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02/22/2019 | Pressemitteilung

Climate protection: University of Kassel receives funding for energy concepts

Aging existing university buildings are not very energy-efficient and therefore account for a significant proportion of the state administration's greenhouse gas emissions. Now the University of Kassel is receiving 1.8 million euros from the Hessian Ministry of Science to implement five energy projects, making it the most successful university in the Hesse-wide program. With the funding, the University of Kassel will push ahead with projects that make ecological as well as economic sense. It is thus coming a step closer to its goal of becoming a comprehensively sustainable university.

Image: Andreas Fischer.

"With this support, the University of Kassel can strategically drive forward the energy-efficient development of its buildings and facilities. Energy consumption will be reduced in the long term and the environment will be relieved as a result," affirms Chancellor Dr. Oliver Fromm.The Hessian state government is pursuing the goal of being a "CO2 neutral state administration" by 2030.

Specifically, it is enabling the implementation of the following five projects:

  • Intracting: The term intracting refers to a modern financing instrument in which energy efficiency gains - for example from self-generated solar power or energy-saving measures - are made available for further investments. The concept is being tested in Kassel for the first time at a university in Germany. This research project is being led by the Department of Technical Building Equipment.
  • TheCO2-optimized Campus project stands for permanent and modern energy management at the University of Kassel. The university's own buildings are being examined for energy weaknesses and renovation measures are being developed. The second sub-project will involve the installation of a modern metering infrastructure that will make it possible to centrally evaluate data on heat, electricity and water consumption.
  • With the help of the funding, a sustainability management system will also be introduced, which will initiate and network projects to increase operational sustainability, determine key figures and document them transparently in the university's sustainability report.
  • Another project is examining the heat supply to the buildings on the Holländischer Platz campus. The local heating network there no longer meets today's efficiency requirements. A plan is now being developed to renew it using renewable energy sources and modern storage technologies, among other things.
  • A similar objective is being pursued by the refrigeration network project. The energy-intensive generation of cold for process cooling and air conditioning is being fundamentally reorganized. This is currently organized in a decentralized and building-related manner in the properties of the University of Kassel. In order to achieve the most economical and energy-efficient cooling possible, for example in laboratories, the needs of the entire campus are being taken into account.

"As different as the individual projects are, they are part of an overarching strategy of the University of Kassel," explains Chancellor Fromm. "All concepts have the goal of advancing climate protection from an economic point of view."

 

Contact:

Sebastian Mense
University of Kassel
Communications, Press and Public Relations
Tel.: +49 561 804-1961
E-mail: presse[at]uni-kassel[dot]de
www.uni-kassel.de