vehicles in the free-floating fleets of car manufacturers remained largely unchanged at 1,025 vehicles. The medium-sized CarSharing providers in the station-based sector were able to increase the number of electric vehicles from 321 to 498.
On the other hand, the operators of pure e-car sharing projects recorded declines. Here, the number of vehicles fell from 431 to 304. This is mainly due to the fact that the period of public funding or the leasing contracts for a high number of vehicles expired in 2018. As the vehicles had not reached the threshold for economic viability, they were removed from the fleet. Gunnar Nehrke explains:
"The electric share in CarSharing is 50 times higher than in the national car fleet. This shows: The providers want to switch to emission-free drives. But the framework conditions are not yet right: the vehicles are still too expensive. And there is still no funding concept for the installation of charging infrastructure at car sharing stations."
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KfW is looking for builders who are thinking about tomorrow. The 2017 motto is: "Expand, extend, convert - create and modernise living space efficiently".
