Konzepte Multimodale Verteilnetzstudien

The “Verteilnetzstudie Hessen” (2018) studied the development of the power distribution grids in Hesse up to 2034, modeling current and future power demands and outlining the expansion needs of the grids. This included both expansion and increasing flexibility in the sense of a smart grid. The future power demands primarily considered the further expansion of data centers and the electrification of the transport and heating sectors.

In the last five years, however, the concept of the energy transition has evolved significantly and become more concrete, particularly in the context of the planned transport and heating transition. This is particularly true with regard to the considerations for a coupled energy system for power applications, transport and heat supply. In addition to changing requirements for power distribution grids, pipe networks for natural gas, hydrogen and district heating as well as new energy sources, storages and coupling technologies must also be integrated for consistent planning of energy distribution grids. Today, however, power, gas and heating grids and the corresponding generation systems are still largely analyzed separately in planning.

The project therefore summarizes key methodological developments from current research projects in a toolbox to enable regional cross-sector distribution grid studies for a completely climate-neutral energy system. The methods are demonstrated using an exemplary distribution grid area.