Securing a sustainable energy supply is the focus of the Josef Ressel Centre for Linked System Assessment to support sustainable energy supply (LiSA) at the Pinkafeld site of Burgenland University of Applied Sciences, which was officially opened on 1 February 2022. Centre director Doris Rixrath and her team analyse complex integrated energy systems to make them more sustainable and efficient. Their partners are the energy companies Energie Burgenland and Wien Energie. The centre is funded with almost 900,000 euros from the corporate partners and, via the Christian Doppler Research Association, from the Ministry for Digitalisation and Economic Location. For FH Burgenland, this is the second Josef Ressel Centre since its foundation and the first to be approved by the CDG.
The globally agreed climate targets require a rapid expansion of renewable energies. Thermal grids are expected to make a significant contribution to the decarbonisation of the heating and cooling sector. In Vienna and Burgenland, thermal grids for district heating and cooling are already widely used; they need to become more efficient and make greater use of renewable energies. However, for the systematic assessment of the technical, ecological, social and economic sustainability of such integrated grids, there is a lack of well-developed instruments that consider the entire life cycle.
The JR Centre LiSA aims to meet this need by further developing comprehensive assessment methods adapted to the specific requirements of thermal energy systems in a renewable energy environment. Three system levels of increasing complexity are considered:
(1) Individual technologies that convert renewable energy into heating, cooling or electricity, such as co- and trigeneration processes that can provide heating, cooling and electricity in a coupling process and can thus be operated in a particularly energy-efficient manner.
(2) Thermal distribution grids for heating and cooling. In addition to the classic local and district heating grids, possibilities for a future expansion of the central cooling supply as well as anergy grids are also being investigated. Anergy grids are a promising way to supply end users with heating and cooling at the same time. They are operated at low temperature levels and can use a variety of energy sources (waste heat, solar collectors, geothermal energy,...).
(3) Integrated renewable energy systems with sector coupling or Power2X technologies. Sector coupling refers to the networking of the energy sectors, i.e. heating, cooling and electricity, with the transport sector and industry in order to operate them jointly in an optimal and renewable manner. Power2X refers to technologies that serve to store or utilise momentary excess production from solar energy, wind energy or hydropower.
In order to comprehensively understand and evaluate these systems, methods for technical simulation as well as ecological, social and economic life cycle analyses are being further developed and general application instructions for thermal energy systems are being derived.
About Josef Ressel Centres
In Josef Ressel Centres, application-oriented research is carried out at a high level, with outstanding researchers cooperating with innovative companies. The Christian Doppler Research Association is internationally regarded as a best practice example for the promotion of this cooperation. Josef Ressel Centres are jointly funded by the Federal Ministry for Digitalisation and Economic Development (BMDW) and the participating companies.
To the project partners
The Josef Ressel Centre for Networked System Assessment of Sustainable Energy Supply is supported by the project partners Energie Burgenland AG and Wien Energie GmbH.
Management
Dipl.Ing.in Dipl.Ing.in(FH) Doris Rixrath
Head of DepartmentJosef Ressel CenterCampus Pinkafeld
